Since my last post I have primarily continued research for the project!
Through this project I really want to convey a connection to and the beauty of nature. I have always found nature very comforting, and I think it makes you look at the bigger picture and just take a look around at the world.
During the last class session, Professor Joe Pasquale and I had a conversation about the poem "Trees" by Joyce Kilmer:
Kilmer, Joyce. "Trees." Poetry Foundation. Accessed April 3, 2023. https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poems/12744/trees.
I thought it was a really beautiful piece of writing about nature, and it led to a discussion about the Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest and old growth forests in general. As Professor Pasquale explained, old growth forests are forests that are essentially undisturbed, and contain trees that have been around for generations. I was able to do some additional reading on the forest here:
Forest Service. "Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest." U.S. Department of Agriculture. Accessed April 3, 2023. https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/nfsnc/recarea/?recid=48920.
Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest (Image from https://www.hikewnc.info/trailheads/joyce-kilmer-memorial-forest/)
After class I continued researching other old growth forests, and came across the Chattahoochee National Forest. The region never had its wood harvested and so some of the trees here were anywhere up to 600 years old. However, many of the hemlock trees died after an invasive insect began to spread.
(Above information from:
Seventko, Lindsay. "Discover 5 of America's Old Growth Forests." American Forests. Published June 16, 2016. https://www.americanforests.org/article/discover-5-of-americas-old-growth-forests/. )
Information on the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest:
Forest Service. "Home Page Overview." U.S. Department of Agriculture. Accessed April 4, 2023. https://www.fs.usda.gov/conf.
I plan to base my landscape on the imagery and types of trees you would see in the Chattahoochee National Forest. I think there is something really beautiful and powerful about the trees in a forest with old growth regions, such as this one. It is really amazing to think about how long some of these trees have been standing, and what the world looked like when they first began to grow. The region called the Chattahoochee River Headwaters still has many old growth trees, however there are new trees as well. The tree types for the old growth include:
Tulip Trees (up to 16 feet wide)
White Oak (up to 12 feet wide)
Chestnut Oak (up to 12 feet wide)
Northern Red Oak (up to 12 feet wide)
Some of these trees are at least 200 years old. There are also several other types of trees in this region such as:
Red Hickory
Black Gum
Red Maple
(Above information from:
Old Growth Forest Network. "Chattahoochee River Headwaters - Mark Trail Wilderness - Chattahoochee National Forest." Old Growth Forest Network. Accessed April 4, 2023. https://www.oldgrowthforest.net/ga-chattahoochee-headwaters-mark-trail-wilderness-chattahoochee-national-forest. )
(Images from https://www.oldgrowthforest.net/ga-chattahoochee-headwaters-mark-trail-wilderness-chattahoochee-national-forest)
Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest Blue Ridge District (Image from https://peakvisor.com/park/chattahoochee-oconee-national-forest-blue-ridge-district.html)
Chattahoochee National Forest (Image from https://flickr.com/photos/billboard3/5140152443/in/photolist-8QdCeZ-7jmMUQ-GGuJna-9x4pa3-sx2Xte-L6rDYu-8S5K6u-8SevKC-8S5xN9-8S2Cw2-8S5FSE-8S5G57-8S2zVK-8S2yUP-8Sbq8B-8S2Ckk-8Sew37-8S2CVv-8S5Kuw-8S5H1o-8S5J9q-8S5F3C-WeESdS-Vg6skV-Vg6sCi-sdBxre)
I also conducted some research on Temperate Deciduous Forests in general as a secondary reference point. These two resources gave great foundational information, including more information on types of trees commonly found:
NASA. "Temperate Deciduous Forest." NASA Earth Observatory. Accessed April 4, 2023. https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/biome/biotemperate.php.
Amsel, Sheri. "Deciduous Forests." Exploring Nature Educational Resource. Accessed April 4, 2023. https://www.exploringnature.org/db/view/Deciduous-Forests.
Additional Chattahoochee National Forest Reference from Getty Images
All of these sources from the last several posts have been extremely helpful. Besides the points I specifically mentioned, each source had information that was great to read through and will greatly help in general as reference and research to refer back to as I move forward building my scene.
I also began a rough previs layout for the scene based on my previous sketch and composition reference. I need to go back and correct the scale and proportions. I also plan to add a small bench somewhere in the scene, as a sort of invitation to sit down and take in the natural scenery around you.
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