Teaneck Creek Conservancy
Meant as a celebratory twist on tree labeling, these zinc etching plates give voice to the highly active nature of our trees. “So often people tend to overlook trees, taking their obvious rootedness as passivity, when trees are really super-active: engaged in purifying air, cycling countless gallons of water and contributing in fundamental ways to life on earth both physically, spiritually and to our emotional well being.”
Teaneck Creek Conservancy artist in residence, Rick Mills wanted a collaborative project that could involve his Long Island University printmaking students along with local students. The project at the Conservancy involved more than 80 fourth graders in Dolly Bohnert's art classes at Hawthorne Elementary School in Teaneck. The children did research on the tree species on site and made the artwork that was transferred onto photo-etching plates at the C. W. Post Printmaking Workshop at LIU More than 31 plates were installed during the Spring of 2006 and will serve as a focal point for walks and talks about the changing nature of tree species at the Conservancy.