Seattle artist Molly Hashimoto creates watercolor and block print images of nature that for decades have been available as cards and calendars. In recent years, she began writing books that provide context for her art. They’re also guides to the nature around us.
Her latest book, Wildflowers of the West, came out last month. But before she turned to wildflowers, Hashimoto focused on trees in her 2022 book Trees of the West. For the final installment in our series The Understory, KNKX environment reporter Bellamy Pailthorp met Hashimoto at the Washington Park Arboretum in Seattle to discuss her tribute to trees.
Click “Listen” above to hear their conversation, or find the transcript below.
Transcript
Note: This transcript is provided for reference only and may contain typos. Please confirm accuracy before quoting.
KNKX Environment Reporter Bellamy Pailthorp: Molly, you chose the Arboretum right here in the middle of Seattle as the location for this interview, and obviously it is just a treasure trove of all kinds of trees. But you also said it's a place that you come to a lot for inspiration?
Molly Hashimoto: One of the things I really love about it is the open areas, like Azalea Way and the sloping hills that come down to it, because it reminds me of what you'd find out in wild, meadows surrounded by forests.
Pailthorp: We've met here, and we're sitting underneath a gigantic western red cedar. We chose this because you have a chapter on Northern and Coastal Cascade forests in Trees of the West. And this tree sort of reminds me of some of those images. What is it about these trees, these gigantic western red cedars, that makes you want to stop and paint them?
Hashimoto: Well, I think right off the bat, it's the beautiful reddish bark. It's just striking. And there are few other trees that have that. And then the really graceful foliage on them, they're just absolutely beautiful. And the other thing is that when you go into a grove like the Grove of the Patriarchs at Mount Rainier National Park, there's a real feeling of — 'hush,' you know?
It's like a cathedral. It's like a really sacred place. I know many people have pointed this out before, but a really magnificent, huge specimen, a western red cedar, or perhaps a Douglas fir, it's a strong feeling.
Pailthorp: You told me you have some other favorites, Sitka spruce, for example. Why that one?
Hashimoto: Well, it's very, very local in the sense that it's only southern Alaska to northern California and probably, generally only within a few miles of the coast. Although, there were inland Sitka spruce that went up the river valleys, before they were logged, and they made wonderful wood for piano sounding boards and guitars, as well as airplanes. So, they were very valuable at one time.
If you see a big one, like out at the coast, you cannot believe what it looks like. A huge girth. And then these strange broken off branches on the lower part of the trunk. And then finally, up above, it has a lot of boughs, foliage boughs, but it is one of the strangest trees, and really magnificent.
Pailthorp: You write in the introduction to this book about your personal connection to trees, that as a youngster, trees were a place of refuge for you. Tell me about that.
Hashimoto: Well, I think when you come from a family where the adults are behaving unpredictably, really, the only place that you feel safe is outside. And I remember reading an article in Harper's Magazine several years ago by Barry Lopez, in which he said that exact thing. And when I read it, I thought, 'oh, whoa, absolutely.'
Pailthorp: Yeah. I bet a lot of people have responded to your introduction in that way?
Hashimoto: Well, I do hope so, just because there's always comfort and solace to be found.
Pailthorp: … in a tree. Was that part of why you wanted to do a whole book of trees of the West? Or what is it that's so special about trees to you generally, that made you want to do a book on them?
Hashimoto: When I first moved to Seattle in my early 20s, I used to do a lot of hiking, and I would travel from the forest floor up to higher elevations. And I was always really intrigued, even in my kind of macho days of hiking and climbing, and doing many miles, it fascinated me how they changed from lower elevation to upper elevation, and I loved the twisted forms in the higher elevations.
And so I think that probably was the start of it. And then ever since then, I've noticed them on the coast, same types of forms. They call it 'krummholz.' They're really beautiful.
Pailthorp: How would you describe your style of art for someone who hasn't seen it?
Hashimoto: I would call it representational. I'm interested in reality and doing my best to express the reality with maybe a little bit of intermediary — my own feelings about the reality.
Pailthorp: You have a lot of really bold lines and bright colors, I think, in a lot of your work.
Hashimoto: Yes, those would be my block prints. I also do watercolors and drawings and etchings. Those are a little more subtle, less colorful. But I've really liked using block prints to express how I feel when I encounter a magnificent tree or a spectacular bird, there's a feeling of surprise, I think that lends itself to a bolder treatment.
Pailthorp: A lot of your work is created outside in nature, en plein air, as they say, you do watercolors and sketches, and as you said, block prints, and you often. Even take paint brushes and sketchbooks with you when you go hiking, right?
Hashimoto: Yes, I've done that. I also really like taking photos, and I've always got my camera with me. I've got a zoom so I can get up close to birds and animals without frightening them. And then I go back to my studio, where I feel like it's a continuation of the experience. It means a lot to me, these experiences that I have, and I don't want them to just suddenly end once I go inside.
Pailthorp: You clearly pay a lot of attention to nature. How do you do it? And do you have any tips for the rest of us on how to be more present when we're outside?
Hashimoto: Well, I think we live in a very fast paced world, and I think probably the main thing to do is just slow down. Because if you do slow down, you might notice things like the sound of a brook running, a bird singing. You might see that the new foliage on a conifer is a different color than the older mature foliage, and those things can't really be appreciated when you're racing. Not to say that we should stop our fun, really energetic activities, but take time to do that, slow down.
And I'd also really be delighted to know that these books encourage people whose life experiences hasn't allowed them to have time for creativity, because a lot of the things in the books are not that difficult to do, and it's something to try out, to get in touch with whatever creativity you'd like to express.
Pailthorp: Molly Hashimoto, artist and writer of Trees of the West. Thank you so much for your work.
Hashimoto: Thank you, Bellamy.
