Cast from Tree

Cast from Tree draws upon what already exists: the trees, though no longer alive, remain connected to life through the textures they hold, becoming part of other living forms.

From the interplay of wood and glass, Cast from Tree takes on its luminous form, carrying the traces of life from the decayed trunks. Molten glass is blown into the naturally hollow wood, transforming its inner volume into a vessel of light—seemingly nurtured from within the tree.

To highlight Taiwan’s native and locally cultivated tree species, Cast from Tree derives its form and texture from naturally decayed trunks. In search of hollow logs across a range of diameters, we visited several timber workshops throughout Taiwan. Cryptomeria, mahogany, and Taiwan red cypress were ultimately selected. Their interiors were carefully hollowed and used as molds, enabling each tree’s distinctive contours, grain structures, and traces of time to be transposed into glass.

For Live Forever Foundation
Wood mould: Chaiwood
Glass production: Spring Pool Glass
Photographs 5, 6, 8 (glass production): Youren Lin
Photographs 9–12 (finished works): Wan Ning Chen

應陸府生活美學教育基金會邀請，以陸府建設生機建築的自然性為起點，創作景觀燈具 《Cast from Tree》 ，透過玻璃封存樹木的生命歲月，再以光線重新刻畫自然的樣態。

作品以中空腐朽的樹幹作為模具，將高溫熔融的玻璃膏注入不規則的木模之中。樹幹的內部紋理，經由吹製轉印於透明流動的玻璃；當燈亮起，光彷彿從樹木中孕育而生。

為尋找合適的木段，我們走訪位於新竹的正昌製材、蛋牌相思木 ，以及雲林的張家茂木材加工廠。最終選用柳杉、桃花心木與台灣紅檜，掏空其內部作為三種尺寸的模具，使各木種獨特的輪廓肌理，永久地凝結於玻璃之中。