Fiddlehead Sough Usher

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stop in the woods on a windy day, become still inside, and the sough—the rushing sound of wind blowing through trees—becomes a chaotic symphony. This nature spirit guides the sough, makes music of it whether or not anyone is there to listen.

At 5 feet tall and 3 feet wide, it’s the largest and most complex so far in the Spiritus Naturalis series.

 

 

Fiddlehead Sough Usher is also the first wall piece and the first to contain a found object—the fiddle.

Which was stripped down and taken in a more organic direction: the tuning pegs became leaves; the strings are wild and fluid; the straight bow was replaced with a curving tendril; its surface looks like translucent leaves in a tree canopy.

 

 

 

 

The paper skin of the trunk has earthier coloration, while the branches flowing down and away have a feeling of wind and sky. The tendrils—the sound element—are more densely colored, punctuated and rhythmic.