Tracings: Making the invisible visible

"Tracings" was a temporary environmental art installation that I developed in collaboration with fellow artist and landscape architect Dawn Kroh as part of a community engagement effort focused on the redesign of a neighborhood gateway park. One major change that was coming to the park was going to be the removal of half of the park's trees, which had been killed by the emerald ash borer, an insect whose larva create sinuous tracks under the tree bark. The painting of the tree murals helped to educate residents about why the trees had died and was also a way to lovingly say goodbye to the trees. Community members helped to paint the tree murals and also provided input on the what they wanted to see and do in the park in the future.