This story was originally published by ArtsATL.
A multisite art installation has launched along a DeKalb County section of the PATH Foundation’s Stone Mountain Trail between Decatur and Stone Mountain.
Lungs of Mother Earth, a tall steel and wood sculpture, has been installed in a grassy meadow in Scottdale near Davis Manufacturing (541 Proctor Ave., close to the intersection of Church Street and Robinson Avenue). This public artwork was created by Clarkston artist Shannon Willow, who previously installed its companion piece, Heart of Mother Earth, amid a growing pollinator garden further north along the trail at 3676 Church St. in Clarkston in 2024.
Both sculptures are part of the Compassion Corridor, an emerging green space that is anchored by art and pollinator gardens developed by Willow and Compassionate Atlanta, a grassroots community-building nonprofit centered on compassionate action.
“The Compassion Corridor makes art come alive with an eco-friendly design in a thriving path that invites us to share our community spaces and see each other’s common humanity, shared compassion that’s practiced and brings energy and well-being to the whole community,” said Leanne Rubenstein, co-director of Compassionate Atlanta. When finished, the green space will connect Decatur, Avondale Estates, Scottdale, Clarkston and Stone Mountain.
Credit: Photo by Isadora Pennington
Credit: Photo by Isadora Pennington
Willow pointed out the sculpture’s windpipe, constructed out of twisted wood, which extends above the lungs skyward. “The tree represents reciprocity, the sacred exchange that we have with trees — as we breathe out, they breathe in, and as they breathe out, we breathe in,” she said. “We cannot live without trees. So, the tree is the central form within the overall form.”
On the lungs themselves, sculptural vines wind across the structure, decorated with colorful flowers. The vines represent the bronchial “tree” that exists within human lungs that carries air from your windpipe to the air sacs of the lungs.
Willow’s idea is to make works that connect us with nature and make real the idea of Mother Earth as an entity all her own. The artist does this through large-scale sculptures that are designed to coexist in nature, providing support for plants that might climb the structure and benefit pollinators.
Willow hopes that by seeing Mother Earth represented in recognizable anatomical forms, we will be able to reconnect with the natural world, bringing a heightened consciousness of our place within our ecosystems.
Willow constructed Lungs of Mother Earth over the course of about four months, working out of a friend’s studio at South River Art Studios. She said she found the process to be fun and inspiring, albeit a little dangerous considering she was working with fire and steel. She described how she sought out various textures for the armature, which also serves as a representation of the biodiversity of nature.
“For this particular piece, I actually learned to weld, which was pretty incredible — very toxic, dangerous, fiery, which I enjoyed quite a bit,” Willow said. “I love the process because I usually work pretty intuitively in all my works, but this piece particularly taught me so much from the cold bending of the still-round bark to using the grinder to cut these big sheets of steel textures.”
Devoted to supporting nature in all she does, Willow is a certified Georgia Master Naturalist and an advocate for practices of rewilding and caring for even the smallest of creatures that share our communities.
“Being an Earth keeper is just a way to say thank you,” said Willow, highlighting the way that the planet continuously provides for us and noting that we may have lost touch with our ability to give back. That’s why she and her collaborators believe having pollinator gardens surround the sculptures is essential to the overall vision for the green space.
“Within this space, we really want to make it a place of interacting as humans again, looking out for one another, being friendly … just in a sacred exchange, you know?” she said. “Because we need more kindness; we need more compassion in the world. And when you bring art into nature, it creates curiosity among people.”
One of the key essential elements of the Compassion Corridor’s design is its visibility. You could take these same sculptures and place them in the woods somewhere and they would still have artistic merit, but placing them along major roadways increases their ability to spark conversation and build compassion in others.
The idea is to inspire passersby to consider the natural world around them — and our connections to it — through artwork and native gardens.
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
The project has been funded by the DeKalb County Super District 6 budget. Ted Terry, that district’s commissioner who served as mayor of Clarkston from 2014 to 2020 and was the youngest mayor in the city’s 135-year history, is an advocate for community-building initiatives featuring art.
Terry said that during his time as Clarkston’s mayor, “I saw firsthand how intentional walkable spaces can transform a neighborhood and bring people together. This is why I’m so thrilled to highlight the Compassion Corridor project, a multiyear visionary environmental art and community engagement initiative connecting our DeKalb cities through the Stone Mountain Trail.”
The team working on the Compassion Corridor includes other artists and community partners such as Green Box Homes and Shades of Green Permaculture, which were brought in to design the pollinator gardens.
“Ultimately, this project is about how we treat each other,” Terry said. “True compassion starts with the self, and it extends into our physical spaces and the systems that govern our daily lives. When our streets and our parks and our trails feel welcoming, our social ties strengthen and a deeper sense of belonging starts to grow.”
An official unveiling ceremony for Lungs of Mother Earth is planned 12:30-2:30 p.m. Saturday. Collaborators, area leaders and the public will meet at the site. The free event will feature a performance by DrumWise and a 1 p.m. artist talk by Willow.
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Isadora Pennington is ArtATL’s senior editor of art and design and dance. An experienced writer and photographer with a deep love for the arts, Isadora founded the Sketchbook newsletter with Rough Draft Atlanta in 2022. She is also president of the Avondale Arts Alliance and director of the Avondale Arts Center.
Credit: ArtsATL
Credit: ArtsATL
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