(Photo by Krystal Marie Collins)
At the end of a hard packed cinder road on the south edge of Sisters resides an artist whose diverse mediums are expressed throughout his property. One such expression is a two story treehouse constructed from equal parts reclaimed material and an evolving creative process.
Painter and treehouse designer, Rod Frederick says, “As a child I was always intrigued by trees and waterfalls and mountains. I lusted for the high spots. As an adult child, I never grew up and continued to pursue heights. About two years ago, I bought a cheap book on the logistics of treehouse building just to check it out. I had two trees targeted and was hooked.”
Frederick says much of his inspiration for painting or building projects comes from exploring the jungles of South and Central America. He explains, “Whenever I bouldered on the Mayan temples of Central America, I was intrigued by the different life forms at different levels of elevation. Of course, I knew that I could enjoy a similar experience in the jungles of Central Oregon.”
Frederick’s passion for painting was launched by his mother, who had a degree in fine arts, and father, a lawyer and weekend painter. When asked about the subject of his paintings, he says that growing up he constantly had pets, so painting animals and their respective habitats came naturally. He pointed to Roger Tory Peterson’s Field Guide to the Birds as having inspired him to paint wildlife. He obtained a degree in art and a minor in biology from Willamette University, “so I could know my subjects outside and in,” says Frederick.
Knowing the lakes and mountains as well as the plains and deserts and almost all the creatures who live there, allows Frederick the vision to paint the smallest bird to the largest elephant. He says, “My formal training gave me the technical skills; my experiences in the wilderness give me the ideas and my natural talent allows me to compose dramatic, realistic art, prints and posters.”
Melding formal training and experiences in the wilderness is the same method he brought to the treehouse project.
He started by ransacking the shelves of Habitat for Humanity Restore for materials. Frederick fervently says, “Recycling and minimal waste is a giant part of my life.”
“The first step was building the nine foot by nine-foot octagon platform and affixing it between two, fifteen-inch-thick happy, healthy junipers ten feet above the ground,” explains Frederick. “Once that was up, it became a summer domicile for a newly college-graduated family friend. Upon his departure to explore the world, I decided to explore the concept of an additional level. It’s funny how ten feet above the ground doesn’t feel that high anymore.”
He then added a spiral staircase to access a crow’s nest lined with a railing of branches from lightening-struck ponderosa pines. Frederick says it, “affords an awesome view of most of the Central Oregon Cascades,” and that he accomplished his goal of, “building a safe structure that involves nature as the main component, without feeling too contrived.”
The process of building the treehouse, Frederick says, was like painting, in that, “the initial concept evolved into new ideas.”
Other ongoing projects on Frederick’s property include a room addition, two tiny homes on trailers in mid-build and an elaborate network of pathways and bridges over a shallow water feature. Beauty and tranquility emanate from flowers and lily pads lining the terrestrial and aquatic margins of the pond. Scattered sculptures and artifacts collected by Frederick or manufactured by his son Dallas protrude from the landscape as thought their origin is tied to the in situ lava rock.
“The landscaping at my home,” Frederick beams, “has included stone structures and water features that I continue to build so that the natural world will remain a constant part of my daily life. I love to sleep in the trees with the harmony of frogs and water below. To quote the late great philosopher Aristotle, ‘Chicks dig treehouses.’ I really do enjoy watching and listening to the many sights and sounds that aren’t noticed at ground level.”
