Deborah Landry

As Far as the Eye Can See
ceramic; 6 x 6 x 4 in.

I’ve traveled throughout the mountain glaziers of Mt. Rainer, and I was struck by the systematic clear-cutting of trees. A feeling of loss came over me; I felt like I had missed something wonderful by never having the opportunity to experience the magnificence of the now-gone forest. The deforestation reminded me of my visit to Arlington National Cemetery. The stumps appeared to stretch endlessly into the horizon just like the burial markers at the cemetery. Neither seemed to stop; they just undulated with the Earth’s changing elevations.

Years later, I experienced the feeling again when I moved to the South. The land is plentifull, but housing developments are popping up everywhere. The developers find it easier to cut down all the trees, burn the roots, and then bulldoze over everything, rather than build dwellings amongst the trees. Houses are plopped next to one another as closely as possible in the interest of economics. Saplings, often no more than twigs with a few leaves, are substituted for the beautiful grown trees that once provided shade and housing for birds and small animals.

“Woodland Stewardship” is a collection of sculptures, intaglio prints, and a simple children’s story of a bird that returns home in spring only to find his forest gone, replaced by human houses for as far as his eye can see.

© Deborah Landry