Miranda Schmidt [In Natural Order: Liberating the Canopy]

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Secondary deciduous canopy cover sends dappled or no light to the forest floor, shading out the understory. I was drawn to the light that came through the canopy, knowing that the potential for growth of the understory only came when a tree fell and created a void in the forest cover.

Rock outcrops litter the forest floor; invasive grape vines stretch their arms skyward seeking what little light is available. This connection from the forest floor to the canopy and the sky is the focus of this piece, which constructs space to make this connection visible and comprehensible. I was captivated by the motion of the grape vines as they traveled up the trees gasping for life. I wanted to emulate this by manipulating the vines and leading the viewer to the vertical limbs as if they were choking out the other elements.

Clearing the area of vegetation and leaf debris revealed the contrasting elements of the dark topsoil and the bright green canopy. Vertical elements, straight limbs, foraged from the forest floor, orient the viewer’s gaze through the canopy and into the sky. Two clusters of vertical limbs punctuate the spiral motion of walking into the void, led by the tree roots that emerge from the soil, creating a natural pathway.

-MS