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The environment that is Haverford
extends beyond academic walls to a landscape that is as old as
the college itself. Generations have enjoyed the beauty of this,
the oldest college arboretum in the country. Several trees on
the original 1834 landscape plan still stand and are joined by
many, many others ~ some rare, some very large and some just beautiful.
When these trees fall, woodworkers reveal a new beauty as they
fashion logs into furniture and functional vessels that become
pure art. Each variety of wood responds differently under the
hand of the woodworker. Each tree grows differently, with resins
and mineral impurities giving it special colors, with insect damage
or traces of rot adding artistic interest.
The exhibition, Gardens and Grounds: A Celebration of Haverford's
Landscape, offers not only a pictorial history of the landscape
but also displays the work of four woodworkers. Tom Pleatman '69,
Pete Dorwart '63, Brad Whitman and Dinyar Chavda, through their
bowls, vessels and furniture, have given new life to what once
grew at Haverford. |
