Eien no inochi - Perpetual Existence

Shedd Farley and Caroline Tu Farley

Because this year’s environmental art project was titled “Earth Dance”, our intent was to show motion, grace and beauty in our work. We wanted it to be simple but to also have a meaningful visual impact.

We chose a spot among a grove of shagbark hickories, which naturally gave us the parameters and perimeter of the project. The materials for the construction were all gathered from the Farley Center and Natural Path Sanctuary grounds, consisting of short stumps cut from logs and used as pedestals for the selection of small branches that we cut from fallen trees. The stumps were arranged in 2 rows forming a walkway from the meadow path to the grove of hickories, at which point they converge into a spiral path leading to the center of the grove. A hole was drilled in the top of many of the stumps, and a variety of branches were inserted vertically into the holes. We used various colors of milk paint to portray the intimate, glorious and gloomy facets of all the phases we experience in our lifetime. The stump at the center of the spiral became the base of the tallest and fullest of the branches, signifying the penultimate destination for all of life, and the beginning of our Perpetual Existence. And that is where we have chosen to be for our “E ien no inochi”

Shedd Farley: I am not an artist, at least not yet. I can, however, be creative on occasion and I worked on the premise that artistry is primarily a visual (in this case) representation of creativity.

Shedd is the Director of the Farley Center and Natural Path Sanctuary

Caroline Tu Farley: She has no previous art experience other than a Bob Ross afternoon workshop and going a few times to "Picasso and Wine" to paint a portrait in an evening workshop. She also loved art history classes in college and going to museums on a weekly basis when she lived in New York City. One of the things she likes most about the land art installations is that they always look different depending on whether you are looking at it in the morning or evening, the summer or fall or in sunshine or rain. It is also interesting to see how the bio degradable materials and natural dyes change over the course of a very short time - whether it is in the color or the texture of the materials. Now, full of ideas and enthusiasm to create instead of observe, Caroline was excited about working on an art installation with Shedd. They created their art installation in a special place - by the shag bark hickories where they will be laid to rest someday in the Natural Path Sanctuary.

Caroline is the Program Director at the Farley Center and is very familiar with the Environmental Land Art Exhibits as an organizer and an observer.