Author: Todd Smith

Hi! I am an interdisciplinary artist and committed educator. From 2007-2010 I climbed a tree everyday and documented the project with photography, video and writing on this blog. I am revisiting the trees and writing again starting March 2018. Stay tuned. My work considers our collective impact on the urban environment. Projects range from community-based, data-driven projects interpreting bike usage into sound, photography and video series exploring human movement through urban structures and green spaces, and interactive sculptures that vary in their use of found materials, analog technologies, and emerging digital media. I currently teach a variety of 2D, 3D and digital subjects at universities in the Louisville, Kentucky area.
Posted on

DAY 48


DAY 48
05.22.07
TREE 54

The day got away from me today. I was rejuvenating my creative force with a different form of expression: music. It felt good to play the guitar and sing a little. But, before I knew it was past 10 PM. So I slipped out of the house and picked a thickly branched tree right off the main drive. It was pretty dark, and by the touch, I could tell this was rough with bark and growth. Getting up wasn’t difficult but I didn’t get too high. It didn’t help that I got a bite on my hand. Probably an ant, but it really gave me the jibblies. I was a little nervous about getting too personal with this tree, and with no light, I didn’t risk going too high. So, preoccupied with bugs, I scurried down as fast as I could.

5-22-08:  So, for those of you who don’t know, I make music.  In college I was in two bands.  I play guitar, bass, and drums, do a little singing poorly, but at least it’s all original.  Also, in college, I discovered the sound recorder on my laptop.  Then I discovered the function that speeds the sound up double.  It makes you sound like a chipmunk.  I got into that.  I have since made countless songs and a few videos.  That night, one year ago, I made some videos.  Please enjoy them at my Virb page:  http://www.virb.com/highspeedme

Yesterday after a long day of laying hardwood flooring I climbed a tree at Norman’s.  The sun was just setting and it was beautiful out.  Norman was fishing in the lake while I climbed.  Here is a picture of the sky and leaves:

And here is my attempt at a video log entry:
(tell me what you think…)