Illuminative Forest of Storytelling Trees

The Illuminative Forest is an exciting touring installation that uniquely explores aspects of the human experience through the whimsical lens of 'storytelling trees.' This culmination of work created by 20 contributing artists, is a wondrous experience of a multimedia forest, where trees introduce themselves and intrigue the viewer to become intimately engaged with their story.

It is the deep appreciation of the qualities of trees that lead artists Carl Hiebert and Deb Cripps to create the installation. Carl Hiebert has spent the last 3 decades photographing Canada's natural landscape, primarily from the sky. Deb Cripps sparked the idea of trees as storytellers. Trees are at the forefront of her childhood memories. As a little girl, growing up in rural Nova Scotia, trees were often her confidants and closest friends.

Resilience Tree is a spalted maple with black lines that reflect hardship. "Steel yourself until your hard-shell cracks open to the soft thing inside." - Resilience Tree