Wood
Hurricane Sally
Turned oak sculpture
2020
Artist statement
This piece was created from oak trees that fell on the artist’s property during Hurricane Sally, which made landfall on September 16, 2020, and caused major destruction along the Alabama coast. The work transforms storm damage into a meditation on loss, disruption, and resilience. Its turned wooden form carries the physical memory of trees that once stood as part of the landscape before being broken by the hurricane.
The non-concentric circular forms suggest the violent movement of wind, water, and debris, creating a sense of instability and fracture. Yet the piece also contains a quiet internal order. The rhythms of the wood, the repeated circular structure, and the carefully arranged surface elements suggest that even within destruction, patterns remain. In this way, the work becomes both a record of devastation and a reflection on renewal: what is broken can still be shaped into meaning.
