October 2026 — by Alyssa Hinton
After Years on the Road…
There’s something special about seeing a familiar piece of artwork return home after years of traveling!
This week, I welcomed back Burning Tree, one of my Ancestral Spaceship assemblages, after its long journey through Ohio as part of the exhibition Mounds, Moon and Stars: The Legacy of Ohio’s Magnificent Mounds.
And here it is…finally back home, still tucked safely inside its shipping crate on my front porch!
After all these years, it’s wonderful to have Burning Tree back in my care. And I’m happy to report that the sculpture arrived in very good condition!
Of course, I couldn’t resist documenting the homecoming. So, I made a little video of the uncrating process to share with you.
[INSERT VIDEO: UNCRATING BURNING TREE]
Watch as I open the crate, remove the protective foam padding from the sculpture’s face, and reveal Burning Tree nestled securely inside. The crate is sturdy and well-built, with carefully arranged foam padding protecting the sculpture throughout its travels (props to Durham Pack & Ship, Durham, NC).
There’s something satisfying about opening that crate and seeing the sculpture again after a three year separation. It’s a little reunion…and a welcome opportunity to bring this chapter of its journey to a close!
A Journey That Began in Newark, Ohio
Back in February 2023, I announced that two of my works, Ancestral Plane and Burning Tree, had been selected for Mounds, Moon and Stars: The Legacy of Ohio’s Magnificent Mounds at The Works Gallery (Ohio Center for History, Art & Technology) in Newark, Ohio.
Curated in conjunction with the Great Circle Alliance, the exhibition highlighted the remarkable legacy of the Indigenous peoples who built the Newark Earthworks and the far-reaching influence of Hopewell culture.
The show also held a personal connection for me. My collage Ancestral Plane had been featured on the cover of Chadwick Allen’s book, Earth Works Rising: Mound Building in Native Literature and Arts. Six of my works were included in the book as color plates, and the invitation to participate in the exhibition came in direct response to Allen’s research.
In March 2023, I traveled to Newark to see the exhibition and visit the nearby Great Circle Earthworks. That experience became the subject of my blog post, My Pilgrimage to the Great Circle Earthworks.
Walking among these extraordinary earthworks brought me closer to the places and histories connected to the exhibition. I was particularly impressed by the remarkable geometry of the earthworks and the knowledge, engineering, astronomy, and artistic achievement reflected in their construction.
It was a memorable journey, connecting my own artwork with a much larger story of Indigenous cultural history and continuing creativity.
From One Venue to the Next
What began in Newark became a much longer journey than I could have anticipated!
After its initial presentation at The Works Gallery, Burning Tree continued traveling to museums and cultural venues across Ohio over the following years.
Here’s a look back at the venues that hosted the original artwork:
- The Works! Ohio Center for History, Art & Technology — Newark, Ohio
January 21 – April 3, 2023 - Marietta Museums — Marietta, Ohio
October 1, 2023 – January 4, 2024 - Pyramid Hill Sculpture Park and Museum — Hamilton, Ohio
April 6 – July 30, 2024 - Belmont County Historical Society — St. Clairsville, Ohio
August 18 – September 30, 2024 - Southeastern Ohio Historical Center — Athens, Ohio
March 20 – July 10, 2026
Across these venues, the exhibition brought together art, history, and the remarkable legacy of Ohio’s ancient earthworks, offering audiences opportunities to consider the achievements and continuing cultural significance of the Indigenous peoples who built them.
For Burning Tree, this extended exhibition history has been an important part of its life beyond my studio. Each exhibition gave the work another opportunity to be encountered in a new setting and as part of a broader conversation about Indigenous history, art, and cultural knowledge.
And now, after years of traveling from one venue to another, the sculpture has finally returned to its original home!
A Little About Burning Tree
Burning Tree is part of my Ancestral Spaceship Series, a collection of mixed-media assemblage sculptures that brings ancestral imagery into conversation with contemporary materials and visual language.
The work draws on the Celestial Tree, or sacred Tree of Life, an ancient icon found in Indigenous creation stories across North America. In this conception, the tree stands at the center of the universe, its branches reaching toward the four cardinal directions and the upper sky, while its roots extend into the watery underworld below a mound.
In Burning Tree, I explored this imagery through found wood, acrylic paint, photographs, oil pastel, pen, and cutouts of recycled, digitally edited passages.
The tree becomes a way to consider the relationships between earth, sky, water, and the interconnected dimensions of existence. At the same time, the work carries an environmental message: it reflects on the loss of forests, the pain of ecological devastation, and the wish for healing.
Like other works in the Ancestral Spaceship Series, Burning Tree brings together different layers of meaning, material, and imagery, connecting ancestral knowledge with contemporary artistic expression.
And Now, Back Home!
With Burning Tree safely returned, this chapter of its travels through Ohio has finally come to a close.
I’m grateful that the sculpture could be part of this extended exhibition journey, and I’m delighted to have it back in my care. It’s reassuring to see that it has weathered its travels so well, and I’m looking forward to spending time with it again here at home.
Artworks sometimes lead lives of their own once they leave the studio. They travel, enter new environments, meet new audiences, and become part of stories that extend beyond the artist who created them. Burning Tree has certainly had its share of adventures!
Now it’s time to welcome it home and turn my attention to what comes next.
Explore the Ancestral Spaceship Series
If you’d like to see Burning Tree and explore the other original works in my Ancestral Spaceship Series, visit my online art gallery:
View the Ancestral Spaceship Assemblage Gallery at AlyssaHintonArt.com
Thank you for following along on this journey, from the original exhibition in Newark to the sculpture’s eventual return home. I hope you’ve enjoyed this little behind-the-scenes look at the end of its Ohio travels!
Peace,
Alyssa Hinton
Interdisciplinary Mixed-Media Artist
[Explore more artwork at AlyssaHintonArt.com]
