Original Wine Cork Trail Map
First Tracks
Swiss Valley Ski Area, interpreted through color, depth, and hundreds of individually placed wine corks.
The Story
A mountain remembered in cork
My first job was teaching skiing at Swiss Valley in Jones, Michigan. Years later, I returned to the mountain in a different way: by rebuilding its trails, landmarks, movement, and memories as a dimensional work of art.
First Tracks includes the complete Swiss Valley trail system, but it is not meant to read like a flat map. Rows of cork suggest freshly groomed corduroy. Changes in cork height create terrain. Color and texture guide the eye from the chalet and road toward the slopes beyond.
Built to Change as You Approach
The image is only the beginning
From across the room, the composition reads as a mountain. Up close, individual corks, labels, color shifts, cuts, and raised forms reveal how the landscape was constructed.
Look Closer
Place, movement, and memory
The road is built to suggest tread marks, arrival, and movement toward the mountain. Beyond the accurate trail system, subtle symbolic details and personal references are woven into the composition to reward close viewing without changing the map itself.
Imagine Your Mountain in Cork
What place would you want to preserve?
A favorite mountain, city, building, landscape, or memory can become an original dimensional artwork—including corks collected from your own life.