Green Holidays with Artful Trees

By Tina Chadwick

While retail stores now call fake Christmas trees “permanent trees” or more cleverly “evergreen,” a lot of holiday tree shoppers do find themselves struggling with how to have a greener holiday.

Most people head to the tree lot or find a seller in the parking lot of a local shopping center, then decorate it with plastic bobbles, shiny garland and fragile glass ornaments that drop off the tree. Now, there’s another alternative – “Forever Green” trees. Susan Bridges of whitespace gallery offers this option as a way to “tree-up” without entering the consumer spending frenzy of the season – no matter which side of the tree debate you fall.

In its 3^rd year, whitespace gallery puts on a seasonal show where you can enjoy many holiday trees all concocted from non bio-degradable materials and/or found objects. From the tree itself – and the definition of “tree” is given a wide birth here – to the decorations, artists display works from the heart and mind instead of the store.

Asked what was her inspiration for starting the show, Bridges says thoughtfully, “There are so many people who are more conscience of the consumption and this lets you look at the holiday from a different angle. People and families, are just trying to ‘hold it down’ [spending] and it’s important to show children that there are other ways to celebrate the holidays than just buying things.”

Bridges reminds the artists represented by her gallery well in advance of the early December show so they have time to concept and then create the dazzling, one-of-a-kind trees.

While most of us diligently recycle the boxes, paper and packaging, this type activity “integrates recycling into the process front and center versus an afterthought to the holidays,” Bridges says

This year’s tree show is Dec. 4 from 7 to 10 p.m. at whitespace gallery, 814 Edgewood Ave. www.whitespace914.com