The Visible and Invisible Aspects of Growth: A Tree Model

This is something I have been working on, and I would love to hear what others think. This is one of my "takes" on the iceberg model. I am sure I am not the first person who has done this, but a tree works better than an iceberg for me. If you are not familiar with the "iceberg" model, it is often used to show what is "above the surface" and "beneath the surface." However, personally, I did not feel like it worked for me for a number of reasons. So, for a while, I have been playing around with other images.

Pictured is a tree that shows, at the top, what people see. It features words like "the beauty that came from the struggle," "creativity," and "accomplishments." But beneath a line placed in the middle of the image is a section called "what people don't see," which includes "lessons in failure," "things that are sacred to you," and "all of the experiences that inform the work...including the ones that are hard to name."

In this image, I intentionally kept writing off of the margins, and it is intentional that you cannot read the words. This is not a crop. This is the end of the digital "canvas," and the purpose of this is to show the roots that keep going beyond what the frame can even hold. The words are also intentionally messy and overlapped, almost intertwined, as roots are. This is different from the iceberg model, which shows a clearly defined "bottom" of the iceberg beneath the water.

I am a bit obsessed with images and words that end up getting treated as the "norm" and then trying to find my own way around them. Even when it comes to "roots," I actually think a fresh ginger root works better 😅, but I wanted to try a tree first. Ultimately, I just hope this image is a reminder that there is more to our stories. - Morgan Harper Nichols