Tree by tree

Tree by tree / accordion version (2025). Pen and suminagashi on paper. 3.9 x 4.1 x 0.25” closed, 24.9” wide open. One of a kind. Cynthia Sears Artists’ Books Collection.

Tree by tree / milkweed version (2025). Pen on handmade milkweed paper. 4.5 x 5.75 x 0.4” closed, 11.6” wide open. One of a kind.

Tree by tree / green version (2025). Pen on handmade yucca-cotton-abaca paper. 5.6 x 7.8 x 0.3” closed, 11.25” wide open. 8 leaves; one of a kind.

Tree by tree / board version 1 (2025). Pen, walnut dye, persimmon juice on board; silk thread. 5.4 x 5.4 x 0.4” closed, 10.9” wide open. Variable edition (1/2). Cynthia Sears Artists’ Books Collection.

Tree by tree / board version 2 (2025). Pen, walnut dye, persimmon juice on board; silk thread. 5.4 x 5.4 x 0.4” closed, 10.9” wide open. Variable edition (2/2).

To become familiar with one sliver of a beloved landscape, I went outside every day for over a week to draw the same black walnut tree at Oak Spring Garden Foundation in Virginia in February 2025. The weather shifted rapidly from warm spring sunny days to extreme wind that made it sound like pieces of the house would fly away to snow that shut down campus. The tree stayed constant, and even on days that were too cold or windy to stay out long, I was deeply compelled to visit and draw. Each of these books is unique but all of them were made in the same batch, sitting or standing with them in a pile, doing drawing after drawing. Combined with my personal sketchbook, I made at least six drawings a day of this tree, and the growing intimacy and ability to see is recorded clearly. What began as a daily task became a meditation and valuable relationship that defined my days arriving on the land and communing with it.

Versions of Tree by Tree available, each signed and each a one-of-a-kind in the series.