There was a lot of buzz going around over Oprah Winfrey's new property near Santa Barbara, Ca. It was exciting news!
As a tile artist, I knew all to well with home buying, renovation can go hand-in-hand, so it really got my attention. But not in the way you think. This was different. You could say as Oprah would put it, this was a real "aha moment" for me! It filled me with emotion as I realized I could give back to Oprah in the only way I knew I could! It seemed crazy but not really, and I knew I had to find a way. So grateful for her daily dose of love and healing, and lots of inspiration. It lifted me and so many of her viewers out of our blues during that adjustment period after September 11, 2001. We were a depressed nation still in the throws of recovery and facing a new normal in the world. I knew deeply it was possible and imagined my tiles bringing her real heartfelt joy and beauty into her new home. With no direct connection to the situation, I called my sister in Pennsylvania, settled into my glider under my pine tree, and together we prayed for God's help.
It was in the early spring of 2002, just days after my prayer, my family company- Historical Tile Design (stone division of Waverly Tile at that time), received a sample request from NS Ceramic, our representative tile showroom in Santa Barbara, for hand carved tree tiles in Jerusalem stone. (Jerusalem stone comes from the Holy Land) The job name was TARA II.
Oddly enough during those spring, summer and fall months of sample making, we had no idea TARA II was Oprah’s new home. It wasn’t until we ran into problems ordering a large volume of the right shade of stone chosen for production, we came to a standstill. There was a war going on in Palestine and the quarries were closed. To make matters worse, the western US ports were on strike and likely new shipments of Jerusalem were held up in Port. The owner of NS Ceramic refused to accept the situation and broke down and confessed it was for Oprah! We were shocked. It was quite amazing. Through the Grace of God my prayers were answered. We had to find a way. We had to do the impossible and obtain that special shade of Jerusalem limestone. Letting nothing stand in our way, we pulled all stops and miraculously found enough stone for her projects to make Oprah exactly what she wanted and deserved. So grateful for its opportunity, everyday thereafter was a celebration!
With both our sons, Nicholas and Michael, and Frank and myself, it was a real family affair making her tiles.
Each tile was carved and lightly stained, sanded and gingerly rubbed to achieve a beautiful distressed finish.
I designed the tree tiles and their finishes and made a special mural piece for in her main kitchen. It was a finely detailed stone carving of her ancient oak tree living on her property. Oprah wanted it for the wall space behind the stove area, the main focal point of her kitchen.
The TARA II Project, which included the "tree" tiles and the "wildflower" tiles (created by my son Nicholas for other spaces in her home), took 18 months to complete. Project ran from Spring 2002 to Fall 2003. In that time span, I devoted nearly 8 months working on the large tree mural before it was finished. My son Michael did the final carving and staining for all the Jerusalem stone tree border tiles and decos.
We hand delivered the crated mural to her country estate in Montecito, Ca. Shortly after our arrival during our meeting with the project designer and contractor, very unexpectedly, Oprah came inside to see the carving I made for her.
She had Sophie with her. Feeling so unprepared for this moment, I was told she would likely not be there.
I was stunned when she came in. Left speechless, internally I sunk down to my knees with my wits spiraling. You could feel God's presence as we watched her inspect the carved tree for the very first time.
She was overjoyed. As she examined its details, she seemed in awe, and turned to me looking "completely taken away" and asked me how I created it. I told her I used the photos provided of her tree for reference and the kitchen and butler's pantry elevations. She asked if I'd seen the tree in person or the kitchen space before starting the project, which I answered no. She said to my husband "This is so incredible, I don't know which one is my favorite, this tree or my tub. So you haven't seen the tree, you haven't seen the kitchen, that's it, I want you to see my tub - it is really special, and you must see the kitchen too. I want to show you everything! I want to show you my home!
I was overjoyed. Grateful to God to witness how pleased she was. As she led us through inside and outside too, you could feel her joy, her love for her home and complete gratitude for the Grace of God. This day was extraordinary. In its last moments Oprah arranged for a photo of the three of us, with her dog Sophie by her favorite oak tree.. She gathered us together in the shade near it's uniquely long bent limb, I have come to know so well. It was quite emotional for me after all this time to finally meet this special oak tree. Oprah's massive old oak, so powerful and beautiful, it is her special oak tree that has been living on her property long before Oprah arrived. It's her treasured tree, her Promised Land Oak Tree.
Additional Notes:
In December of 2003 Diane Sawyer interviewed Oprah by telephone and asked her what she was doing for this Christmas, since every Christmas for sometime, Oprah travels to Africa to see her girls that are getting educated in her special school. Oprah’s answer was, “I am staying home with my tiles” this year. To the artists knowledge, the only decorative tiles in the entire mansion that the artist got a tour of were created by herself, and saw none other, so the artist took it as a huge compliment that her tiles were that special, or was it really just this one tile. This may be the largest most important “one tile” ever created for the most influential woman of the present world, and of the most important ‘subject matter” in that woman’s life.
Oprah has not spoke of the Promise Land Tree or the stone carving of it in the 20 years since 2003, even though it is shown and not mentioned in every online article link, even the ones that only show a few pictures of the most important things in her home, it is shown, but no mention as to what it is, who the artist is, or what it is to represent.
There is a story, there is a story, there is a story, to every aspect of this project.
Why did Oprah not show a picture of the actual Promised Land Tree until 2012 on her Instagram page and then not call it what she has always called it since 2003, to the artist and others.
The oak tree to Oprah represents education and is the reason why Davie Landscaping has planted 2500 oak trees in front of libraries across the USA.
The Promised Land Tree represents much more than that, and is part of the story to unfold to the buyer of Oprah’s Artwork #2, the Artisit's Study, and becomes their sole property.
As a tile artist, I knew all to well with home buying, renovation can go hand-in-hand, so it really got my attention. But not in the way you think. This was different. You could say as Oprah would put it, this was a real "aha moment" for me! It filled me with emotion as I realized I could give back to Oprah in the only way I knew I could! It seemed crazy but not really, and I knew I had to find a way. So grateful for her daily dose of love and healing, and lots of inspiration. It lifted me and so many of her viewers out of our blues during that adjustment period after September 11, 2001. We were a depressed nation still in the throws of recovery and facing a new normal in the world. I knew deeply it was possible and imagined my tiles bringing her real heartfelt joy and beauty into her new home. With no direct connection to the situation, I called my sister in Pennsylvania, settled into my glider under my pine tree, and together we prayed for God's help.
It was in the early spring of 2002, just days after my prayer, my family company- Historical Tile Design (stone division of Waverly Tile at that time), received a sample request from NS Ceramic, our representative tile showroom in Santa Barbara, for hand carved tree tiles in Jerusalem stone. (Jerusalem stone comes from the Holy Land) The job name was TARA II.
Oddly enough during those spring, summer and fall months of sample making, we had no idea TARA II was Oprah’s new home. It wasn’t until we ran into problems ordering a large volume of the right shade of stone chosen for production, we came to a standstill. There was a war going on in Palestine and the quarries were closed. To make matters worse, the western US ports were on strike and likely new shipments of Jerusalem were held up in Port. The owner of NS Ceramic refused to accept the situation and broke down and confessed it was for Oprah! We were shocked. It was quite amazing. Through the Grace of God my prayers were answered. We had to find a way. We had to do the impossible and obtain that special shade of Jerusalem limestone. Letting nothing stand in our way, we pulled all stops and miraculously found enough stone for her projects to make Oprah exactly what she wanted and deserved. So grateful for its opportunity, everyday thereafter was a celebration!
With both our sons, Nicholas and Michael, and Frank and myself, it was a real family affair making her tiles.
Each tile was carved and lightly stained, sanded and gingerly rubbed to achieve a beautiful distressed finish.
I designed the tree tiles and their finishes and made a special mural piece for in her main kitchen. It was a finely detailed stone carving of her ancient oak tree living on her property. Oprah wanted it for the wall space behind the stove area, the main focal point of her kitchen.
The TARA II Project, which included the "tree" tiles and the "wildflower" tiles (created by my son Nicholas for other spaces in her home), took 18 months to complete. Project ran from Spring 2002 to Fall 2003. In that time span, I devoted nearly 8 months working on the large tree mural before it was finished. My son Michael did the final carving and staining for all the Jerusalem stone tree border tiles and decos.
We hand delivered the crated mural to her country estate in Montecito, Ca. Shortly after our arrival during our meeting with the project designer and contractor, very unexpectedly, Oprah came inside to see the carving I made for her.
She had Sophie with her. Feeling so unprepared for this moment, I was told she would likely not be there.
I was stunned when she came in. Left speechless, internally I sunk down to my knees with my wits spiraling. You could feel God's presence as we watched her inspect the carved tree for the very first time.
She was overjoyed. As she examined its details, she seemed in awe, and turned to me looking "completely taken away" and asked me how I created it. I told her I used the photos provided of her tree for reference and the kitchen and butler's pantry elevations. She asked if I'd seen the tree in person or the kitchen space before starting the project, which I answered no. She said to my husband "This is so incredible, I don't know which one is my favorite, this tree or my tub. So you haven't seen the tree, you haven't seen the kitchen, that's it, I want you to see my tub - it is really special, and you must see the kitchen too. I want to show you everything! I want to show you my home!
I was overjoyed. Grateful to God to witness how pleased she was. As she led us through inside and outside too, you could feel her joy, her love for her home and complete gratitude for the Grace of God. This day was extraordinary. In its last moments Oprah arranged for a photo of the three of us, with her dog Sophie by her favorite oak tree.. She gathered us together in the shade near it's uniquely long bent limb, I have come to know so well. It was quite emotional for me after all this time to finally meet this special oak tree. Oprah's massive old oak, so powerful and beautiful, it is her special oak tree that has been living on her property long before Oprah arrived. It's her treasured tree, her Promised Land Oak Tree.
Additional Notes:
In December of 2003 Diane Sawyer interviewed Oprah by telephone and asked her what she was doing for this Christmas, since every Christmas for sometime, Oprah travels to Africa to see her girls that are getting educated in her special school. Oprah’s answer was, “I am staying home with my tiles” this year. To the artists knowledge, the only decorative tiles in the entire mansion that the artist got a tour of were created by herself, and saw none other, so the artist took it as a huge compliment that her tiles were that special, or was it really just this one tile. This may be the largest most important “one tile” ever created for the most influential woman of the present world, and of the most important ‘subject matter” in that woman’s life.
Oprah has not spoke of the Promise Land Tree or the stone carving of it in the 20 years since 2003, even though it is shown and not mentioned in every online article link, even the ones that only show a few pictures of the most important things in her home, it is shown, but no mention as to what it is, who the artist is, or what it is to represent.
There is a story, there is a story, there is a story, to every aspect of this project.
Why did Oprah not show a picture of the actual Promised Land Tree until 2012 on her Instagram page and then not call it what she has always called it since 2003, to the artist and others.
The oak tree to Oprah represents education and is the reason why Davie Landscaping has planted 2500 oak trees in front of libraries across the USA.
The Promised Land Tree represents much more than that, and is part of the story to unfold to the buyer of Oprah’s Artwork #2, the Artisit's Study, and becomes their sole property.
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