I was commissioned by the Design Lab at UCSD to create this musical installation to be exhibited at the Design Forward Summit that was held on June 16 + 17 at the Port Pavilion at the Broadway Pier on San Diego's waterfront. This installation, titled Swan River Peppermint, is comprised of ceramic planters functioning as bell tones, wood, and stands fabricated from steel tubing. The wood used in this installation came from an Agonis tree that was planted on Coronado Island 50 years ago by a husband and wife couple who were living there and had a piece of property. This couple were lifelong partners who were deeply in love. Some years after the husband passed away, this tree that held so many memories of their years of love and marriage, blew down in a windstorm. Beverly, the mans wife, in honoring the history of their love and relationship, had this tree cut up into sections and had been saving this memory-laden wood for someone to come and make an artwork with. A friend of mine, @scoresd, called me one day and told me that he knew a woman who had this really special wood that she wanted to donate to an artist to use for a project, and that I should go meet her and take a look at it. After meeting her and spending a few hours walking around her magical house and garden, I told her I planned to make a musical sculpture out of this wood, and left that day with this special Agonis tree wood, and a warm glow in my heart. 3 years passed since meeting Beverly, and when asked to make a musical installation/environment for the Design Summit being held across the water from Beverly's home on Coronado Island, I knew that it was finally time to build the musical installation from this wood I had been safe keeping for so long. Words cannot describe the depth of feeling and satisfaction I had to call Beverly 3 years later and invite her to come play and experience this musical sculpture, and to hear her say that this wood had been used beyond her wildest imagination. Thank you Beverly, Dmitri, and the universe for allowing me to envision a wholly new cycle for this magical wood. #designforwardsd #keenanhartsten #musicalsculpture (at Broadway Pier)
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