Smoke by Kent Mikalsen:
Opposite, Disperse by Helen Duncan( courtesy of The Mount); The Rising by Craig Anderson( Eric Limon); The Bird Show by Michael Perusse( Olivia Douhan); Brunhilda by Robin Tost( Eric Limon).
This page, The Brides by Pamela Bonaguide; Bailaora by Susan Zurles; Vinyasa by Janice Corkin Rudolf; Trickster by Peter Barrett; Smoke by Kent Mikalsen.( Olivia Douhan, 5)
“[ This sculpture ] was carved from a pine beam that was originally harvested from our local forests during the Industrial Revolution. These magnificent two-hundred-year-old pine trees were used to build mills and heat homes in the late 1800s. This beam was originally used in the construction of the mill that is now the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art( MASS MoCA) in North Adams. Although I enjoy the process of carving and using traditional hand tools, contemporary electric rotary tools, grinders etc., were required for this work. These old growth pine trees are nothing like the soft pine you find at Home Depot. They are dense and heavy with the hardness of maple or oak. There was a lot of resistance in carving this wood before the sculpture was allowed to reveal itself. Still, after three hundred years of life and usefulness, I am grateful for the opportunity to reveal a new kind of beauty for this venerable old tree. It reminds me of the book The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein, where even after it is chopped down the tree still gives a small part of its original beauty in the form of a little sprout. I named this piece Smoke because it resembles smoke rising and then dissipating into the air. As a metaphor, it has a deeper meaning for me. It reminds me that my journey here as a physical being is temporary, but perhaps continues in another form."
Holiday Fall 2023 2025 BERKSHIRE MAGAZINE // // 95