This collection explores the ‘skin’ of the tree - the fissured layers of bark that serve to protect its inner workings. These pieces begin in situ by making rubbings of the tree's bark using graphite and paper. The image is then photocopied and printed, and applied to the canvas or board using a transfer medium. Each represents a moment in a tree’s history. The geographic coordinates are recorded, establishing a direct connection to the tree’s environment. (copy the coordinates into Google maps to locate the tree) Around four years ago, while sitting quietly contemplating and sketching in a favourite ‘Pinaleta’ (Pine grove) I took a simple ‘ rubbing’ using charcoal and paper, of the ground where I sat - it produced a beautiful pattern - an impression. The impression revealed the delicate scalloped edges of shells, sitting in amongst the ridges and the fine fan-like patterns of the fallen pine needles. It seemed to tell the story of the place. I looked up then at the pine trees that rose up around me and thought about the stories they could tell. And so the first bark impression was made. I wanted to incorporate them somehow into my work. I tried using them as a layer - a background to a painting, but they would disappear and, though I would know they were there and telling a story, they were hidden. After much experimenting I realised that these beautiful impressions, each one unique to each individual tree, needed the space to tell their stories - not to be covered up or manipulated in some way. Creatively, it is a fragile, unpredictable process, not always successful, many get discarded. But when it does work, it’s quite magical. A journey from the physical connection with the tree and the process of making the original bark rubbing , through, scanners, and copies, and transfer mediums, finding the perfect surface and colour, until finally the trees story appears -almost as three dimensional landscapes, not previously noticed - scars and contours, suggesting rivulets and pathways - a moment in a tree’s history. The resulting impressions are each unique, they are a record of and a homage to a specific tree and as such, I felt it important to acknowledge their place in the world. Each time I make a rubbing I make a note of the tree’s geographical coordinates, and these are then recorded on the final artwork. In this way establishing a direct connection to the tree’s location and creating a memory of the area. And so, for me, they not only make a really beautiful interior design feature for the walls in our lives, below the surface they also hold quiet stories, and a tangible connection to the environment. Originally only focused on the local pines, the series has now grown to include other trees meaningful to the region, and beyond - now including a selection of impressions collected from a recent trip to England. The collection will be gradually added to to create a whole forest family.