The first time I made a basket from fiber materials, I was 10 years old.
40 years later, I re-discovered that this ancient practice was for me! Since then, I’ve had a vision to use organic materials to make sculpture.

Currently, I’m working on a tree series

I’ve always loved trees, and am forever singing to them, touching them, and honoring them. Sadly, these magnificent beings are disappearing at an alarming rate both from deforestation as well as climate change.

My first sculpture is called Maitree: the Mother Tree.

Maitri is a Buddhist practice of embodying loving-kindness, and an open hearted friendliness for all sentient beings. (I took this Sanskrit and Pali word and simply altered the spelling)

This idea of loving-kindness is the archetypal essence of the Mother. Trees do this too. They embody loving-kindness with their silent generosity. They freely offer oxygen, shade, fruit, habitat, and wood to all of us, while asking nothing in return.

I added totemic imagery to her trunk to symbolize the totality of creation.

shakti sutriasa beading on woven tree.jpeg

shakti sutriasa tree with beaded leaves.jpeg

shakti sutriasa tree sculpture-Maitree.jpeg

shakti sutriasa woven sculpture tree Maitree.jpeg

shakti sutriasa woven sculpture Maitree.jpeg

shakti sutriasa woven sculpture tree.jpeg

shakti sutriasa woven and beaded sculpture.jpeg

beaded piece on maitree - shakti sutriasa.jpeg

beaded piece on maitree sculpture -shakti sutriasa.jpeg

base of maitree woven sculpture - shakti sutriasa.jpeg

shakti sutriasa cedar base of woven sculpture.jpeg

shakti sutriasa base of woven sculpture.jpeg

shakti sutriasa trunk of woven sculpture.jpeg

shakti sutriasa tree sculptree called Maitree.jpeg

shakti sutriasa beading on woven sculpture.jpeg

shakti sutriasa sculpture of Maitree.jpeg

shakti sutirasa cedar base of sculpture.jpeg

shakti sutriasa using cedar for sculpture base.jpeg

shakti sutriasa base of tree sculpture.jpeg

I’m currently weaving a second tree, whose working title is Tree-thedral

With this sculpture, I’m exploring two ideas. The first is that old-growth groves of trees feel holy. If you have ever had the opportunity to be in one, you know. They are natural church spaces.

Additionally, many of the Gothic and Romanesque cathedrals of Europe were built using old-growth trees, most of which no longer exist. This became glaringly obvious after the 2019 fire in the Notre Dame cathedral in Paris.

Here’s what the sculpture looks like so far.

My goal with the tree series is to celebrate the magnificence of these silent sacred beings that grace our world, and to help remind us that these ancient beings- many which have been here far longer than us- deserve our admiration, respect and support.