No one knows
exactly how long the beech tree stood on the grounds of the
Memorial Art Gallery. For approximately 80 years, its
silhouette lengthened against the bricks of Cutler Union. It
braved snowstorms, sheltered picnics, and, for the last ten years,
it shaded Albert Paley's Millennium Bench. Eventually,
however, environmental stresses proved too much for the tree, and
it needed to come down. "It was a sad day for our department
and the MAG," says University of Rochester Grounds Manager Dan
Schied.
Hearing that
we were about to lose the old tree, Gallery Store manager Colleen
Griffin-Underhill put in a call to local artist Scott Sober, asking
if he was willing to make something from the trunk. Scott
arrived on the big day, ready to load the enormous cross-sections
of tree into his van.
Pictured is one of the beautiful bowls that Scott turned from
the wood he took that day. Bowls vary by size and
design. Please contact the Gallery Store for information
about other bowls and items from our rescued beech
wood.
