Ephemeral Project

This was my inspiration: new life being created on a dead twig.

I started a hike and noticed the caterpillars almost immediately.

I was completely blown away and breathless at its amazing beauty.

I decided that I wanted to create new life on something no longer living.

So I began collecting flowers.

I carefully placed them in the cracks and crevices of a fallen tree.

The flowers reminded me of the cocoon material.  Fluffy and delicate. 

I wanted them to look as if they were naturally sprouting out of the tree.

New life growing from death and decay.

Just as I have given the tree new life, the caterpillars will begin new lives as butterflies.

So, I transformed the tree from caterpillar into decorated butterfly.

The broken branches took new characteristics as I pinched flowers between them.

These spiny plants reminded me of the fuzzy caterpillar bodies. 

My hiking buddy told me about cairns.

Hikers stack piles of rocks, called cairns, to mark trails that may otherwise be hard to follow.

And so I made my own cairn.  I wanted to mark this new creation with a definitive symbol of exploration.