Rosendale Library

We were introduced to Katie Scott-Childress, the director of the Rosendale Library, by painter Thomas Sarrantonio. We had just shown artwork together in a show called “Making” in SUNY Ulster’s Muroff-Kotler Gallery, and were eager to begin building work for libraries. Our initial meeting with Katie was so exciting and productive that we formalized our partnership right away by gifting the library a pallet.

From the beginning, we were utterly charmed by the historic church space that the library inhabits. In the main room of the former chapel, an enormous vaulted ceiling and distinct stained glass “Rose Window” animate the stacks, tables, and children’s collection. The symmetry of the built interior interacts dynamically with the active patron spaces and shelving. We noticed that the lighting, two banks of fluorescents suspended across the room, seemed a little out of character. Could this be a place for our intervention?

We proposed to suspend the full trunk of a fallen ash tree outfitted with new LED lighting in place of the fluorescent fixtures. The piece would publicly preserve a remnant of local species collapse indefinitely, while also improving the lighting for the library’s staff and patrons.

We located a log with the help of Cara Gentry, Coordinator of Land Stewardship at Wallkill Valley Land Trust. Cara took us on a snowy walk on the rail trail near the Rosendale transfer station, and showed us a parcel she called the “Hutton Property.” There we discovered an ash tree that had collapsed onto a stone wall. Because the length of the trunk was hovering above the ground, the wood inside was still in good condition.

Our next steps will be to mill the wood and set it to dry as we finalize our design for the library. We hope to install our project in Rosendale by the end of Summer 2025.