Echoes of the Earth

This sculpture, composed of driftwood collected from the beaches of Santa Cruz, reflects on the quiet aftermath of environmental harm. Each fragment of wood once belonged to a living tree, now stripped, weathered, and carried to the shore — remnants of a forest undone. The work transforms these remains into a meditation on loss and consequence, symbolizing how driftwood itself is born from death. It stands as a reminder of humanity’s impact on the natural world, where even the beauty of what washes ashore carries the story of what has been destroyed.

The second piece incorporates found objects gathered from the same Santa Cruz beaches — fragments of trash, a broken mirror, foil wrappers, discarded masks, and gloves. Together, they form a reflection on the human role in the planet’s decline. The shattered mirror invites viewers to confront themselves within the debris, to see not only their own fractured image but also the fractured state of the world they’ve shaped. The presence of pandemic remnants — masks and gloves — underscores a moment when humanity was forced to face both its fragility and its impact. This work asks us to look closer, to recognize our part in the cycle of damage, and to imagine what healing might require.