Monday 28 February 2011

roots roots, marvelous roots...

So went home and found some more roots where I had already been, this time I went prepared with digging equipment and waterproof clothing.  It was pretty muddy! 
This was the first tree I had in mind, but the second visit in, I decided it wasn't going to be possible, as the root diameter was taller than me, and not all of it was out of the earth yet!  It was stunning though.  Looking at it closely, with the right light, closeups would look brilliant properly photographed.  I would like to do this and study the roots with intimacy, painting small areas of them.  The colour and form is brilliant.
Here's a closeup I took with a flash on.  If I could get a better light in here other than flash or sunlight, I think it would high light the depth of the roots brilliantly. Another idea I like, is to cut an area (probably square) out of the root, and frame it within a backless wooden frame so you can focus on the shape and form of the root itself, rather than the whole thing.
 Here, you can just about see the size of the whole tree and its root system.  Looking at this one tree, made me realise how busy underground really is, when you look at this one tree and the size of its root, and then the amount of trees surrounding it, that are still underground. 
 This is another root I found that was already mostly out of the ground.  I began diggin away at it to see what was below, and found a few hibinating hornets and a red-tailed queen bee, all happily dosing in the February chill,  I didnt want to disturb them anymore so, left it where it was.  A few days later I came back with my dad who helped me fully remove it safely.  It was the right size, weight and diameter for the bunker exhibition I'm planning.  At the moment, it's drying out and keeping safe at my mums house, later on today I hope to go and work out a way of attaching it to the ceiling of the nuclear bunker.
 Surrounded by a lot of stones that have been trapped by the roots that have grown around them.
Here is a small section of the roots I orginally wanted, they were felled trees that had been pulled up by machinery and the main roots and the secondary roots coming off, were all pretty much intact still.  I got very excited after asking permission of the land owner, and got my dad down with his chainsaw and cut the root system away, only to find that it way WAY to heavy to ever hang up on a ceiling.  Darn...

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