Material:
This sculptural seating is made from a coastal live oak that was growing in Faculty Glade well before the start of the University of California. The oak (Quercus is the Latin name) was felled in 2002 and with the help of Carlos Martinez, Fire Mitigation Coordinator and Teresa Smith, Senior Laboratory Mechanician for the Art Department, a portion of the tree was taken to the Kroeber Hall sculpture area to dry for a year. I was able to work on developing it into a useful sculpture in conjunction with my Art 130 – Sculpture course being taught by the renowned Vincent Fecteau in Fall 2003.

Metaphoric Meaning:
The carved “diamonds” represent the predominant Native American ritual number used in narrative explanations of life. It also refers to the 4 directions: east, west, north, south.

On the “east” (the beginning) side of the sculpture, on a vertical plane and the trunk of the oak, the diamonds rim the rings showing the tree’s growth. The diamonds, incised into the wood and colored with a red oak stain, are arranged counter clockwise on this surface, inviting the viewer to go back in time and contemplate the many years the rings represent and all that occurred while the world of UC Berkeley grew around it – the many student, staff, and faculty that touched it in passing, and traveled over its underground root system.

On the “west” (the present and future) side of the sculpture, which consists of the limbs of the oak, the diamonds are arranged in a circular progression on differing horizontal planes clockwise around the sculpture. The diamond group for the number three completes the “circle” indicated by the arms of the tree. It is hoped that viewers standing on or within the imaginary circle will gain inspiration and reflection by sharing the present and future with this once living entity that has been recycled into a practical work that attempts to honor its inherent beauty.