FRACTURE-SCAPES REVELATORY FINE ARTEst. 2026
Thomas Farmer
[CV]
PO BOX 703 Black Diamond, Alberta, Canada
studio@fracturescapes.art
THE LIVING FRACTURE
Fracture-Scaping begins with naturally found wood fractures. I read their ridges, recesses and planes as fields of landscape possibility, using chromatic interpretation to reveal rather than design the composition. The fracture remains the governing form and a participant in authorship.
PRESERVED FORM, PAINTED INTERPRETATION
Interpretation remains confined to naturally fractured surfaces. Unaffected exterior wood and bark are preserved, and expressive fracture geometry is not mechanically reshaped. Minimal preparation is permitted only on the horizontal base plane when required for stable presentation.
PROVENANCE AND STEWARDSHIP
The practice preserves each work’s available connection to its source, while By Nature works require documented geographic provenance and chain of custody.
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[BY NATURE GALLERY]
[GENESIS GALLERY]
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[PHILOSOPHY]
[CONSERVATION]
[METHODOLOGY]
[EXPEDITIONS]
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[REGISTRY INDEX] 1.3-FSN-2026Death’s Head Bluff[1.2c-FSN-2026] [1.4a-FSN-2026]
Death’s Head Bluff
1.3-FSN-2026
FSN STATUS
Recovered: June 6, 2026
Current status: Stabilization in progress
Collection: Fracture-Scapes by Nature
FSN qualification: Pending
Completion status: Not completed
Site relationship: Expedition 1, Site 3
PROVENANCE
Recovery date: June 6, 2026
Recovery location: Gorge Creek Road, Kananaskis Country, Alberta
Recorded elevation: Approximately 1,560 m
Harvest authority: Alberta Local Timber Permit LTP4626012; June 6 recovery included through written forester approval
Source condition: Standing fractured snag near the edge of a previously disturbed clearing
Species: Unidentified deciduous; poplar or aspen considered but unverified
Cause of fracture: Undetermined
Condition evidence: A localized deformity in the bark layers occurs near the fracture and may have contributed to the structural failure; this relationship is not established
OBJECT
Dimensions: To be recorded following stabilization
Intake moisture: Greater than 30%
Drying: Fan-assisted studio drying in a cool, dark setting beginning June 6, 2026
Borate treatment: Approximately 7% disodium octaborate tetrahydrate, applied by pressure sprayer on June 12, 2026
Base preparation: Not undertaken
Painted interpretation: Not begun
CoA mat: Not produced
Conservation return: Applicable upon commercial sale—10% of gross sale price
CATALOGUE NOTE
Death’s Head Bluff was recovered from Expedition 1, Site 3. The specimen stood near the edge of a previously disturbed clearing and presented a pronounced, vertically compressed fracture surrounding an exposed central cavity. A narrow upper projection and irregular lateral remnants give the form a distinctly asymmetrical profile.
A localized deformity is visible within the bark layers near the fracture. This irregularity may have created or reflected an area of structural weakness, but its role in the eventual failure cannot be determined from the surviving material alone. The fracture event was not witnessed, and its cause remains unresolved.
The exposed heartwood and central void showed substantial moisture at intake, with a reading greater than 30%. Water appears to have accumulated or travelled through the open structure before recovery. This condition makes the specimen materially demanding and interpretively compelling, but its orientation and painted treatment remain unresolved.
Death’s Head Bluff remains in stabilization while its drying response, structural integrity, and suitability for continued development are assessed. Its inclusion in the FSN collection is not guaranteed by its assigned registry number.
DOCUMENTATION
The surviving record includes an in-situ image of the standing specimen, recovery and transport photographs, recorded GPS and elevation evidence, the written forester approval, and a regional access map.
Because the images represent several documentation phases, they should not be presented collectively as exclusively in-situ photographs.
IN-SITU FIELD AND STUDIO DOCUMENTATION