The Oaks Tell the Story - Helen Shafer Garcia

I grew up in Glendora, CA. Our family home had Costal live Oaks over 250 years old. Dad and Mom cherished these oaks and helped preserve them for over 55 years. The trees embraced our house. My dad and I transferred oak seedlings to my family’s property in Vista, CA. We have 10 or so mature oaks now, remembrances of yesterday and future hopes for survival. I teach workshops at a 2800 acre Baja Ranch, Rancho la Bellota, each year. Raul and Caroline Aguilar are the owners. Raul said, “When we first came over the hill to this Valle we saw the live oaks thriving way below. We knew there would be water and that the “the oaks are life” and the oaks tell the story”. The history of southwest oaks celebrates life with stories, songs, dances The native Oaks are associated with longevity and regrowth. Coastal live Oaks slow down fires with the curled shape of their leaves, catching ambers and heat. Trees were the primary food source for native peoples and to this day. The Oaks are markers of time due to the arrival of seasonal acorns. The is the essence of my ceramic installation is love, enlightenment, and the life cycles of the Oaks. May we always preserve and cherish them.