50% of your purchase price will be donated to The Jane Goodall Foundation.

Title: “Potential”

Dimensions: 17.75" x 17.75"

Medium: Various woods

This work is an homage to the renowned primatologist, conservationist and incredible human being, Dr. Jane Goodall. As an inhabitant of this planet, I see Dr. Goodall's mission everywhere I go. I hear her voice when I am making choices at the grocery store. I recall her work when I teach my children to be stewards of the planet. I read and listen to her whenever the opportunity arises. In light of my gratitude, I created this artwork in her spirit for Earth Day, 2021 -- and with her recent passing, it is ever more important that we carry on with her mission.

Dr. Goodall absolutely loved trees, so I wanted to capture this moment of interspecies communication with wood alone. I chose fifteen different species of wood from around the world to shade Dr. Goodall and the chimpanzee, bringing them all together in a complex inlay to represent the interwoven nature of our planet. The woods have aged and changed color over time, just as our natural world continuously evolves. We are, after all, made from the same Earth as the trees themselves. The animals and the plants have the same fundamental need for balance and coexistence. Dr. Goodall's mission was to educate with experience, research and empathy. She practiced the same profound empathy with conservationists and climate change deniers alike. She communicated with humans and animals in the unique languages that they understand -- the languages of the head and of the heart. I borrowed the engraved quote on this artwork from Dr. Goodall's Masterclass: "It's only when we learn to operate with head and heart in harmony that we can achieve our true human potential." And now, her legacy is entirely up to us.

Availability: This artwork is available for in-person pickup in historic downtown Frederick, MD. Arrangements for hand delivery may be possible within 40 miles’ drive. Shipping is also available for a flat fee of $30.