Richard Reames
Encyclopedia
Richard Reames is an American nurseryman, and author who lives and works in Williams, Oregon
. He coined the word "arborsculpture".
Richard Reames was born in 1957 and grew up near Santa Cruz, California
. Which was within 10 miles of Axel Erlandson
’ famed circus trees, known at that time as The Lost World. Richard went to the park but didn't remember the shaped trees rather he remembered the huge fiberglass dinosaurs.
Richard's mother showed him the value in having a vegetable garden and working with nature. This lead to Richard wanting to study botany and horticulture in college, but he rejected the structure of the educational establishment. He traveled the country either by hitchhiking or in a 1969 Chevy van for over a decade. Through out this time he worked as an itinerant landscaper. Richard states "I was ‘volunteer homeless.’ A real gypsy.”
He would meet a woman named Maya Many Moons in southwest Oregon at a community dance in 1991. They decide to settle down in Williams Oregon near the border of Klamath National Forest. They brought some land in cooperation with another couple. They had a daughter named Myray Reames and at the same time started building a home using dead standing logs and native stone for the foundation.
It was in 1993 the need to look after his new family and wanting to work in an area he loved, Richard had an epiphany inspired by Axel Erlandson's Trees. He started Arborsmith Studios, his tree nursery and art studio. He bends living trees using the arborsculpture process developed by himself. Also the horticultural
and arboricultural
techniques of, ring barking, approach grafting, pruning
, and framing, in various combinations, to craft functional items and artworks.
In 1995 he would self-publish the first of his two books How to Grow a Chair: The Art of Tree Trunk Topiary with Barbara Delbol co-authoring. He details his process of shaping trees to create a chair, benches and fences etc. He also coined the word arborsculpture to identify and describe a craft without a generic name.
In 2000, with the people of the town of Jōkōji, Japan, he and John Gathright planted 1100 trees, combined with the existing trees created the "Laughing Happy Tree Park," With a living tree house with living furniture. Most of the imported trees in this park were destroyed, by insect damage, then a typhoon hit creating further damage.
The few remaining trees where later moved to the Growing Village Pavilion at the World Expo 2005 in Nagakute, Aichi
, Japan
. This was organized by John Gathright who had since become the producer for the Growing Village Pavilion at the World Expo 2005
in Japan. Richard participated as a team member of the Growing Village pavilion at the World Expo 2005 in Nagakute, Aichi
, Japan
.
Also during 2005 Richard would self-publish his next book Arborsculpture: Solutions for a Small Planet, which talks about the history, some of the different practitioners in the field of Tree shaping and Richard's method of shaping trees into a chair.
Richard gives live demonstrations of bending and weaving a chair at garden shows, fairs and folk art festivals around America. and has lectured internationally on the process of arborsculpture.
Williams, Oregon
Williams is an unincorporated community in Josephine County, Oregon, United States.There were three different post offices in the area named for their proximity to Williams Creek: Williams, Williamsburg and Williams Creek...
. He coined the word "arborsculpture".
Biography
Santa Cruz, California
Santa Cruz is the county seat and largest city of Santa Cruz County, California in the US. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, Santa Cruz had a total population of 59,946...
. Which was within 10 miles of Axel Erlandson
Axel Erlandson
Axel Erlandson was a Swedish American farmer who shaped trees as a hobby, and opened a horticultural attraction in 1947 advertised as "See the World's Strangest Trees Here," and named "The Tree Circus."...
’ famed circus trees, known at that time as The Lost World. Richard went to the park but didn't remember the shaped trees rather he remembered the huge fiberglass dinosaurs.
Richard's mother showed him the value in having a vegetable garden and working with nature. This lead to Richard wanting to study botany and horticulture in college, but he rejected the structure of the educational establishment. He traveled the country either by hitchhiking or in a 1969 Chevy van for over a decade. Through out this time he worked as an itinerant landscaper. Richard states "I was ‘volunteer homeless.’ A real gypsy.”
He would meet a woman named Maya Many Moons in southwest Oregon at a community dance in 1991. They decide to settle down in Williams Oregon near the border of Klamath National Forest. They brought some land in cooperation with another couple. They had a daughter named Myray Reames and at the same time started building a home using dead standing logs and native stone for the foundation.
It was in 1993 the need to look after his new family and wanting to work in an area he loved, Richard had an epiphany inspired by Axel Erlandson's Trees. He started Arborsmith Studios, his tree nursery and art studio. He bends living trees using the arborsculpture process developed by himself. Also the horticultural
Horticulture
Horticulture is the industry and science of plant cultivation including the process of preparing soil for the planting of seeds, tubers, or cuttings. Horticulturists work and conduct research in the disciplines of plant propagation and cultivation, crop production, plant breeding and genetic...
and arboricultural
Arboriculture
Arboriculture is the cultivation, management, and study of individual trees, shrubs, vines, and other perennial woody plants. It is both a practice and a science....
techniques of, ring barking, approach grafting, pruning
Pruning
Pruning is a horticultural practice involving the selective removal of parts of a plant, such as branches, buds, or roots. Reasons to prune plants include deadwood removal, shaping , improving or maintaining health, reducing risk from falling branches, preparing nursery specimens for...
, and framing, in various combinations, to craft functional items and artworks.
In 1995 he would self-publish the first of his two books How to Grow a Chair: The Art of Tree Trunk Topiary with Barbara Delbol co-authoring. He details his process of shaping trees to create a chair, benches and fences etc. He also coined the word arborsculpture to identify and describe a craft without a generic name.
In 2000, with the people of the town of Jōkōji, Japan, he and John Gathright planted 1100 trees, combined with the existing trees created the "Laughing Happy Tree Park," With a living tree house with living furniture. Most of the imported trees in this park were destroyed, by insect damage, then a typhoon hit creating further damage.
The few remaining trees where later moved to the Growing Village Pavilion at the World Expo 2005 in Nagakute, Aichi
Aichi Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region. The region of Aichi is also known as the Tōkai region. The capital is Nagoya. It is the focus of the Chūkyō Metropolitan Area.- History :...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. This was organized by John Gathright who had since become the producer for the Growing Village Pavilion at the World Expo 2005
Expo 2005
Expo 2005 was the World's Fair held for 185 days between Friday, March 25 and Sunday, September 25, 2005, in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, east of the city of Nagoya. It was a Specialized International Exhibition under the scheme of the 1972 protocol of the Convention relating to International Exhibitions...
in Japan. Richard participated as a team member of the Growing Village pavilion at the World Expo 2005 in Nagakute, Aichi
Aichi Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region. The region of Aichi is also known as the Tōkai region. The capital is Nagoya. It is the focus of the Chūkyō Metropolitan Area.- History :...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
.
Also during 2005 Richard would self-publish his next book Arborsculpture: Solutions for a Small Planet, which talks about the history, some of the different practitioners in the field of Tree shaping and Richard's method of shaping trees into a chair.
Richard gives live demonstrations of bending and weaving a chair at garden shows, fairs and folk art festivals around America. and has lectured internationally on the process of arborsculpture.
Self published books
- How to Grow a Chair: The Art of Tree Trunk Topiary, with Barbara Delbol, 1995, Arborsmith Studios
- Arborsculpture: Solutions for a Small Planet, 2005, Arborsmith Studios
See also
- Arthur WiechulaArthur WiechulaArthur Wiechula was a German landscape engineer. His marriage to Lydia Lindnau, produced three children, Margarethe , Max and Ernst .He received the German Royal State Inventor's Honor Cross...
- BonsaiBonsaiis a Japanese art form using miniature trees grown in containers. Similar practices exist in other cultures, including the Chinese tradition of penjing from which the art originated, and the miniature living landscapes of Vietnamese hòn non bộ...
- EspalierEspalierEspalier is the horticultural and ancient agricultural practice of controlling woody plant growth by pruning and tying branches so that they grow into a flat plane, frequently in formal patterns, against a structure such as a wall, fence, or trellis, and also plants which have been shaped in this...
- Fab Tree HabFab Tree HabAs a direct contribution to building knowledge in the fields of architecture and urban design the Fab Tree Hab supposes ecology as the main driver for dwelling...
: Concept design of a Living Home. - Gilroy GardensGilroy GardensGilroy Gardens is a garden-themed family theme park in Gilroy, California and current location of the world-famous Circus Trees created by Axel Erlandson. It was founded by Michael and Claudia Bonfante after selling their Nob Hill Foods supermarket chain to build the park. The park was constructed...
: Home of Axel Erlandsons Circus Trees. - John KrubsackJohn KrubsackJohn Krubsack was a banker and naturalist from Embarrass, Wisconsin. He conceived, planted and shaped living trees to create the first known grown chair...
- PleachingPleachingPleaching is a technique to weave the branches of trees into a hedge or to form a quincunx. Commonly, deciduous trees are planted in lines, then pleached to form a flat plane on clear stems above the ground level. Branches are woven together and lightly tied...
- TopiaryTopiaryTopiary is the horticultural practice of training live perennial plants, by clipping the foliage and twigs of trees, shrubs and subshrubs to develop and maintain clearly defined shapes, perhaps geometric or fanciful; and the term also refers to plants which have been shaped in this way. It can be...