Local sculptor inspires compassion and respect for nature along the Stone Mountain Trail

A new multisite art installation is taking shape along the Stone Mountain Trail. Lungs of Mother Earth, a tall steel and wood sculpture, has been installed in a grassy meadow in Scottdale near Davis Manufacturing. This piece was created by local artist Shannon Willow, who previously installed its companion piece, Heart of Mother Earth, further north along the Trail in Clarkston in 2024. 

Both sculptures are part of the Compassion Corridor, an emerging outdoor green space that is anchored by art and pollinator gardens developed by Willow and Compassionate Atlanta, a grassroots community-building nonprofit centered on compassionate action. 

“The Compassion Corridor makes art come alive with an eco-friendly design in a thriving path that invites us to share our community spaces and see each other’s common humanity, shared compassion that’s practiced and brings energy and well-being to the whole community,” said Leanne Rubenstein, co-director of Compassionate Atlanta. When finished, the green space will connect Clarkston, Scottdale, Avondale Estates, Stone Mountain and Decatur. 

Willow pointed out the sculpture’s windpipe, constructed out of twisted wood, which extends above the lungs into the sky above. “The tree represents reciprocity, the sacred exchange that we have with trees — as we breathe out, they breathe in and as they breathe out, we breathe in. We cannot live without trees. So the tree is the central form within the overall form,” she explained. On the lungs themselves, vines wind across the structure, decorated with colorful flowers. The vines represent the brachial “tree” that exists within human lungs which carries air from your windpipe to the air sacs of the lungs.

Willow’s idea is to make works that connect us with nature and make real the idea of Mother Earth as an entity all her own. She does this through large scale sculptures that are designed to coexist in nature, providing support for plants that might climb the structure and benefit local pollinators. Willow hopes that by seeing Mother Earth represented in recognizable anatomical forms we will be able to reconnect with the natural world, bringing a heightened consciousness of our place within our local ecosystems.

Willow constructed Lungs of Mother Earth over the course of about four months, working out of a friend’s studio at South River Art Studios. She said she found the process to be fun and inspiring, albeit a little dangerous considering she was working with fire and steel. She described how she sought out various textures for the armature, which also serves as a representation of the biodiversity of nature.

“For this particular piece, I actually learned to weld, which was pretty incredible — very toxic, dangerous, fiery, which I enjoyed quite a bit,” said Willow. “I love the process because I usually work pretty intuitively in all my works, but this piece particularly taught me so much from the cold bending of the still round bark to using the grinder to cut these big sheets of steel textures.” 

Devoted to supporting nature through all she does, Willow is a certified master naturalist in the state of Georgia, and she is an outspoken advocate for practices of re-wilding and caring for even the smallest of creatures that share our communities, such as insects. “Being an Earth keeper is just a way to say thank you,” said Willow, highlighting the way that Earth continuously provides for us and noting that we may have lost touch with our ability to give back. That’s why having pollinator gardens surround the sculptures is essential to the overall vision for the green space.

“Within this space, we really want to make it a place of interacting as humans again, looking out for one another, being friendly . . .  just in a sacred exchange, you know? Because we need more kindness; we need more compassion in the world. And when you bring art into nature, it creates curiosity among people.”

One of the key factors essential to the design of the Compassion Corridor is its visibility. You could take these same sculptures and place them in the woods somewhere, and they would still have artistic merit, but placing them along major roadways drastically increases their ability to spark conversation and build compassion in others. The idea is to inspire passers-by to consider the natural world around them — and our connections to it — through artwork and native gardens.

The project has been funded by DeKalb County Commissioner for Super District 6 Ted Terry, who served as mayor of Clarkston from 2014 to 2020. He was the youngest mayor in the city’s 135-year history and is an outspoken advocate for art-infused community-building initiatives such as this one.

“During my time as mayor of Clarkston, I saw firsthand how intentional walkable spaces can transform a neighborhood and bring people together,” said Terry. “This is why I’m so thrilled to highlight the Compassion Corridor project, a multiyear visionary environmental art and community engagement initiative connecting our DeKalb cities through the Stone Mountain Trail.”

Maintaining good working relationships with collaborators is essential to their success of public projects. The team working on the Compassion Corridor also includes other artists and community partners such as Green Box Homes and Shades of Green Permaculture, who were brought in to design the pollinator gardens. 

“Ultimately, this project is about how we treat each other: True compassion starts with the self, and it extends into our physical spaces and the systems that govern our daily lives,” Terry continued. “When our streets and our parks and our trails feel welcoming, our social ties strengthen, and a deeper sense of belonging starts to grow.”

An official unveiling ceremony for Lungs of Mother Earth will take place on Saturday, May 2, from 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. Collaborators, local leaders and the public will meet at the site, undoubtedly leading to conversations about the importance of art and how it can advance environmental change and bring communities together. The event will feature a live performance by DrumWise and an artist talk with Willow at 1 p.m.

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Isadora Pennington is ArtATL’s senior editor of art + design and dance. An experienced writer and photographer with a deep love for the arts, Isadora founded the Sketchbook newsletter with Rough Draft Atlanta in 2022. She is also president of the Avondale Arts Alliance and director of the Avondale Arts Center.