Helene felled countless trees across WNC, but local nonprofit Echoes of the Forest is turning them into memorials.
In the aftermath of the storm, the group’s founder, Liisa Andreassen, sought to make lasting tributes to the tragedy, connecting with local woodworkers to create art out of the fallen trees called “echoes.”
The group will unveil the first echo on Thursday, June 12, at 5 p.m. at Foundation Woodworks. Outside the Lyman Street tent, Chester Shuey of Appalachian Joinery will debut a bench from an 800-pound white oak salvaged from Helene’s wake. After initially learning about Echoes of the Forest, Shuey was immediately on board.
“It just felt like the right thing to do because these trees mean so much and so does our artist revitalization,” he said.
After the ceremony, The Radical will host a “meet the woodworkers” afterparty where a one-of-a-kind piece by esteemed Maggie Valley woodworker Mike Ayers will be raffled off. Buy a ticket for a chance to own the two-foot-tall mountain man carved from a fallen walnut tree.
The nonprofit is in talks to place future echoes in many other prominent or storm-affected locations throughout WNC, with 10 artists on board so far. The ultimate goal is to create a tree trail, marking each location with an artistic monument to the region’s resilience.
And just as recovery will take years, so will this project. Andreassen shared that the process of drying wood for indoor pieces can take up to two years. The echo being unveiled next week uses greenwood, which is expected to crack and change over time, but “that’s the beauty of it.”
For Andreassen, she hopes that the echoes not only serve to educate people about the impacts of climate disasters, but also give people a space to heal.
To stay in the know about echo unveilings, follow the nonprofit on social media. To support the artists creating the echoes, donate to the cause.
