The Village of Cazenovia Tree Commission will be hosting its annual Spring Education Seminar on at 10 a.m. Saturday, March 25, in the Cazenovia Public Library community room. “The Tree of 40 Fruit” will be the subject of the lecture and workshop led by Dr. Sam Van Aken, associate professor of studio art (sculpture), from Syracuse University’s School of Visual and Performing Arts.

“The Tree of 40 Fruit” is an ongoing series of unique hybridized fruit trees by Van Aken. Each Tree of 40 Fruit is a single fruit tree that grows over 40 different types of stone fruit including peaches, plums, apricots, nectarines and cherries. Sculpted through the process of grafting, the Tree of 40 Fruit blossoms in variegated tones of pink, crimson and white in spring, and in summer bears a multitude of different fruit.

Primarily composed of native and antique varieties, the Tree of 40 Fruit is a form of conversation, preserving heirloom stone fruit varieties that are not commercially available.

Van Aken’s work has been exhibited nationally and internationally, receiving numerous awards including the Joan Mitchell Foundation Painters and Sculptors Grant; the Creative Capital Grant in Emerging Fields; the United States Information Agency; and The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts.

“We are excited that Professor Van Aken accepted our invitation to lead our eighth annual education seminar,” stated Tom Tait, founder and current chairperson of the Village Tree Commission. “2017 marks the 10th anniversary of our inception and the ‘Tree of 40 Fruit’ seminar will be a slight departure from our typical topics as a bit of celebration for the gifts trees bring to our lives.”

For more information on Van Aken’s “Tree of 40 Fruit,” watch his TED Talk at youtube.com/watch?v=t9EuJ9QlikY.

For more information on the Village of Cazenovia Tree Commission, contact Tom Tait at [email protected].