A nest for relaxation, contemplation

Annie Allen has spent the past couple years developing the property around her home on Blackfoot River Ranch Road into an art exploration site, hosting classes and get together for artists, students and kids at her studio there.

Last weekend, Allen's goal of making the site a spot to reflect and relax among art and nature took another step forward with the help of Jennifer Thompson, an artist, teacher and art therapist from Helena.

With the help of Allen and several other volunteers Thompson began the task of creating her 34th signature Nest among the Ponderosa Pines on the property.

"This acre, we looked at it and said 'let's keep it natural and let's do some paths and have it a healing area,'" Allen said.

Part of that healing incudes the installation of artwork and sculptures by artists such as Thompson, who has been creating her Nest installations since 1992, when she was inspired by the nest form during graduate school.

"Annie invited me to make a nest six months ago. They had an idea for a few different places for it, and we kind of together picked this place out; I laid down on it and it felt good,' Thompson said. 'These are beautiful huge, tall, grand Ponderosa, so  to build a nest kind of in the center of them, it's a kind of way of honoring the trees and the spot."

For Thompson, nests hold a lot of meaning.

"It's just such a symbol of the many things we do in life: shelter, food, security, comfort," she said. "Sometimes when I do a nest lesson with schools I'll bring in a collection of birds' nests that I have found. I'll talk about structure for them, and birding and bird habits and habitat. So there's that science and art link, which I really love."

Allen said Thompson had her and the others start the day by creating nests out of clay to get them to think about what nests meant to them. "It really had us thinking about what went into a nest."

Although Thompson's Nests, which are constructed on the ground, are clearly inspired by bird nests, they're also suggestive of the nests created by great apes, including gorillas and chimpanzees, who weave branches and leaves together to create temporary beds that provide comfort and warmth.

Thompson's woven nests also call to mind the work of last years Sculpture in the Wild Artist in Residence Patrick Daugherty, with whom she worked for several days last fall.

"I got to work with him last September for four or five days and there's one technique that I really love of his, that I build into my nests now," she said. "It's a kind of a grounding technique, so the nests don't feel like they're floating off the ground so much. He's great to work with."

Although the plan was to have the nest complete over the weekend, Allen said they we decided it will be an ongoing project throughout the month, with guests and visitors helping build it up by wreaving in more branches.

In the mean time, a two-foot tall ceramic 'water goddess' statue created by Dulcie Belanger is situated nearby to keep an eye on things.

"I hope (visitors) kind of happen upon it and are surprised, and I hope they lay down in it and take a nap or read a book or get relaxed," Thompson said. "It's an invitational spot to really ground and relate with the earth and reflect."