Seeking Custodian For *The Cherish Tree Canvas* in Seattle

My parents, who have always been supportive of my path as an artist (by supportive I include inspiringly inquisitive and borderline challenging), are the owners of one of my largest canvases. The Cherish Tree debuted at Mary Swanson’s Art House in 2003, and has since manifested as an 8 foot sculpture that served as the centerpiece altar at the Health and Harmony Festival in Santa Rosa and later traveled to Burning Man.

After celebrating my dad’s 70th birthday here in Maui this last week, my parents informed me that they were packing up their storage box in Seattle and taking the last bits to their new home in Puerto Vallarta.

The Cherish Tree needs a temporary home in Seattle. A custodian if you will. This canvas is perhaps the most meaningful work of art to my name.

In 2002, I had my astrological chart read by Maniko Dadigan. In it, she opened my eyes and inspired me to many possibilities. The most lasting impression was a question she offered me.

The question was “What do you cherish?”.

I went on to travel to Europe with Shannon Danilovich. We were on a mission. We were keeping our bodies clean and saturating our spirits with rich art and culture. While in Amsterdam, we journeyed to the Van Gogh museum and I was vividly struck by his painting “Almond Blossom.”

We continued our travels south through Budapest, Prague, Istanbul and deep into the Southwest corner of Turkey, bordering Iraq. All the while, we journaled and meditated. For me the question persisted: What did I cherish? What did I hold most dear? What, if all else was laid bare, was I left with? The question itself became the answer– it somehow rose up as the most important question anyone could be asked.

While in Olympos, I sketched out a six foot by six foot canvas– modeled after Almond Blossom by Van Gogh. And I began to construct a letter to everyone I knew. In the letter, I asked them what they cherished.

When we returned to Oakland, I sent out the email to over 300 people.

I was rocked by the responses.

“What do you Cherish? What do you hold most dear? What inspires you? What do you wish to cultivate in yourself and the world?”

I opened the first email as a novelty. As I read it, I could feel my heart swell. The depth, honesty and openness of the responses moved me deeply. I hadn’t conceived that as a part of the process, that because I was to read each one, I was putting myself in a position which demanded the deepest part of me to listen.

It became a ritual for me to open the emails with full attention. Unfailingly, I was elevated out of my day-to-day life with each response I read.

[more]

If you move your mouse slowly over this image, you’ll find some of the samples are embedded in the flowers:

Mom and Dad are in Seattle for a short time unpacking their storage box. If you have a wall for The Cherish Tree, and would like to take care of this artwork, please let us know by posting a comment below.

For more details and to see the complete text of every submission received here… and feel free to note in the comments section: What you Cherish.

Tagged as: cherish tree