Up In The Trees is a permanent installation commissioned by the Children’s Discovery Museum of San Jose highlighting different trees and animals that inhabit the Santee neighborhood community. Hanging throughout the space you will see goldfinches flying by a London plane tree, squirrels snacking next to a ginkgo leaf, a raccoon hiding between cottonwood leaves, a silkworm ready to munch on a mulberry leaf and monarch butteries smiling from behind clusters of eucalyptus leaves. The paper animals are based on collaborative graphite drawings between 4 yr old Mabel O’Hara-Hardy and me.

All of the hanging animals and leaves are handmade paper composed of pulp from different colored, used, 100% cotton t-shirts. All of the colors are repurposed color. No additional pigments or dyes were used in this project.