Remnant Series: Birchbark Pieces
Remnant Series
left: Remnant I
10 1/2" x 6" x 2 1/2"
pochôir,oil paint, tempera on birchbark
2012
rem·nant
noun a small remaining quantity of something
a surviving trace: a remnant of the past
These pieces incorporate birchbark harvested from fallen trees in the woods near my studio in New Hampshire.
About Birch Bark:
The White Birch Tree (Betula papyrifera) is also known as Canoe Birch or Paper Birch. Native Americans of the Eastern Woodlands made extensive use of the white birch. All parts of this tree had practical uses pertaining to travel, fuel, shelter, tools and sustenance. This includes canoes, lodges and wigwams, moose calls for hunting, storage containers, makuks, dishes and bowls for carrying berries, water, wild rice etc., Birch bark is quick to burn and was used as a fire starter, the sap tapped for drinking and medicinal purposes. Scrolls of birch bark were inscribed with pictographic writing and handed down from generation to generation.