Hi folks, I'll open up this discussion with a sacred tree sculpture project I'm working on right now. These are illustrations for a 9-foot wide interfaith sculpture I hope to install in the chapel of Advocate Lutheran General Hospital (Chicago area) later this year. The arc is made from very heavy steel plate in layers and offsets as shown. The tree is carved in wood and gold plated in a traditional manner. It appears to be growing down into the steel exposing some root. On a separate panel in papyrus and ink or paint is a universal prayer that reads vertically "The Sacred Tree of life grows into the openness of our prayer and into the place of our infirmity." The hospital is deeply committed to a chapel that welcomes all faiths and I have worked closely with the chaplains to meet that goal. I wanted to create a work that was not primarily a political statement about being inclusive (though certainly that is implied), but more a direct, contemplative invitation.
David Orth
Orth Furniture & Sculpture
www.OrthFurniture.com
