Las Tres Apple Branch on Railroad Stitches

At 6,875 feet above sea level where the air thins and the land endures extremes of temperature the apple tree still grows. Yet this branch shows the slow retreat of life, with less and less living tissue remaining. Apple is a dense wood, its hidden colors more varied and brilliant than the fruit it bears. Long valued for its strength and beauty, its wood outshines even the taste of its apples. Here, the artist drilled patterns into the branch and filled them with color without purpose, except the joy of doing so. The “railroad stitches” come from the tiny train stop once called Kennedy, about six miles south of Lamy, New Mexico, along the BNSF.