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Living Willow Structures
- Gallery
I have been engaged in building living willow
installations since 2004. This work is an extension of my traditional
willow basketry, in which I have been involved for over 20 years.
I took several professional installation courses in England in
2005 and 2007. My installation work has been featured in the March
2006 issue of “House and Garden” magazine, the Fall/Winter
2006 issue of “Vogue Living” magazine and I was featured
in a Willow segment on the PBS TV Cultivating Life show in Spring
2009.
Living willow structures are a very exciting art form. They provide
immediate three-dimensional structure to an often void and boring
space. They can be used for function, contemplation, play, barrier
definition and sitting areas. They can be simple as in the form
of a fence or dome and as complex as the imagination with multi
level and height components designed around a site theme with
a large use of interconnected structures. Large willow rods are
pushed into the ground and then horizontal and diagonal willow
components are interwoven to make a very strong “fedge”
(fence/hedge). This building block can then be applied to living
fence, domes, arbors, tunnels and buildings. Growth of the structure
is immediate, providing a living classroom in school settings.
My work to date, includes:
| 1 |
2004. |
Willow Lodge (dome), Rogers Environmental Education
Center, Sherburne, NY; 8 feet by 8 feet. |
| 2 |
2004. |
Two living arches, Cornell Cooperative Extension grounds,
Norwich, NY; 15 feet by 5 feet. |
| 3 |
2004. |
Wee Willow Dome (dome and fedges), Riverside Park, Tunkhannock,
PA; 12 feet by 7 feet. |
| 4 |
2005. |
Installation at artist residence (interconnected fedges,
arch and dome), Norwich, NY; 20 feet by 20 feet. |
| 5 |
2005. |
Living fence and archway, Gwynedd Mercy Academy High School,
Gwynedd Valley, PA; 33 feet by 4 feet. |
| 6 |
2006. |
Outdoor Living Room and fedges and arch at private residence,
Amagansett, Long Island, NY; 14 feet by 14 feet and 35 feet
by 5 feet. |
| 7 |
2006. |
Living fence and arch, West Chester Friends School, West
Chester, PA; 33 feet by 6 feet. |
| 8 |
2007. |
Dome at the Susquehanna School, Binghamton, NY; 8 feet by
8 feet. |
| 9 |
2007. |
Living Cairn at private residence, Litchfield, CT; 13 feet
by 9 feet. |
| 10 |
2007. |
Installation at the Lake Erie Arboretum at Frontier, Erie,
PA with multi height interconnected components designed around
the “LEAF” motive. Involves sculpture, arches,
fedges and pathways. Funded by an Artist— and—Communities
grant from MAAF; 50 feet by 30 feet. |
| 11 |
2008. |
Living Penthouse Screen,
Private Residence, New York City; 52 linear feet. |
| 12 |
2008. |
Living Library Book, Guernsey Memorial Library, Norwich,
NY; 13.5 feet by 12.75 feet by 6 feet. |
| 13 |
2008. |
Two Living Pyramids (Cleopatra and Little Tut), Private
Residence, New Berlin, NY; 4 feet square by 7.5 feet and 2.75
feet square by 6.5 feet. |
| 14 |
2008. |
Eagle motif with living arch and two sloping wings, Gilbertsville-Mount
Upton Central School, Gilbertsville, NY; 25 feet by 11 feet. |
| 15 |
2008. |
Maze with two round turretted pathways and offset arches,
ArtQuest (Upper Catskill Community Council of the Arts), Wilber
Mansion, Oneonta, NY; 11 feet diameter by 6.5 feet. |
| 16 |
2008. |
Living memorial structure for Mr. Simpson consisting of
a star, moon walk, entrance arch and "S" walkway
plus flower beds, Chenango Bridge Elementary School, Chenango
Bridge, NY; 31 feet by 18 feet. |
| 17 |
2009. |
Two living (forced grown
in greenhouses) arches for the Central New York Flower Show,
Syracuse, NY; 8 feet by 4 feet. |
| 18 |
2009. |
A series of tiered double living fences, potted structures
and tunnel in the Willow Patch, Cazenovia, NY in conjuction
with SUNY-ESF and Cazenovia High School students; several
acres. |
| 19 |
2009. |
Capital "A" sculpture at Guilford Art Center,
Guilford, CT; 6 feet by 5 feet tall. |
| 20 |
2009. |
Living Arbor; The Country School, Madison, CT; 9 feet diameter
by 5 feet tall. |
| 21 |
2009. |
Several living arches at private residencies, Madison, CT;
each 5 feet by 4 feet approximately. |
| 22 |
2009. |
Two living domes at private residence, Long Island, NY;
each has 17 foot diameter. |
| 23 |
2010. |
The Living Tree 1 created for CNY Blooms Flower Show in Syracuse, NY; 8 feet in diameter at base, 16 feet at widest diameter and 13 feet tall. |
| 24 |
2010. |
Two tunnels (10 feet and 25 feet) and an 8 foot dome for the Children's Learning Center, Onondaga Community College, Syracuse, NY. |
| 25 |
2010. |
Living Willow Room at a private residence on Long Island; 18 feet by 9 feet and 8 feet tall. |
| 26 |
2010. |
Living Mustang (school emblem) for Morris Central School, Morris, NY; 30 feet by 22 feet. |
| 27 |
2011. |
Arbor at Otego Elementary School, Otego, NY; 12 feet wide by 6 feet tall. |
| 28 |
2011. |
Two living arches at Fayetteville Elementary School, Fayetteville, NY; each 5.5 feet wide and 7 feet tall. |
| 29 |
2011. |
Living Tunnel, Pierce's Park, Pier 5, Baltimore, MD; 47.5 feet long by 4.5 feet tall. (3 images) |
| 30 |
2012. |
Living Wall, Upper East Side, New York. 10 feet tall. |
| 31 |
2012. |
Butterfly Garden perimeter with two arches, Fayetteville Elementary School, Fayetteville, NY. |
| 32 |
2012. |
Arbor, OAOC (Otsego Area Occupational Center), Milford, NY. |
| 33 |
2012. |
Dome, Newark Valley High School, Newark Valley, NY. |
| 34 |
2012. |
Tunnel at Eden’s Mosaic development, Merrifield, VA. |
| 35 |
2012. |
Memorial Installation, SculptureFest 2012, Woodstock, VT 20 feet by 10 feet. |
| 36 |
2013. |
Living Walls, Sperryville, VA. 150 feet. |
| 37 |
2013. |
Tunnel, University of Chicago Lab Schools, Chicago, IL. 8 feet. |
| 38 |
2013. |
Garden Entrance, Andes Central School, Andes, New York. 15 feet. |
| 39 |
2015. |
Living Gazebo, Chicago, IL; 11.75 feet in diameter by 7 feet tall. |
| 40 |
2015. |
Living Enclosed Walkway with Tunnels and Dome, Cotuit, MA; 50 feet in length by 9 feet in width varies. |
| 41 |
2015. |
Living Duomo Shell Structure, Staten Island Children’s Museum, Staten Island, NY; 14 feet in diameter and 8 feet tall. |
| 42 |
2017. |
Bonnie Gale worked with the Olin Studio to create the willow structure, part of Herba Potentia for A/D/O’s Design Academy in Brooklyn, New York; 30 feet by 15 feet and 8 feet tall. Please see link for further information: https://www.theolinstudio.com/news/ |
| 43 |
2018. |
Living Willow Dreams structure, The Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum, Wausau, Wisconsin; 11 feet wide by 14 feet long. |
| 44 |
2019. |
Garden Folly, Private Residence, East Hampton, New York; 12 feet square by 9 feet tall. |
| 45 |
2020. |
Three Dome Structure and Maze (with a central monument), Auburn Permaculture Park, Auburn, New York; Dome is 24 feet by 24 feet and Maze is 33 feet by 49 feet. |
| 46 |
2021. |
Living Willow Chapel. Design is 36 feet wide by 99 feet long by 15 feet tall |
| 47 |
2022. |
A series of living willow arches for the Spring installation in the Channel Gardens at the Rockefeller Center, New York. |
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Erie
Installation 2007
In 2007, I was awarded a Mid Atlantic
Arts Foundation “Artist and Communities”
grant to engage in a large scale community living
willow installation, in conjunction with the Arts
Council of Erie and the Lake Erie Arboretum at Frontier
Park, Pennsylvania. Community groups were defined
and a series of public meetings followed where the
design of the installation was created. The design
uses the “leaf” shape which is also the
logo of the Lake Erie Arboretum, a partnering agency,
where the installation is located. The design involves
three heights of “leaf/leaves”; a central
12 foot sculptural monument, around which are a series
of radiating 6 foot arches in the leaf shape. These
arches open into 3 foot high double leaf walkways.
There are also radiating curved pathways to the exterior
of the installation which mirror the curve of the
nearby stream and the “Mother Willow Tree”
which is a central anchor in the park. The original
conceptual design was 50 feet square, but after “real
life” considerations, the installation size
was reduced to 50 feet by 30 feet. The community then
laid out and built the installation with live willow
rods. There was an unveiling ceremony in July. A community
pruning maintenance session occurred in September
2007.
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For further information about Living Willow Structures by Bonnie Gale, please visit her website, www.livingwillow.info.
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