Crown Shyness are works that explore why tree canopies almost but don’t quite touch. Along the banks, trees compete for sunlight and create cooling shade. A gap of sky separating each tree is distinct when viewed from below. Alder leaves were attacked by alder beetles in 2023, and one characteristic of the gap is that it prevents larvae from travelling from tree to tree.
The Riverscape series of wall panels explores the characteristics of the banks of Oddford Brook, and especially the clearing behind Rebecca’s chapel studio in Tisbury. Rain and runoff water is filtered and purified by the roots of water-loving alder and willow before it joins the brook, and the roots help to stabilise the land. The nitrate-rich soil at this margin produces an abundance of wild plants like nettle, comfrey, dock and dandelion, a habitat for a host of insects and small creatures, and a wildlife corridor for birds and animals. Brook banks nurture the environment in many ways and are often overlooked.
Riverscape Series – Crown Shyness 3
920 x 920 x 80 mm
Glass, glass enamel, timber.
2023
