Description
“Until you dig a hole, you plant a tree, you water it and make it survive, you haven’t done a thing. You are just talking.”
— Wangari Maathai
Please note that our remaining inventory of this print consists of 10 APs or “Artist Proofs.” We determine our edition number before printing, but we always print a few more broadsides than we think we’ll need for the edition, in case of mishaps during the process. When the edition is finished, any extra prints that survive outside of the edition are signed and labeled with “AP” in place of a number. Because we wait to sell the APs until the rest of the edition is sold out, and because APs are otherwise identical in quality to the numbered prints, they are priced the same as our numbered prints. The remaining numbered prints will sell first, in numerical order, and then the APs.
This hand-pulled letterpress print is printed from hand-lettered original typography and hand-drawn illustrations (in fact, everything was done by hand, the hard way!). This piece was created in solidarity with feminist climate activists around the planet, as they lead people of all ages and nationalities into the streets to demand decisive climate action from our world leaders.
Wangari Maathai was known as Africa’s “Mother of Trees.” She dedicated her life’s work to restoring the environment in her home country of Kenya. Along with a tireless group of women followers, Maathai planted millions of trees, disrupting and enraging a corrupt, authoritarian regime in the process. While her government was bent on resource extraction, the theft of public lands, and a kleptocratic program of personal enrichment (stop us if any of this sounds familiar), Maathai kept planting seeds—and held her ground.
Our 29th broadside, Trees of Life, is printed in the bold, joyful colors of kitenge fabric, which Wangari Maathai wore as her personal signature. Central to the design is an African baobab tree, also known in folklore as the tree of life. To symbolize the interconnected nature of the world’s biomes and climates, the tree is adorned with “fruit” portraying a number of vulnerable and endangered Kenyan species.
To help continue Wangari Maathai’s efforts, we are donating a portion of our proceeds to two tree-planting organizations. First up is Maathai’s own Green Belt Movement, which is continuing her legacy in East Africa. Closer to home, we are also contributing to One Tree Planted, an American nonprofit that plants a tree for every dollar donated. We are supporting both organizations via Action Grants from the Dead Feminists Fund.
This poster was printed on an antique Vandercook Universal One press. Each piece is printed on archival, 100% rag (cotton) paper, and individually signed and numbered by both artists. This piece was printed in a limited edition; once the edition sells out, it will not be reprinted. So snag your copy while you can! In the meantime, you can learn more about this broadside and the story behind it on our blog.
Edition size: 176
Paper size: approximately 10 x 18 inches
Colophon reads:
Wangari Muta Maathai (1940 – 2011) was born in the central highlands of Kenya, in a rural village. Unlike many girls her age she attended school, and was awarded a scholarship to attend college in the United States, focusing on biology. She returned to Kenya to earn a PhD — the first East African woman to do so. She joined the National Council of Women in 1976, working with women to plant trees. Through Maathai’s Green Belt Movement, more than 51 million trees have been planted throughout Kenya, reforesting the environment and improving the quality of life. Tree planting gave Maathai an opportunity to teach communities to protect their own interests, pursue self-government and regain a cultural foundation stripped away by colonial rule and government corruption. The Green Belt Movement grew with Maathai on the front line, fighting authoritarian abuses of power, land-grabbing, and illegal detention of political opponents. Kenya returned to a multi-party democracy in 2002 and Maathai was overwhelmingly elected to Parliament, also serving in the Ministry for Environmental and Natural Resources. In 2004 Maathai was the first African woman awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, honoring her lifelong commitment to democracy, human rights and environmental conservation. Her example inspires us to action: “It is the people who must save the environment. It is the people who must make their leaders change. And we cannot be intimidated. So we must stand up for what we believe in.”
Illustrated by Chandler O’Leary and printed by Jessica Spring, with hope that our collective climate action will bear fruit for the planet. 176 copies were printed by hand at Springtide Press in Tacoma.
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This original artwork is copyright Chandler O’Leary and Jessica Spring 2019. Copyright is not transferable with the sale of this print. The buyer is not entitled to reproduction rights.
WA state residents are subject to sales tax.
The print is packaged in a clear poly sleeve and will ship flat in a protective mailer, via USPS Priority Mail.
