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Big Trees on the Bayou

November 16, 2013 by Charlie London

photos by Charlie London.

The items pictured below were found in the holes dug for the trees planted today.


oak-tree-on-bayou1

Restore The Bayou Canopy Tree Planting Ceremony

Hosted by MotherShip Foundation

ED TOUPS DONATES LARGE OAK TO BAYOU ST. JOHN
http://www.itbusinessnet.com/article/Largest-Live-Oak-Ever-Donated-to-New-Orleans-to-Be-Planted-On-Bayou-St-John-2918547

 

 

See the big tree planting this Saturday, November 16, 2013 at 10:00 a.m. on Bayou St. John at Orleans Avenue.

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tree-dedication-DavidMontana-poster-size-2013nov16

Big Chief David Montana, Chief over Bayou St. John helped celebrate the planting of several large oak trees on Bayou St. John.

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Earth, Wind and Fire were all invoked at today’s dedication of the new oak trees on Bayou St. John.

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Huge oak trees were planted on the bayou today (Nov. 15, 2013). Celebrate tomorrow at 10 a.m.

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: bayou, bayou boogaloo, bayou st john, faubourg st john, jared zeller, New Orleans, oak, trees

Bayou Boogaloo

May 15, 2013 by Charlie London


Sculpture taking shape. Lightning struck tree on Bayou St. John being transformed into local landmark. iPhone photo taken by Charlie Lonodn at 6:15 a.m. on May 14, 2013.

sculpture-2013may14-0600-CL

You can thank the Mothership Foundation which is the force behind the Bayou Boogaloo for contacting artist Martin Miller who made this happen. Jared Zeller is the Director.

***

The old dead oak on Bayou St. John is being transformed into a local landmark. Look for seagulls to be part of the sculpture soon!

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This sculpture by Martin Miller is a project of the Mothership Foundation which produces the Bayou Boogaloo. Jared Zeller is the Director.

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Work on the sculpture produced a lot of cut up oak logs and branches free for the taking!

Click on the photos by Charlie London for a larger view.

***
below by Doug MacCash

Friday’s endless rain didn’t help artist Marlin Miller. Miller, a Florida wood sculptor has begun carving a dead oak tree on Bayou St. John near Orleans Avenue. As of noon Saturday (May 11) Miller had transformed one branch of the tree into a flying egret. He plans to carve more birds, plus a few musical instruments into the tree in time for Bayou Boogaloo, which takes place May 17 to 19. Bad weather tightens his already tight schedule.

Though Miller and I had never met, I knew some of his work. Those wooden wildlife totems along the coast road leading to the Ohr-O’keefe Museum of Art in Biloxi are Miller’s. Since Hurricane Katrina, he’s specialized in chain sawing dead coastal trees into monumental statues.

Standing in the soupy grass beside the bayou, Miller said his art was part of a campaign, sponsored by Bayou Boogaloo, to restore the trees along the historic waterway. Miller said that his 30- ft. tree had been killed by lightening strike during Hurricane Isaac. As I left, Miller used a mechanical man lift to elevate himself into the lower limbs. The sound of a chainsaw rattled in the bayou breeze.

Stay tuned for project updates.

http://www.nola.com/arts/index.ssf/2013/05/sculptor_martin_miller_transfo.html

***

Chain saw artist Marlin Miller transforms tree for Bayou Boogaloo, New Orleans
Doug MacCash, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune
on May 13, 2013 at 11:34 AM, updated May 13, 2013 at 1:13 PM

I have a certain criteria and this tree right here just absolutely capped every one of my criteria — Marlin Miller

Wood chips flew like sparks as sculptor Marlin Miller used the tip of his roaring chain saw to carve feathers into the wings of an oaken seagull. As he worked, Miller stood in the basket of a yellow spiderlike mechanical lift – the sort of thing used to change street lamp bulbs. The coarse saw dust from his carving fell at least 30 feet before it settled on the damp grass beside Bayou St. John. On Sunday afternoon (May 12), Miller, who lives in Florida, had less than a week to finish his oak tree sculpture in time for the Mid-City Bayou Boogaloo, a neighborhood festival that takes place May 17-19.

Miller, wearing mirror glasses, hazard orange work pants and a T-shirt advertising the chain saw company that sponsors him, said he was born into an artistic family. His mother, grandfather and great-grandfather were painters, he said. But he was drawn to sculpture.

“I was always, like, three-dimensional,” he said. “I messed around with clay and wire sculpture and I got involved with wood and I just kept taking it to a higher and higher and bigger level. It’s what moves me.”

Miller said he has a thriving career selling portable wooden sculptures from several galleries, but producing monumental carvings from trees that remain deeply rooted in the earth is his passion. Since Hurricane Katrina in 2005, he said, he has had plenty of opportunities to transform trees killed by the storm and flood into sculpture. Anyone who’s traveled U.S. 90 through Biloxi, Miss., has seen his works rising from the median.

The tree Miller is carving on Bayou St. John did not die in 2005. It had survived the wind and water of Katrina, only to be killed by lightning during Hurricane Isaac in 2012. Money raised during the upcoming Bayou Boogaloo celebration will be used to plant more replacement oaks around the somewhat bare south end of the bayou – a few young trees already are in place. Calling in Miller to produce a carving from the remaining dead tree is meant to focus attention on the replanting.

“I get offers from all over the country many times a year,” he said. “I’m unfortunately not able to do most of the those projects. But I have a certain criteria and this tree right here just absolutely capped every one of my criteria. It’s got to be a big tree. It’s got to be an oak or a hard wood. It has to be on a public piece of property in a highly visual area, and the last thing it has to have is, it’s got to have some emotion. That’s this tree perfectly described.”

The emotion of the tree had to do with the history of the area in the distant and more recent past, Miller said. He had been told that almost 300 years ago, the bayou was the entryway for the French founders of New Orleans. He had been told that small boats used to move supplies along the waterway. He had been told that a helicopter had crashed not far from the tree during the 2005 flood evacuation. All true. Someone will certainly mention that the tree is a witness to the splendor of Mardi Gras Indians, who gather in its shadow for annual parades.

Miller said that other chain saw artists might have chosen to lop the large branches off of the top of the tree at the start of the project, using the massive trunk alone as raw material for a totem-like carving, but he wanted to “keep this sculpture looking like a tree.” To take advantage of the relatively narrow branches, he chose to carve delicate birds in flight.

“I decided to leave the branches (in place) and put in a lot of the birds that are indigenous to this area, the seagulls, the herons and the cranes and egrets, and a pelican. I think I might be able to sneak a little owl in there somewhere. And if I have time, I’m actually going to try to incorporate a school of trout in the base of the trunk.”

Miller said he had been told that the ecosystem of the bayou was changing since it had been better opened to Lake Pontchartrain, which raised the salt content of the water, possibly allowing trout to ply the waters.

Miller, whose face is perpetually coated in feathery wood residue, said the chain saw company that sponsors him covers his expenses, and he donates the art-making for free. The old oak, he said, is almost as hard as rock. He has 100 spare chain saw chains. His first day of work, Friday (May 10), had been completely rained out. He said he was blessed with a cool breeze and an overcast sky on the second day, as he stripped the tree of small branches. By Sunday, the sun was beginning to peek through the clouds, promising hot work ahead. The process is a labor of love.

“This is way too much work for money,” he said. “You have to have something way more powerful than money behind you to climb up a tree, 35 feet, and deal with these conditions.”

High in the branches of the tree, Miller petted the splintery surface of a diving gull as he explained that the coarse chain saw carving was only the beginning. Later, he would return to each bird, burning the carved lines with a torch to produce dramatic shadows. Then he would use a wood grinder to smooth the carving and brighten the surface of his enormous sculpture. He planned to varnish the entire tree and to treat the base with termite repellant to lengthen the life of the sculpture.

As Miller descended in the mechanical lift, a man appeared on the far side of the bayou, shouting and gesturing enthusiastically in his direction. When the man got close enough to be heard, he announced that he, too, was a chain saw operator, who had worked on construction sites across the city. The shouted conversation wasn’t about art; it was about the bond between chain saw aficionados everywhere.

Lots of people pass by the tree to offer Miller encouragement. Many, Miller said, recount their storm, flood and recovery experiences. Most probably appreciate Miller’s efforts to give the old oak a few more years.

“It makes me feel really good as an artist that maybe we can stick something out here that maybe people can reflect on.”

http://www.nola.com/arts/index.ssf/2013/05/chain_saw_artist_marlin_miller.html?fb_action_ids=10151615242019841&fb_action_types=og.likes&fb_ref=s%3DshowShareBarUI%3Ap%3Dfacebook-like&fb_source=aggregation&fb_aggregation_id=288381481237582

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: bayou, bayou oak, bayou st john, best neighborhood in New Orleans, faubourg st john, New Orleans, new orleans best neighborhood, oak, sculpture

Big Trees on the Bayou

November 16, 2012 by Charlie London



MotherShip Foundation, the nonprofit that presents The Mid-City Bayou Boogaloo, is announcing a new campaign to replace four live oak trees along Bayou St. John between Dumaine and Lafitte streets. Two live oaks were lost during Hurricane Katrina, while Hurricane Isaac has taken another two. These trees have provided shade and improved the quality of life for neighborhood residents for decades, if not centuries! They increase property values while adding to the picturesque view along Bayou St. John.

The MotherShip Foundation is seeking partnerships to help plant four new live oak trees and ensure that they are cared for properly. MotherShip hopes to plant sizable trees to fit the scale of the location. Initial plantings are expected to cost nearly $30,000. However, the job does not stop there. Parks and Parkways requires any tree planted in a public space to be covered by a service contract, which ensures proper watering and guarantees the trees for one year.

This is where we need your help. The service contract alone will exceed $10,000 in the first year. Our bayou’s landscape needs your help to keep these trees watered, pruned, and cared for in times of inclement weather. Rather than spending time and resources trying to find new sponsors every year, MotherShip Foundation is hoping for neighborhood leaders to step up to this call and become long-term Tree Sponsors.

Tree Sponsors will receive an engraved plaque placed near the trunk of the tree and can choose to have their own name or business name engraved, or they can dedicate the trees to a loved one or a meaningful cause. All Tree Sponsors will also be acknowledged in all press releases and at a formal tree dedication ceremony, which will be held in the spring of 2013. Sponsorship levels are as follows:

Ranger $5000 and Up

300 gallon live oak tree
6 VIP credentials during Bayou Boogaloo 2013
Exclusive tree sponsorship to include a permanent engraved plaque near tree
Inclusion in all press releases and promotional materials
Invitation and speaking opportunity at tree dedication event in spring of 2013
Maintenance and watering contract for one year
Stage mentions during Bayou Boogaloo 2013

Farmer $3,000 – $4,999
300 gallon live oak tree
4 VIP credentials during Bayou Boogaloo 2013
Invitation to tree dedication event in spring of 2013
Shared tree sponsorship to include a permanent engraved plaque near tree
Maintenance and watering contract for one year

Gardener $1,500 – $2,999
100 gallon Bald or Pond Cypress
2 VIP credentials during Bayou Boogaloo 2013
Engraved plaque near tree
Invitation to tree dedication event in spring of 2013
Maintenance and watering contract for one year

If you have ever felt the magic of an afternoon walk, canoe trip, or sunset gathering along Bayou St. John, then please consider making this tax-deductible donation and becoming an active part in preserving this pristine piece of nature in the heart of our city. This is your opportunity to be a part of the magic!

Faubourg St. John

Where Big Dreams Grow!

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: bayou, bayou boogaloo, bayou st john, best, big, eclectic, faubourg st john, foundation, jared zeller, live oak, mothership, mothership connection, mothership foundation, neighborhood, New Orleans, oak, oaks, parliament, tree, trees

Restoring the Bayou Canopy

October 1, 2012 by Charlie London

by Jared Zeller

The MotherShip Foundation announces a new campaign to replace four live oak trees along Bayou St. John between Dumaine and Lafitte streets this fall.

Two live oaks were lost during Hurricane Katrina while Isaac has taken another two. These live oaks as well as the former cypress forest have provided shade and improved the quality of New Orleans residents for decades, if not centuries.

The MotherShip Foundation is seeking partnerships to help accomplish this mission. Preliminary projections have put the project at nearly $30,000. The Department of Parks and Parkways encourages maintenance agreements on any tree planted in a public space. The service contract ensures proper watering and guarantees the trees for one year. Planting of 300 gallon trees is proposed to fit the scale of the location. Trees may be dedicated or sponsored by businesses and individuals. Tree sponsors will receive an engraved plaque placed near the trunk.

Why Trees are Important to the Urban Landscape:
Community Benefits | Environmental Benefits | Economic Benefits | Social Benefits

Trees add beauty and character to our cities
Trees provide us with color, flowers and beautiful shapes
Trees soften the harshness and angular look of city streets
Trees give us privacy
Trees, like all green plants, use carbon dioxide and convert and release life giving oxygen.
Trees can screen and unpleasant view
Trees enhance a beautiful view
Trees slow down or divert strong winds
Trees can increase property values
Trees provide jobs
Trees inspire us
Trees cool through transpiration
Trees provide an oasis where family and friends may gather
Trees increase pride in the local community
Trees are natural air conditioners.
Trees help clean the air by trapping dirt, grit and dust, and by absorbing other pollutants
Trees provide habitats and food for birds and other urban wildlife

To sponsor a tree or get involved in the project, e-mail jared@mothershipfoundation.org.

Your support helps us continue the mission to encourage social change by improving the quality of life in New Orleans through the promotion of arts, culture, and recreation.

Updates about the progress of the project will be sent out monthly.

Sincerely,
–The Team at MotherShip

Filed Under: Featured, HISTORY Tagged With: bayou, bayou st john, best, eclectic, faubourg, faubourg st john, neighborhood, New Orleans, oak, tree, tree trooper, trees

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