I’m learning that this project is about much more than meets the eye. Sure, it’s about cutting and painting wood, bringing ideas to life, and building an enchanted forest. Yes, it’s about creating a piece of interactive art that makes people beam with joy like children. Of course, it’s about going to cool places like Santa Barbara’s State Street and Lightning in a Bottle and Burning Man and sharing our vibes with all who happen upon us. But above all these things, I am quite sure that this project is an experiment in community building, fellowship, collaboration, and love-sharing. In a time when society is telling us that our options are limited, that we should be a particular someone, with some particular career to contribute to some particular government concocted vision of tomorrow, the Woods offers a refuge… a sanctuary. It is a space for all to inject themselves into the Here and Now in radical and curious ways. It is a place that invites both spontaneous expression and pre-meditated performances. At LIB and Burning Man we saw roaming animals of all kinds, red riding hood tray girls offering free sweets, tarot readings, renegade projection art, games of tag and hind-and-seek, cube stacking, napping, picnicking, face painting, courtship rituals, fire-side storytelling and only the trees know what else!

Amidst the art, we are appreciated for our true natures and are able to fulfill our wild fantasies; we dance and play with the freedom and innocence of youth; we sit still in contemplation, communing with the wisdom of our elders and ancestors; we breathe life into dreams, and weave tapestries of experience out of light and love.

The book of faces sprouts a tree,
Here your next clue waits for thee.
Seek “Branches Mobile Gallery”,
Scale the wall, and you’re near home-free.

hint: hcraes koobecaf

Check out this video of our installation on the playa!

We brought a small portion of the Woods to The DoLab’s Lightning in a Bottle in May, 2011. It was our first big public showing and it was a complete success! Directly across from the main stage, the Woods whomped and wobbled all weekend!               

The first Thursday of every month is quite the art scene in Santa Barbara. Galleries stay open late and business owners, eager to give back to the community, offer their wall space to artists and host receptions. The spirited sounds of live music waft from nearly every corner of downtown.

This first Thursday in May, the Walkabout Woods crew were given permission to inhabit a large vacant space in front of a former Borders Book store at 900 and State.

We made good use of the real estate, essentially turning it into a public viewing of the Crew at work. Several trees, in various stages of completion, were brought down and we painted them on the spot. Parts of the boiler room were also on display.


Luke and Andrew and Co. provided live banjo and guitar music. Mona danced with her silken fans.
I donned fuzzy ears and handed out information about our Kickstarter campaign, encouraging passersby to visit the site.

Curious folks were delighted when we told them we intend to build a forest of more than a hundred trees and plant them on the Playa.

We are on a roll now! Our campaign, as of May 6 @ 9:12pm, is 68% funded and 64% of our campaign duration has already passed. So we are ahead, but not by much. We still need your help!

Thanks to all who have already pledged! And anyone still thinking about it? It’s a good idea. Trust me!