I’m basically a hoarder with a knife.
Who is
Tree Lily Butcher?
Tree Lily Butcher (they/them) upcycles unloved and unwanted vintage physical materials into high-end hand-cut collage. They do this because they themselves have felt unloved and unwanted, but through the art of collage they have found their own inherent value and connection to the world.
Born autistic in Nashville, TN on Halloween, Tree Lily Butcher knew what they wanted to be very early in life: in the words of 7-year-old Tree, “I want to be when I grow up I will be an artist and a mom because a mom is the best job in the world. An artist is a good job too I think because I love to paint pictures.”
As a high school student at The Webb School in Bell Buckle, TN, Tree started their own zine “Sheep Grenade” which caused quite a stir in the small country town due to age appropriate obscenity. Through this experimental zine, they found their love of hand-cut collage.
In March of 2020, Tree Lily was 3 months pregnant, an unemployed waiter full of fear, anxiety and depression. So, they shut themself into their home art studio and ripped apart magazines while the world split at the seams. Change is at the very core of hand-cut collage and change is what inspired them to pursue art professionally.
Tree Lily lives that #lakelife with a loving partner of 10+ years, adorable toddler, and tiny dog in Old Hickory, TN.
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