Artists Reception–Chronicles in Wood: an exhibition of prints of tree ring cross sections by Abigail Littlefield

Chronicles in Wood: an exhibition of prints of tree ring cross sections by Abigail Littlefield

Artist Reception on THURSDAY, January 22nd at 6:30pm

Chronicles in Wood: an exhibition of prints of tree ring cross sections by Abigail Littlefield will be on view at The Putney Public Library, December 1 – February 28, 2026.

Abigail Littlefield is an artist and longtime science educator whose work bridges botanical study and environmental observation. For more than thirty years, she was a science professor, cultivating a personal fascination with the structures and life histories of plants. A significant head injury reshaped her life, leading her to incorporate art into her rehabilitation process. During recovery, she began creating illustrated field guides to local trees and plants – watercolor was a means to rebuild.

What began as therapy evolved into a dedicated artistic practice. Littlefield’s early field guide studies developed into highly detailed botanical watercolors that reflect both scientific precision and a renewed intimacy with the natural world.

Most recently, she has begun printing tree rings, a process that merges her background in science with her artistic sensibilities. By translating the temporal records embedded in wood into visual form, she continues to explore the complex stories that trees carry – and the ways art can illuminate them.

Abigail lives in Westminster West, Vermont with her partner, four labrador retrievers, a cat, several ducks, a flock of chickens and lots of honey bees.