19 Oct 2026

A Willow of Steel and Light

Metal tree sculpture with a rust-colored trunk and a wide canopy of hanging silver bead chains, rising from a dark steel planter on a concrete plaza in Memorial Park, Round Rock, with green trees and a pastel sunset sky behind it and two people walking in the distance.
Golden Hour Willow

Among the trails I bike around Round Rock, Memorial Park along Brushy Creek often gets me to stop. Sometimes it’s the wildlife I see along the creek, and sometimes it’s a new piece of artwork the city has unveiled.

Low-angle view of the Tree of Life sculpture, its rust-colored metal trunk splitting into branches that support a broad, weeping canopy of silver bead chains against a bright blue sky with wispy clouds and autumn trees.
A Willow of Steel

The newest addition is a tree sculpture called the Tree of Life (also called the Tree of Light), created by the collaborative artist duo Travis Seeger and Foster Talge. Its metal trunk and branches rise over the park vista, and its canopy of hanging strands shimmers during the day and glows after sunset. I had photographed it before, but yesterday I went back to enjoy it as the sun began to set and take a few more photos.

Close-up looking up into the sculpture, showing a rusty metal trunk and branches behind a dense curtain of vertical silver bead chains hanging from fine branching metal twigs against a blue sky.
Curtain of Chains

When you stand close and look up, you see an intricate system of metal branches holding countless strands of bead chain hanging down like the drooping limbs of a weeping willow. In fact, a willow was the first image that came to mind when I saw it. The chains also remind me of the pull chains on ceiling fans, the ones we tug to turn on the light or change the fan speed. It’s the same kind of chain, only here the beads are noticeably larger.

View from directly beneath the sculpture, with dark branches and hundreds of bead chains radiating outward overhead, framed against a blue sky and golden sunset-lit clouds.
Sunburst Canopy

This sculpture is a great place to experiment with light and composition. As I was getting ready to leave, I walked around it one more time to frame the setting sun in the sky above. The chains were beginning to catch the warm light around me, turning the whole canopy from silver to gold.

I really like the idea that Round Rock spends money to showcase artwork in city parks and plazas. I took all of these images with my Samsung S23 phone.

That is the story behind the shots. For more like this, enjoy these related stories: Cellpic Sunday, Landscapes, Memorial Park, Parks, Round Rock, Texas, Tree of Life, and Tree of Light. Until the next shoot, keep chasing the light and the wonders it reveals.

Sources

  • City of Round Rock, Public Art — https://www.roundrocktexas.gov/residents/arts-culture/sculptures/
  • Seeger & Foster, About — https://seegerandfoster.com/about

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2 Responses

  1. bushboy
    | Reply

    The photo from below is rather fabulous Egidio

    • Egidio Leitao
      | Reply

      Thank you, Brian. It was with waiting for that.

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