Treehouses on the Brain- another one in the works.....
TREE HOUSE TAGGING? (in a "graffiti" sense) sketches coming soon- more scanner probs! sorry.
This wasn't/isn't really a planned project, and I was talking a little bit about it last night when interviewed for GardenFork Radio with Eric Rochow. Basically, for the eye-candy-sake of those passing by on my road, and in the on-par spirit, somewhat, of off-season Christmas lights, I started pecking away at the base for what will be an incredibly tiny, decorative (although I'll be able to fit in it) treehouse/treefort.
The view from below- DIRECTLY below. The platform, still in the works, sits about twenty feet off the ground- not that high, but still high enough to break your neck!
While clearing some sapplings and widow-makers/dead trees from the side of my tiny suburban lot (all of which will go to heat my home), I kept looking at this really unique scarlet oak tree that has taken on Dr. Seuss-like qualities over the years in its strife for light. Oak, being strong as all heck (even the dead tiny sappling branches on the tree were hard to snap and knock down) should provide ample strength for this little project, even given the cantilevering nature of this tree. Also, I figure, by trimming some less-healthy, and less productive limbs off the tree, I've taken away a little of the weight that this oak tree is used to carrying- so as to make way for the weight of ME and a tiny, tiny treehouse- one that will be more light-up sculpture than functional in anyway.
Oh yeah, its right at an intersection too....
The idea is partly from an article that NPR's Jon Kalish sent me a ways back in which some anonymous artist in NYC built two extremely mini treehouses (birdhouse sized) and installed them on some sidewalk sapplings by the cover of night. I thought, "What I great, fun, idea. Instead of graffiti as art, you could install these tiny treehouse and fort installations wherever- all for the public to view, and perhaps, draw some inspiration from." I would LOVE to see others do the same thing, and pass their photos around. This one random NYC guy inspired me to mess with this idea on a tangent level- so you never know where else we could take this! In the meantime, I'm just doing this for fun, and to give all the elementary school commuters, day and nighttime walkers, and passersby, something to gawk at.
I've had so many kids pass by my yard and comment positively on some of the cabins I've had out there (while being loaded for transport), that I hope something like this might inspire one of them and show them that carpentry can be adventurous, and easily accessible. There's more to life than video games and childhood obesity from inactivity.
You can barely make out the platform here, but it gives you a sense of how close to the sidewalk it is. It'll be comical to sit up there and read a book, drink some coffee, and relax, and people, unaware, walk by below.
Speaking of treehouses, yup, there are many designs in the new edition of "Humble Homes, Simple Shacks"- and a few in the color photo gallery, from my brother's "U.B. 30" tree-sleeper, to one Harrison Reynolds built, that operates as a bnb in Lincoln, Vermont (See the video below...)
