‘Hermits and seekers’

“Heartwood” (bronze heart, acorn caps, a clan of Oakborn figures, and a council of crows), by Linda Hoffman, at Boston Sculptors Gallery April 2-May 3.

The gallery says:

“Embedded in the natural world physically as well as metaphorically, Hoffman’s sculptures are often found in the woods, along trails, beside a pond, or hidden among rocks.

“In ‘Heartwood,’ the Oakborn folk gather within the heart’s hidden caves and dwellings — hermits and seekers, they are at once emissaries and a source of inspiration, bound to one another by their roots. One climbs, or perhaps descends, the rungs of a twig ladder, while another receives wisdom from the elders. Nearby, the Council of Crows speaks from its ancient knowing, coaxing us to see more deeply into our own spacious hearts.’’

In 2001, Hoffman and her three children moved into an old farmhouse with an abandoned orchard, Old Frog Pond Farm in Harvard, Mass. Hoffman restored the orchard and it became the first organic pick-your-own orchard in Massachusetts.