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.
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DAY 3

DAY 3
04.07.07
TREE 3

I drove to Seneca Park to climb a tree. The one I chose had many branches that started low on the trunk. Once in the tree I could tell many of the branches were dying and ready to break. I had to be very careful. When I stopped climbing I noticed many tiny holes in horizontal lines on numerous branches. I concluded that woodpeckers made them. I wanted to take a piece of bark with a hole in it, but could not succeed. The cold still lingers.

4-7-08: When I read what I wrote it sounds so matter of fact. 8 sentences of boring. I describe much more in future entries, it just takes me a while to get there. And the pictures too. On some of these first climbs I would snap one shot and leave. Now I take 15-30 shots for each climb.

I climbed yesterday. It was quite amazing and got me re-energized about continuing the project. I went up a small tree, climbed into a big tree, went down to the trunk and out another branch, then into another little tree and down. It made me realize how much I’d be missing if I stopped. There are so many trees out there, how can I ever stop?

If this is your first visit to my blog, welcome, and please view my post from April 4th for the introduction.

TS