This is a bas-relief sculpture of the patterns of branches and cell structures of the trees created by layering cut and painted wood panels. The front-facing planes are white. The color in the art is experienced as reflected color on the white surfaces. The patterned bottom layer of the artwork is taken from the wood anatomy of Whitebark pine. Alan Crivellaro prepared the anatomy section and imaged the slide. The composition of the top layers is based on the tangled lower branch structure of a specific Whitebark pine tree growing on an exposed ridge on Paulina Peak in Newberry Volcanic Monument near Bend, Oregon.
Whitebark pine grows in harsh conditions at high altitudes marking the treeline. They endure high winds, searing cold, and exposure. These slow growing old trees have witnessed shifts in the environment as climate changes and the ecosystem they support and depend upon transforms.