photographic series
« Previous EntriesThe Angel Oak, South Carolina
Saturday, April 14th, 2018
This article and set of photos, initially written in 2008 and updated in 2018, honors the tireless efforts to halt construction on John’s Island, South Carolina that would have encroached on an area of land boasting the Oak tree estimated to be 400 to 500 years old. Thanks to conservation and other local groups like schools and churches, individual donors, pro-bono work from lawyers, a sizable grant, and numerous petitions, we are reassured that persistence does make a difference on this planet. The land surrounding the Angel Oak is no longer in jeopardy. Read more about this amazing tree.
Charleston, SC is proud of its heritage and respected for its commitment to preserving history in the area, and after many years, residents were finally victorious over plans that would have cut down nearby trees and forest in favor of land development.
In one 2008 online petition there were hundreds of pages of interesting comments and pleas from residents who have fond memories of climbing the branches as children, plus exclamations written by tourists – national and international – who have visited the area specifically to see the Angel Oak. The tree is so significant to locals, a nearby elementary school carries its name. Picnics, weddings and reunions are held in the Angel Oak Park, including an annual summer Arts event, “Evening under Angel Oak” featuring live music, drama and other activities.
During August, 2008 my husband and I drove through South Carolina and took a short detour to John’s Island. We drove through wicked rains at the edge of Tropical storm Faye, so when we arrived at Angel Oak Park no one else was there. Although the light was not ideal, fortunately rain subsided long enough to take photos.
This is one impressive tree! The trunk and lower branches are so immense, they have been propped up with stakes and heavy cables here and there, which is a little intrusive when taking photos, but obviously necessary. Growth is spread outward more than upward. No wonder it is considered sacred by the locals… there is an appreciable presence felt while standing silently under its canopy, which apparently occupies 2,000 yards of space above.
It occurred to me that this tree has lived through one serious chunk of history, and I wondered what was happening on our planet when it was knee-high to an acorn? The Angel Oak’s parent-tree and surrounding forest flourishes for eons before one special acorn falls from one of the magnificent Oaks on the southeastern shores of a land only known to the indigenous peoples then. The acorn sprouts along with many others, but this one will outlive the rest, seasoning hurricanes, climate changes, human encroachment and wars.
Much of what we are familiar with; our collective modern identity has been shaped by the events and people who lived and died since the Angel Oak established its first roots in the earth. If trees could talk…!
The Angel Oak does not exist on its own. It depends on the surrounding forest, so any deliberate disturbance in the immediate soil or neighboring properties would disrupt its far-reaching and delicate root system. Thankfully, now the tree will remain host to a myriad of life forms, supporting an abundant, specialized ecosystem of mosses, fungi and fern varieties, insects and amphibians – hopefully for five hundred more years. The Angel oak lives on as one of the true jewels on this planet.
While older, poorer quality photos are still gradually being replaced, the Majesty of Trees / Dancing with Trees exhibition website is now updated. Check it out!
True colors
Thursday, May 26th, 2011
Tree fern shadows cast across garden rocks in Chapala, Mexico
“Your true colors are beautiful” – Cindy Lauper
I’ve been in Mexico for the past two weeks, so I’ll be contributing more images to the True Colors website, created in 2007 as tribute to the colorful landscapes and cultures here. Developed separately from the other chapters of nikkiartwork.com, trucolors.info is considered as one complete and independent project. I’ve posted a few more of the recent pieces in this series on nikkiphotography.com
A continuing saga
Friday, October 22nd, 2010
“This could be your last chance, Sweets. I’m moving on up to Oregon.”
The Studio Affair saga on previous blog posts: October 20th, 2009, October 28th, 2008 , October 30th, 2007
That’s right, me and all the skeletons in my closet are moving to Oregon, so the painting now is all about walls. I’ve bought a small 4 x 6 sketchbook, hoping to sneak in some time to do a few thumbnail drawings of my travels this year.
The past six months: starting with driving up to Madison, Wisconsin at the end of April to set up the Dancing With Trees Exhibition. After the show opening, it was back to Dallas then shortly afterward to Singapore for 3 weeks. That was amazing! Two days after returning from Singapore I drove up to Ottawa, Ontario to visit our sons. At the end of June, I then drove back down through Michigan to meet my internet artist-friend, Virginia Wieringa (triple amazing!) then across to Wisconsin to pack and pick up the DWT show, then through Chicago to drop off Morning Light 01, through the U.S. Midwest and back to Dallas.
Two weeks later I drove up through Oklahoma and North Dakota into Saskatchewan, then into Alberta to visit family. I took so many photos on the drive east across Canada two weeks later (mostly tree photos of course), through the prairies and the Great Lakes region back to Ontario, where I stayed for another 2 weeks. Then back down to Dallas again! During September we found out that my husband is transferred to Portland, Oregon for work. So the first week of October we both drove west in separate cars, across the Continental Divide, in awe of the gorgeous red rocks and incredible geography in AZ and Utah, finally reaching our future home west of the Columbia River Gorge, and just east of the Pacific Ocean shores and north of the Sequoia and Redwood forests. I drove back to Dallas with a truck and trailer to refill, and will make the trip across only one more time before winter – hopefully the weather holds up. I’m excited to get to work again after such a crazy year of travel – lots of inspiration.
The Studio Affair
Tuesday, October 20th, 2009
“I’ve got my eye on you!”
See the other years Halloween posts on October 28th, 2008 and October 30th, 2007
More Roots garden sculptures
Tuesday, June 16th, 2009
Rootosaurus gardenicus, African Mask profile, and Frog. See more Roots Garden Sculptures
Please pass the peace
Saturday, February 14th, 2009
Garlic Chive seed head, heart-shaped growth
On Cloud Nine
Sunday, February 8th, 2009
On Cloud Nine Left: The view from the road to the Giant Redwoods in the John Muir National Forest, western coast CA. Right: A forest fire still smouldering in October 2008, Mariposa Grove, Sequoia National Forest, central California.
Some new photos of the Giant Sequoias have been posted on majestyoftrees.com
A Studio Affair
Tuesday, October 28th, 2008
“Your eyes are like plastic pearls”
“I bet you say that to all the inanimate objects”
The romance began last year.
Riders on the Storm
Thursday, September 4th, 2008
I’m very excited to start painting again this week. Before two weeks off travelling from Texas to North Carolina I started organizing my FlickR photostream. Now there are about one thousand new photos to sort through, and the ones I’m most excited about are the set of the 1500 year old Angel Oak in South Carolina (now that’s a tree!) – plus a creepy-cool old steel playground beside a gross, moldy, condemned Family Inns Motel, a real treasure! The tree and playground collections are uploaded in FlickR.
There’s also a short photo editorial of our encounters with many of the electric company truck convoys travelling south from Michigan, Indiana, Virginia, and Kansas to restore electricity to 90,000 homes and businesses along the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Gustav. Here are a few of those photos from that set, which we were about to post on CNN’s weather.com when I inadvertently killed my husband’s laptop by plugging a cable in the wrong place. An expensive proposition, and I didn’t even get to send them in. I just found out that fortunately all the travel photos were retrieved, but the laptop is dead. Oops!
New heart-shape
Monday, July 28th, 2008
A new heart shape in nature to add to the series today.
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