Seeing Blue
By Margaret Canavan
GITC Board Member, Galveston Co. Master Gardener
Courtesy: Galveston Daily News
“There are trees at Saengerfest Park?” That’s the comment we’ve heard repeatedly when describing the “Blue Tree” project coming to the heart of Galveston’s Downtown Cultural Arts District. There are indeed young Live Oak trees holding forth at Saengerfest! So the goal of the Blue Trees project is precisely to get people to notice what they may often take for granted.
On March 29 and 30 renowned artist Konstantin Dimopoulos and local volunteers will color the trees’ trunks with biologically-safe, water-based ultramarine mineral pigments. The vibrant shade of blue will create awareness of our native trees and the need to prepare for extreme weather conditions that may harm them. Dimopoulos elevates the role of trees lives from everyday landscape to objects of appreciation.
Our trees will gradually revert back to their natural state over a six-month period. But for a time, we will have remarkably blue trees which will stand out in Saengerfest Park where they are often unnoticed.
Dimopoulos states, “The Blue Trees takes an urban landscape with which you are familiar and changes it for a brief period of time so that it becomes something unfamiliar. We are creatures who like certainty, and we become disconcerted when our environment changes.”
His goal is to increase our awareness of the presence and value of trees, and to recognize the importance of protecting them worldwide.
Galveston’s Blue Trees is part of a larger endeavor. The work was recently a feature installation in the 2010/2011 Vancouver Biennale, Canada and has since then been recreated throughout the United States and New Zealand.
This project has come about through a partnership involving the Houston Arts Alliance, Galveston Island Tree Conservancy, Galveston Arts Center and the National Hotel Artist Lofts. Galveston’s project is being paid for by private funding/donations from GITC, GAC and NHAL. Additional funds for The Blue Trees in Galveston are made possible by the Galveston Park Board through funding from Hotel and Motel Tax Dollars generated from hotel guests visiting the Island.
For more information on the project see http://bluetreestexas.org/installation/
Hurricane Ike caused the loss of 40,000 trees on Galveston Island. The Galveston Island Tree Conservancy was formed to address that loss and to date has replaced almost 11,000 through grant-funded plantings and giveaways, with more planned.
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“Tree Stories” is an ongoing series of articles about island trees, tree care and tree issues. If you have or know of a special tree on Galveston Island that should be highlighted, email treesforgalveston@gmail.com. Margaret Canavan is a Galveston resident, a Galveston County Master Gardener, and a member of the Galveston Island Tree Conservancy Board.