This tree has many stories to tell and a
curious boy who is eager to listen. Do
you see him on the left side looking up
as he sees a magical new world reflecting
the awe and wonder of childhood. I look
for images in trees that produce a piece
that when rotated will reveal new images
to project what you see. I purchased several
bark and rock art pieces in my series, “Every
Tree Tells a Story.” The images are very
clear and I enjoy the process of finding
the “hidden pictures” with the enthusiasm
I experienced as a child. It is more fun when
I play my “what do you see in this picture”
with another person. The boy with red hair
is looking up in wonder like Alice in Wonderland
after falling down the hole to encounter
many unusual creatures. Dorothy in the
Wizard of Oz met her unique companions
as they traveled the yellow brick road
to the land of Oz. Children’s imaginations
are fertile and it is wonderful to see parents
who plant the seeds and watch their children’s
imagination blossom hoping they will never
lose the freedom to explore otherworldly
places to encourage their creative intelligence.

Shel Silverstein wrote several books including
the popular “The Giving Tree” that delight
and amuse children and adults.
Shel’s first collection of poems and drawings, “Where the Sidewalk Ends,” appeared in 1974.
This charming book opens with this invitation:
“If you are a dreamer, come in. If you are a dreamer, a wisher, a liar, a hope-er, a pray-er,
a magic bean buyer . . . 
If you’re a pretender, come sit by my fire for we have some flax
golden tales to spin. 
Come in! 
Come in!

Shel invited children to dream and dare
to try the impossible, from making a hippopotamus sandwich to drawing the
longest nose in the world, to writing about eighteen flavors of ice cream and “Sarah
Cynthia Sylvia Stout who wouldn’t take the garbage out.”

With his second collection of poems and drawings, “A Light in the Attic,” in 1981, Shel asked his readers to turn the light on in their attics, to put something silly in the world,
and not to be discouraged by the Whatifs.
“Whatif
Last night, while I lay thinking here,
some whatifs crawled inside my ear
and
pranced and partied all night long
and sang
their same old Whatif song?” 
What if I’m
dumb in school? 
Whatif they’ve closed the swimming pool? 
Whatif I get beat up? 

Whatif there’s poison in my cup? . . .
Instead he urges children to catch the moon or invite a dinosaur to dinner — to have fun!

School Library Journal not surprisingly called
"A Light in the Attic “exuberant, raucous, rollicking, tender, and whimsical.” I have
read Shel’s books many times. I love
children’s books and have an
extensive library of children’s books
in my waiting room. Many times parents would
come early to read to their children fueling
their emotional and imaginative minds with
glee and laughter. Since his books are so
popular, the kids also loved reading to
their parents revealing their love for
poetic and imaginative literature. I have
paired several of my photographs with
many books I love that continue to be
classics today including “The Giving Tree,”
“The Velveteen Rabbit,” "The “Earth Sea
Trilogy,” and those listed in my photograph
“Lifetimes” that lists books for children who
have lost a parent, animal companion or
loved one. “Freddy the Leaf” and “The
Ten Good Things about Barney” are too
excellent examples of classics in the
literature on death and dying. I have
many more books for adults and children to
pair with my nature photography.

The images are best seen in the large
format to appreciate the icons in this
painterly abstract. Have fun and share
what you see in this tree story. When
I look at the piece again, I see many new
images that I did not notice before.
Viewing the photograph from different perspectives by rotating the photograph
will add to your projections. Do you see
animal faces in the center and bottom
center? This tree provided a lot of
material to share what you perceive.

Nikon DSRL D80
Macro Lens