I got this strip of Birch bark while hiking in upstate New York, in the middle of a road trip that took me from home in St. Louis to Montreal and back.
It was a trip I took to gain some clarity over my life after leaving my boyfriend of five years. I had been making so many sacrifices and given up so much of what I wanted, I was long over due to get reacquainted with who I am and who I wanted to be or be with. And I never feel more like myself than when I’m traveling--particularly on the road.
This was nearly four years ago, and I’ve been holding onto the bark since then, too worried to ruin the only piece I had, even though I knew what I wanted to do. I’m about to leave for the Summer, starting with another long, eastward drive, so it finally felt like the time.
I call this “driving into the sunrise”, hopefully the fact that most of the drive was eastward will excuse the cheesiness of the metaphor. All lines but the road and car were created by the natural peeling of the bark, I only applied a little chalk pastel color to imply the landscape/sun.
