Café Des Arbres or Café of Trees is an art piece that speaks to the psychological need for the outdoors. It takes the outdoor sphere of trees, flowers and bushes and brings them into interaction with the inside. The café is now a fantastical location, one that connects the outdoor with the indoor. It is almost like a place in the books on the bookshelf or the morning daydream while we drink coffee before we are fully awake and active. 

This artwork was one of the first I created exploring the charcoal style and the charcoal's interaction with white space through erasing and redacting the material. 

Our minds are complex and curious, some scientists have labeled humans as biophilia’s or needing communion with the natural world and that we are wired to feel this need. Whether it is scientifically proven or not, we as humans are all unique in the ways we interact with the natural world. Some of us are plant parents, some outdoor sport savvy, and of course there are those that prefer to experience the outer world of nature through the books on the shelf and imagining the experience rather than truly feeling the grass between our toes. These differences define people as individuals and one way to explore our individuality is through our interaction with the natural world. I believe this artwork comes alive because I personally am a bit of all the types described above and used my experiences in this piece.