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Artists Jennifer Pretzeus, Joshua Willis, and Kent Swanson work in diverse media including encaustic, beeswax crayon rubbings, textiles, woodblock printing, and paper dying. Each artist explored the unique textures and patterns found in the trees, the river, and the wandering paths that comprise 4,300 acres of bosque running through the Albuquerque. The three met several times during the year to share experiences and find common threads in the work. The results capture the essence of a vanishing landscape, as the bosque is currently in a time of great change, with many of the grandest cottonwoods reaching the end of their life cycles.
Cottonwood trees require a flooding cycle to regenerate. Because of the construction of dams and the channelization of the Rio Grande, these majestic trees that are see today and that have dominated the Rio Grande Valley were last seeded naturally by flooding in the 1940s. A unique landscape that defines Albuquerque will evolve as this generation of trees mature and die.
However, continuous reforestation efforts by organizations such as the City of Albuquerque's Open Space Alliance and the Albuquerque Open Space Division are helping to ensure that the bosque, one of the largest riverside cottonwood forests in the world, will survive and thrive.
The Rio Grande provides a habitat for hundreds of species of plants, animals, fish, insects, and has been a magnet for human settlement for generations. The cottonwood is a symbol of this life and diversity. Truly it is a "Tree of Life."
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