Bark Art: Calgary & Boise?
After visiting the Basque Museum and Cultural Centre back in the spring of 2014, I have become intrigued by tree bark wherever I go.
Backstory: Idaho is home to one of the largest populations of Basques outside of Spain. Numbering around 30,000 today, they have inhabited the region since the mid to late 1800s, first coming for mining, then as shepherds. Today the Basque Block in downtown Boise, where the museum is located, is a must visit. It is in the Basque museum that I discovered "Arborglyphs," i.e. carvings on the bark of aspen trees that tell sheepherders stories and give a unique window into their solitary existence.
Link: Arborglyphs
Photo of Idaho Basque arborglyph.
Photo of Idaho Basque arborglyph.
This arborglyph was taken from Fisher Creek area of the Stanley basin, in the Sawtooth National Forest. It is an image of a church carved into the tree. It took about 20 years for this aspen tree to mature enough to reveal the carving when it was alive. The tree had been dead for a number of years when this section was removed for preservation. (museum notes). To me it looks like a angle or perhaps even a Thunderbird from North American indigenous culture.
Mother Nature's Art
Ever since my Boise visit I have been photographing interesting tree bark wherever I go. This summer while wandering the Redwood Meadows golf course (yes I often wander off the fairway) I have discovered some very interesting "bark art." Or at least that is what I call it.
Last Word
I love the textures, colours and sense of mystery that is evoked in each of these photographs. I am always amazed at what if find almost everyday by just looking for interesting and intriguing things.
If you are in the Boise area be sure to check out their downtown it is work a visit and if you do be sure to check out the Basque Block.
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