Stump Art

STUMP ART

This all started when I collected and photographed an interesting stump I had found in the woods. It has graduated from just one piece of wood or stump to what I now call ‘Stump Art’. So, to begin, I collect interestingly shaped old stumps,sticks, branches, logs, roots from trees. Once I have a collection I begin a composition by stacking, leaning, hooking, balancing and/or placing pieces where they fit. I do not pre-plan or try to make it look like something in particular, I just put the pieces together until I ‘feel it is done’.

When done I photograph it from all different angles and heights, day and/or night. When shooting at night I use a small solar spot light to light up the piece and I use nothing else.

When done shooting I edit the photos using my own edits and/or pre-edits. This helps to bring out, or even exaggerate some of the complexities and/or all the varied colors found in wood. When I am done it then becomes ‘Stump Art’.

I found out when I first showed some photographs to a group of people, that Stump Art is a great conversation piece. Because the human trait to try to familiarize themselves with something that they are looking at that they do not understand they immediately try to make sense of it and see something in it that they might or might not be familiar with. They try to find something in it that they can relate to and Stump Art seems to have a lot of that, it is rare to have two folks see the same thing. My Stump Art could be looked at as abstract Art but not exactly, it doesn’t fall wholly into the Abstract Art category. I hope the viewer will find something in each composition. That is what plays a big role in my photography.

When a group of people look at the photographs, they will, just immediately, have the urge to tell everybody else what they see. And they will do that, in depth, by pointing out different aspects of the Stump Art, explaining each part and how it fits in the bigger whole of their imagination. And, most important. . . they are hoping you will understand and see it too. I have also noticed that when one is explaining what they see, the others were really listening, and wanting to understand and see what was being explained to them. Because of that, viewing Stump Art with one or more folks can be a heartwarming activity. Stump Art photos WILL start a conversation between friends and strangers. Some may see more than one thing in a Stump Art after hearing what others see and some will not. And some people do not see anything but a bunch of tree stuff piled up. However, it can be very engrossing, mind bending and eye opening.

Because of the above I do not name each Stump Art photograph. I would much rather spark the viewers imagination, allowing their ‘minds-eye’ go to work making it something that may or may not be familiar to them. Viewers may not realize it but through pointing and discussing the different aspects of what they see and what others see, they have, actually, established a sort of relationship with Stump Art. What photographer/designer would not want that?

My Stump Art photos have been bought for use on t-shirts, bags even had one done on a coffee cup. They are liked by the ‘outdoorsy’ type, folks who like trailing and camping, canoeing and kayaking or any sort of outdoor activity. And teenagers really like them because it is possible to get one nobody else has. They make great presents because no two are alike, nowhere near alike!


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