Portal

Tree: Myoperum, Santa Clara, CA

Height: 24 inches

Most people have not heard of myoperum; it is a large shrub used in commercial plantings in California because of its drought resistance. Its natural growth habit is as a clump, like oleander. But if one trunk is selected and the others kept pruned, a tree form can be obtained. The “tree” is allowed to form a crown of branches at about 6 feet high. The log for this sculpture apparently came from such a crown because the typical diameter of a myoperum tree is 10 inches. The arborist cut the crown branches close to the trunk and limited the size of the resulting sculpture. The piece is hollow like many of my sculptures because the inside of the starting log was rotten. I shaped the edges to expose internal grain, leave a natural edge that circles around the sculpture, and present interesting views from all directions. There are at least two ways this sculpture can stand on its edges.