Buzz
Trees are incredibly versatile, offering benefits such as purifying the air, cooling urban areas, and enhancing the beauty of our surroundings. They provide food, shelter, construction materials, fuel, erosion prevention, and serve as natural barriers. For some, trees are more than just resources—they are a medium for artistic expression, a way to reveal hidden beauty. These artists don’t simply paint in trees; they create art from trees, using them in innovative and unexpected ways.
1. Tommy Craggs
British chainsaw artist Tommy Craggs repurposes fallen trees or those removed for forest management. Some of his pieces are available for purchase, while others remain as permanent installations carved directly into tree stumps. Craggs gained attention in 2012 when reports surfaced of a mysterious sculptor creating three intricate carvings in a North Yorkshire forest. These were actually commissioned works by Craggs. One of his notable pieces, pictured above, is titled King Hollow of The Abbey Road.
2. David Kemp
David Kemp, an artist from West Cornwall, draws inspiration from both natural and man-made landscapes. He transforms recycled materials into unique art pieces. One of his notable works, The Ancient Forester, was commissioned by Grizedale Forest in North West England for their outdoor sculpture collection. Photograph by Flickr user Linda Hartley.
3. Joseph Wheelwright
Joseph Wheelwright, a sculptor, works with trees, stone, bones, and other natural elements. Some of his tree sculptures are even cast in bronze. He skillfully uses the natural shape of an entire tree to reveal its hidden form. One of his works, Pine Tree Figure, exemplifies this approach.
4. Walter Channing
Walter Channing started his artistic journey by salvaging wood from demolished buildings, driven by a desire to prevent waste. He crafted furniture and artworks from these materials, eventually transitioning to using discarded tree trunks as his medium. Additionally, he founded Channing Daughters Winery, which features one of his inverted tree sculptures on their wine labels.
5. Axel Erlandson
Axel Erlandson was a trailblazer in tree shaping, a practice of guiding living trees to grow into artistic forms. A California farmer, he began this unique hobby in 1925. In 1947, he established a tourist attraction named The Tree Circus, where he showcased his living tree sculptures. Many of his creations still survive today and can be viewed at the Gilroy Gardens theme park in California. For more images, visit this link. Photograph by Flickr user Jay Peeples.
6. John Krubsack
John Krubsack, known for crafting furniture from wood, embarked on an experiment in 1907 to grow a chair rather than build one. He planted 32 box elder trees and meticulously grafted their trunks as they grew. Over seven years, he shaped the trees into a chair form, leaving only four tree roots as the legs. After eleven years, he harvested the finished chair, known as "The Chair That Grew". This remarkable piece was displayed at the 1915 World's Fair, featured in Ripley's Believe It or Not, and is now exhibited at Noritage Furniture in Embarrass, Wisconsin.
7. Peter Cook and 8. Becky Northey
Pooktre Tree Shapers represents the collaborative efforts of Peter Cook and Becky Northey in shaping trees into functional furniture like tables and chairs, as well as artistic forms resembling human figures or abstract designs. Some of their creations are grown for harvesting and sale, while others remain as enduring living sculptures.
9. Richard Reames
Richard Reames is an arborsculptor who specializes in shaping trees, advocating for the art form, and teaching others how to do it. His website features instructional guides, including how to grow your own chair. One of his notable projects is a "branch office," where he constructed a platform within living trees and shaped the branches to form walls around it.
10. Tim Knowles
Tim Knowles, a multimedia artist, created the Tree Drawings project between 2005 and 2006. In this innovative work, trees became artists themselves. Knowles attached drawing tools to tree branches and placed easels nearby, allowing the wind and weather to guide the trees in creating unique drawings. Each finished piece was displayed alongside a photograph of the tree in the act of drawing.
