TREES
Woods-sculpting (and tree-shaping) is John’s personal description of maintaining complex balances between the protective cover of “woods” and the vulnerable “openness” of adjacent spaces. It includes both the upper stories of the trees and the ground beneath those trees.
In the northeast, often fields and pastures were created by carving out wooded areas. If not restricted by steep slopes, utilization of straight lines emerged as offering “efficiency” in maintaining those open spaces. On Louisiana’s wet prairies, straight drainage ditches/canals, loaded with copious underbrush and trees, outline wide-open spaces with little variation. Too often, there are no inviting oases nearby or undulating lines. In the northeast, differences between juxtaposed woods and open spaces resemble large, dark curtains contrasting bright stage lighting. A live oak, growing in the middle of a wide-open Louisiana field/pasture with an elliptical crown, provides a wonderful contrast in form and color to excessive bright sunlight associated with large, open, and often flat spaces.
In the northeast, the temptation to clean out thoroughly the underbrush within the bordering “dark” woods (so that the viewer can obtain access either visually or physically) risks a violation of the ecological interdependence between woods and their inhabitants. Small animals and ground birds often need thick, low-lying growth for comfortable survival. In order to coax wild animals into large open spaces for one’s visual entertainment, a series of protective “safe” covers, similar to a chain of islands, provide the viewer visual relief and the wild animals a place to graze and play. [In the south, however, most stewards prefer that those small animals, often poisonous and dangerous, remain strictly within the deep cover of those drainage ditches.] Colorful birds and larger animals (deer, etc.) can be attracted to isolated islands purposefully created for artistic highlights.
Solutions to conflicting needs (both artistic and ecological) often lie in creating balanced, interactive “fingers” of safe coverage next to open areas. Each “open” area/finger may provide food and a playground for animals while creating a vista for human audiences, with particular objects (either organic or non-organic) as focal points. Each “closed” area/finger/island, therefore, can offer contrasting species, colors, and textures. These closed areas then become figurative “mile markers,” creating a relative distance and depth for the viewer. At first, finding solutions may appear difficult, but tenacity usually produces solutions. As we begin diving into these complex scenes, hopefully, we can identify and enhance the many natural and deep interdependencies. Better yet, we will nurture our own enjoyment with humility.