Featured Article

Tree Windows
Creating windows in which trees appear to grow through the glass is not only a fine piece of art, but also a work of nature
Story by Victoria Green

It took over twenty years and infinite patience for artisan George Valdez to perfect the proper sequence of steps to produce windows and doors in which a tree seems to grow through the glass.

He wanted to grow trees that could be shaped as they matured to meet a predetermined size and shape. The trees had to be in one plane, so that glass could be fit between the branches and framed to make a window.

First, through years of research and experimentation, Valdez had to find the species of tree best suited to his purpose. Then he had to modify traditional espalier and bonsai techniques to achieve his goal.

For strength, Valdez was sure he wanted to use one whole tree for each window. He did not want the tree to have any man made joints or miters within it. So the tree had to be grown and trained to exactly the right shape. All this was done by trial and error, each trial taking at least one growing season.

There were many setbacks. In fact in 1998 Valdez's "trees-in-training" were nearly destroyed by a forest fire that literally came to the edge of his grove. There were many times when he felt maybe he should just give up. Fortunately, he did not relinquish his dream. Today, after two decades of dedication and perseverance, Valdez's company, TREE WINDOWS is a reality.

Valdez grows his trees on land that backs onto the Cleveland National Forest. When he purchased his home and land in the early 1980's it was bordered by orange groves, but due to the ever increasing demand for housing in the area, today the orange groves are gone.

Valdez's small rural oasis, except where it borders the National Forest, is surrounded by housing tracts. Land development continues to encroach on our natural landscape. Therefore, Valdez feels it is more important than ever to preserve the feeling of the outdoor life style, for which Southern California is famous, in the local architecture.

With his windows nature can be brought indoors in a high rise office building, a log home in the mountains, or a house by the sea. In those homes or buildings, still amidst Southern California's natural beauty, one of Valdez's windows, with the branches of a tree seemingly growing through it, emphasizes the structures unity with its environment. Because of the tree's symbolism of life, growth, strength and endurance, these windows are perfect for public edifices such as churches, banks, memorials and government buildings or any structure that stands for these attributes.

A Valdez window is both a work of nature and fine piece of art. Any work of art takes time. Add to this the vagaries of nature and it is evident that a Valdez window cannot be rushed. Its intrinsic value is enhanced by the fact that it takes up to seven years to "grow" a window. However, each year a new inventory of trees become available and ready to be made into windows.

Like trees, no two of Valdez's windows are ever alike. He can manipulate the wood so that it can have a rustic gnarled surface or a smooth finish like fine polished furniture. He then installs high quality low-E, dual pane glass into the windows making them durable in any weather and are sealed to last for decades. Each one of Valdez's windows is a unique, one-of-a-kind combination of art and nature.

Valdez "signs" each of his windows by inserting a small oval brass plaque into the lower trunk of the tree, engraved with the owner's name and date commissioned. He does this at precisely the right time in the growth cycle, so that the tree begins to grow around the brass plate, permanently securing it in place.

Southern Californians have always been lovers of the outdoors and ocean views. Valdez's windows, not only blend the exterior of a building with its surroundings, but the sun shining through one of his windows casts a shadow of a tree into the interior of a structure, bringing the outdoors in. Valdez has created a window that is indeed compatible with our Southern California nature loving lifestyle. Valdez's company also offers architectural millwork, featuring all types of traditional, high-quality custom windows and doors, plus historic reproductions, besides the unique tree windows for which he is becoming known.

Tree Windows - George Valdez
(909) 966-5008
(800) 804-0384
www.treewindows.com
e-mail: treewindows@aol.com

Featured in South Coast Magazine Spring 2004

© Copyright 2004 South Coast Magazine. No unauthorized duplication without written consent.