Wood Babies
MIT, Warm Wood Workshop
Collaborator: Lauren Gideonse
Instructor: Sheila Kennedy
2022
Objects
can act as conduit for event and intention and relation.
Objects
anchor and feed and create ritual.
Change
is reciprocal.
We
effect and are affected by the cycles, and troubles of the forest.
To
notice change requires repetition, habit.
A
little friction, a little discomfort, can heighten awareness.
A
physical response to an object can circumvent logic.
Familiarity
and associations of comfort with a place can motivate maintenance.
To
carry wooden objects back into the forest troubles an unproductive abstraction.
Moments
in the forest may call for difference in the characteristics of the object.
Duration
matters in the forest.
To spend time in the forest alters the care we afford to it
A
small group walks out into the forest, to stay for a while. They carry an
assortment of objects, some are recognizable:
Matches,
kindling, a camp kettle. A notebook, a pencil. And another set of wooden
objects which are less recognizable.
They
have taken this walk many times. Over the years the forest has changed; drought
has left the ground thirsty, clearings from loggers have opened new barren
openings.
As
they walk through the forest, the unrecognizable objects that are braced
against the body, become heavy. Hands hook under straps to ease the burden and
contact to the body is adjusted.
The
group arrives at a clearing by a stream. They set down their burdens and gather
somewood,
start a small fire. Each object holds a vessel. Water is heated and poured
inside.
Each
member of the group takes their object and finds a seat within the clearing.
The heat relieves while the wood supports. What was once a burden transforms to
comfort.
