While making this, I was thinking about the way leaves look when they fall. From a certain point of view, the overlap of leaves can look like they are cutting through each other. This was the look I was attempting to capture. I am fascinated by the way ginkgo leafs naturally curve and bend. I was interested in how I could use different laser cuts and patterns to emulate this curve. This is all a part of my exploration of the gingko leaf structure and life cycle.

My piece is an exploration of the ginkgo leaf. While making this, I was thinking about the way leaves look when they fall. From a certain point of view, the overlap of leaves can look like they are cutting through each other. What if when leaves fell, they also fell right through each other? And what would that look like when they began to pile up? This was the look I was attempting to capture. I am fascinated by the way these leafs naturally curve and bend. I was interested in how I could use different laser cuts and patterns to emulate this curve. It was experimental and intriguing to see what patterns and laser cuts allowed the board to bend the most. 

These patterns speak to the structure of the leaves but also the life cycle of them. Decay is shown through the ovals cut clean through the taskboard. I remember finding a leaf that had lost its entire “skin” and was left with just the vein structure many years ago on a camping trip. This helped me realize what a important role the veins play in the structure of leaves. It also made me think about how a forest is a place were growth and decay are two living things working together at the same time. 

Ginkgos are special trees to me. They are tall, old trees, that can live for hundreds of years. This is especially important to me as I grew up in a neighborhood where many of the trees are not more than 50 years old. Many were swept away by disease, lost in a tornado in the ‘90s, and cut down by DTE Energy company. A new ginkgo tree was planted outside of my home just last year, and I have loved watching it grow and see the leaves turn yellow in the fall and decorate the concrete sidewalk.