Jesse is a critical member of our garden staff and sculptor. He has been engaged in stewardship of our landscape and creation of many key features, most notably The Pools. Jesse spent the vast majority of his life living close to the land. His early career was spent dog mushing in New England and the Pacific Northwest. A Pennsylvania native, his love of sculpting was born during a stint of off-grid living with his two dogs in a family cabin. Jesse collected raw materials from the forest and began studying the natural grain patterning of native trees. With each wood sculpture, Jesse spends countless hours sanding. His finishing technique creates a smooth appearance that could easily be mistaken for glass. The curves of his work read like a topographic map. For the past nine years, Jesse has turned his land into a living sculpture by utilizing permaculture and hugelkultur methods. This has resulted in the mountainside resembling one of his sculptures. The landscape is now covered in Lavender, Sage and other perennial herbs and flowers that he and his fiancé use to distill essential oils. Jesse freely offers that combining his love for plants and sculpting made the decision to work with Bill and Jane at The Bower an easy choice. His sculptures, The Seven Ghosts were assembled using the biomass from fallen trees and grapevines on the property. Providing habitat for insects, birds and other creatures, these materials sequester carbon and now have new life and purpose.
bower (noun) 1. a pleasant shady place; 2. a retreat or sanctuary