Mark Ragonese

The forest woods have always been a place of shelter and refuge for me as well as a playground. In the woods I can be present with my own thoughts and imagination. I have been drawn to working with wood by the trees themselves. Old Masters of balance and form. My favorite woodwork usually still has leaves on it.

This work is really just a re-arrangement of wood as it is found naturally. Young flexible saplings applied like pencil lines on the landscape. Old driftwood given new form. The material itself carries with it the spirit of the forest, a warm sheltering spirit.

More often than not I build structures like these on site. Planted in the ground. As much as I  want each piece to be appreciated, the attention it draws to the larger landscape is what I hope for.  Topography and the architecture of landscape, the colors of things, shadows, and the quality of light, the trees and the spaces between the trees provide complete and perfect canvases. I try to add only a touch or two without taking anything away.woven branches

Outdoor work made with these materials will decay over time. Saplings can be expected last 2 or 3 years, driftwood will last much longer in most cases. Logs and wood that can be treated with a finish, still longer. Some are only intended to last the duration of a wedding or festival and then quietly disappear.

woven sculpture