Come take a break among the trees at the House of Welcome with Janice Arnold’s Homage to the Forests installation. On view Monday - Friday, 9-5pm from now till June 30, 2026.

Artist Statement

When I returned to the House of Welcome after many years away, I saw the majestic elder cedar trunks supporting this building in a new light.

The surface, strength, and beauty of the bare heartwood sparked a desire to honor and celebrate their existence, from the present moment, back to a time when these old-growth trees were cloaked with bark caressed by mist and moss. 

Now I cloak the trunks in wool, hand-felted into Tree Skins in gratitude for the sacrifice of life to build this magnificent, welcoming shelter. 

Feel free to touch, embrace, and share a comment. 

Tree Bark is the living, thriving protection for the heartwood of every tree, where constant growth, response, healing, and regeneration occur.  

Human Skin is an equally important series of living layers protecting our bodies, sharing an uncanny number of similar traits with trees. 

Wool Felt is a primordial living material - humanity’s First Fabric, enabled by the mysteries of sheep’s wool fiber. 

“Something ancient stirs.

Felt tree skin meets cedar trunk.

A melding happens.”

Comment ~ Llyn De Danaan

This installation is partially funded by the City of Olympia’s “Inspire Olympia” grant.