Filed under: Art Gallery | Tags: fairy tale, lisa toboz, penn avenue unblurred, pine forest, self portrait, youngstown
Borrowing the title of a mystery novel, In the Woods chronicles my ongoing obsession with fairy tale-worlds. Years ago when I taught ESL to Bosnian refugees, one of my students described a forest as ‘deep trees.’ My breath caught when she said it. The literal translation from the Bosnian evokes images of serenity or fear, of hard rains or soft snow, of being hidden by a canopy of trees so thick you can’t hear your footsteps, just the sound of your breathing.
I found the place for this project by accident. Originally I went to see a garden in Youngstown featuring the Iron Curtain stations of the cross, but the symmetrical rows of pine trees captured me. It was like walking into a giant storybook, waiting for me to fill its pages.
October Unblurred on Penn Avenue.
through the trees
ghost children
test shot: tree-stump tripod, 10-second timer
in flight
wandering/wondering
deep trees
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I love the phrase “deep trees”; thank you for explaining the origin. I am no linguist, but I love the way a phrase from a different language can unlock concepts that are otherwise inexpressible.
Comment by eyegillian October 7, 2010 @ 12:06 PMI do too — I love literal translations of English as well. It helps me to see what is otherwise an ordinary word in a completely different way. It humbles my knowledge of what I think I know so well (English), seeing it from the outside.
Comment by Lisa October 10, 2010 @ 9:05 AMXO!!!
Comment by jeff October 4, 2010 @ 2:04 PMI wish you were there with me that day – you would have loved the woods there.
Comment by Lisa October 4, 2010 @ 2:35 PMwoo woo–love it as usual!
Comment by kim rullo October 1, 2010 @ 10:06 AMthank, kimmy!
Comment by Lisa October 1, 2010 @ 10:32 AMthank you! i’m a little sad when people view the photo as being more ominous than I had intended. but capturing that shot at just the right moment made me pretty happy.
Comment by Lisa October 1, 2010 @ 9:05 AMI love the “in flight” shot! amazing!
Comment by Allegheny Eats October 1, 2010 @ 7:41 AM