MEDIA ROOTS – Coming from the Northwest, I was exposed to Native American totem poles early in childhood. I always loved the caricatures of beasts, man and gods; bold cuts into monolithic tree trunks with colorful paint made these sculptures come alive.

My own ‘totem’ pole, “Tree of Life” draws its inspiration from our country’s caretakers before us. I wanted to capture the thorny, the soft, the grotesque and the beautiful sentiments that make our world. From an atom in the womb, to the infinitesimal speck of existence exiting above, one travels through life feeling comfort, heart break, strength and fragility and during this transit, complexities and the unknown surround us.

By Rick Pickett