I plan to create four wooden chairs using trees from the property where I live, and surrounding local forests. I intend to display these chairs at a community event on the Hudson River waterfront in the summer, and lead two interactive chair making workshops for community members.

I was inspired to do this project in this place because I have come to appreciate the forests where I live by regularly walking the land. I heat my house with wood from these forests, and spend time stacking billets every fall. When I find a good piece of firewood, I often set it aside in hopes of turning it into a piece of furniture one day.

As I stack wood, I feel particularly protective of the ash billets. Ash has been a prized tree for generations. Indigenous communities of this region have used ash for basket weaving and lacrosse sticks, and early European settlers used it to make long-lasting furniture. Unfortunately, due to the invasive emerald ash borer beetle, this tree won’t be in our forests for very much longer. In this project, I want to honor the ash tree by highlighting its beauty, strength, and traditional uses through chairmaking and by heightening community members’ awareness of this tree as well.