A TREE GROWS IN FLORIDA

REPORT FROM THE LECTERN

back in september i was fortunate enough to be invited to speak about my work at the cornell fine arts museum at rollins college in winter park, FL. artist rachel simmons (whom you may remember from my time in scotland) is a professor at rollins and also happens to have a fantastic exhibition of her "wonders" work at the museum through the end of december. it was great to give my first talk on this work, and as an added bonus i was fortuitous enough to stumble upon another OLTW right in the area.

at the time i was fresh from my african and european marathon trip over the summer, so the passport-free jetblue flight from JFK to orlando was a piece of cake. (one of rachel's colleagues had asked her if i'd be ok finding my way on my own from the terminal out to the curb where i'd be picked up. i had to laugh.)


THE SENATOR TREE: 3,500 YEAR OLD BALD CYPRESS

if getting to florida was a piece of cake, visiting the senator was a cake walk. the following day rachel, her husband and daughter and i jumped in their minivan and drove to the big tree park where the senator lives. (the land, tree included, was donated to the county by a senator. between that and big tree park i'm getting the sense that folks are pretty literal around here.) a newly constructed boardwalk led from the parking lot to the tree a short way off. a 2,000 year old bald cypress, lady liberty, is just a little further down the path. i made some photographs and met up with my party who had made their way back to the playground in the parking lot.