Middlesex Fells Reservation
Greater Boston, Massachusetts
Topographic relief of the Middlesex Fells Reservation, 2,500 acres of protected land within metropolitan Boston. Hardwood defines the reservation’s rocky terrain, reservoirs, and wooded rises beside the surrounding urban grid. Laser-etched trails, roads, and buildings trace the transition from city to protected land.
Complete topographic composition
Complete view of terrain
Detail of gilded Firefly location
Crafted for Firefly Bicycles in Melrose, this piece was made to support a rider’s first outing on a new custom titanium bicycle. The Fells were the natural subject because they turn the bicycle from finished object into lived experience, as streets give way to dirt and fit becomes feel.
The piece needed to work as both artwork and orientation. Streets, parkways, dirt routes, reservoirs, and trail connections were given different visual weights so the full route from shop to woods could be read without flattening the reservation into a standard map.
A 24k gilded marker locates the Firefly shop as the point of departure. From there, the etched city grid and trail system mark the way from workshop to woods, from finished bicycle to first ride.
Artist's Note