Elegy (for you & the cottonwoods)

Dedicated to my grandmother, Margaret Irene (Anderson) Christianson
July 28, 1924 - January 8, 2017

Accordion book consisting of gelatin silver prints, relief prints made from slabs & rounds cut from the felled cottonwood trees, Rives BFK paper, & Brillianta bookcloth. Housed in a clamshell case adorned with a cottonwood leaf monoprint.

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Sometime between 1878–1887, when North Dakota was still a territory, the first cottonwood seedlings took root on a particular quarter of land in Traill County. Despite floods and droughts, hailstorms and straight-line winds, the saplings persisted and flourished. They rose steadily higher and higher each year until they towered a hundred feet above the plains below. For 140 years, these giants served as a tree claim, a shelterbelt, and a source of timber for my great-grandparents. The cottonwoods were an indelible feature of the landscape, a commanding landmark for miles around. That 10-acre grove on our land was my forest, my refuge—a beacon amidst the never-ending fields of wheat, sugar beets, and corn.

When my grandmother died in 2017, my parents were released from an unspoken obligation to her:  to keep the farm the same. The following year, they had the whole stand of trees cleared to cultivate that spot with crops. In the long run, it would mean less work and more money for them. Although the trees had lived a long time, like Grandma, their longevity was cold comfort as I grieved for these missing touchstones in my life.

I wasn’t able to be with my grandmother when she died, so I felt as if I couldn’t fail the cottonwoods. I had to be there to witness their passing, to honor their legacy, to wish them farewell.  On July 30, 2018, I photographed the final eight trees as they crashed to earth. I promised the cottonwoods that they would be used well—the same pledge that medieval Chinese woodsmen made to trees they harvested.

Photographed, designed, printed, & bound on the farm in North Dakota & at my home studio in Oakland, California. Created over the course of six years, from 2018-2024. Produced with the support of an Artist Grant from the Center for Photographic Art.

Released on January 8, 2025, to mark the eighth year of Grandma Margaret’s passing. Printed as a limited edition of 9, one for each decade of her life, with 3 artist proofs. Bound with mauve bookcloth, her favorite color.

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Acknowledgments

This handmade artist book would not have been possible without a lot of help.  Special thanks to:

Buffalo Coulee Wood Products, for milling the cottonwoods logs into smaller slabs & rounds & drying everything in a solar kiln for three years
Copilot Designs, for planing the dried wood in their well-equipped shop
My parents, Dale & Rose, for letting me turn the barn & garage into printmaking studios & for lending a hand with the production
My nephew Trent & my niece Constance, for also helping out as printmaking assistants
Chandler O’Leary (Anagram Press) & Jessica Spring (Springtide Press), for providing technical advice & encouragement when making prints from a 6-foot slab of wood seemed like an impossible feat
Ann Jastrab & the Center for Photographic Art, for funding & exhibiting this project
Paul Donatelli, for producing & editing the video documentation

Ordering

For pricing and purchasing information, please contact me.

Behind the Scenes: The Making of Elegy