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When Bethesda couple Paula Stone and Seth Goldstein creates a sculpture out of Oriental Bittersweet vine, the benefit is two-fold. The thick, looping material is perfect for lending itself to artistic interpretation, but the unique pieces also mean a chance at survival for the tree the material was once strangling to death.

Both retired engineers with an artistic flair — Goldstein creates kinetic sculptures, including machines that automatically tie a necktie or play a violin, while Stone is partial to photography and playwriting — the two first began using the material for art when a friend gave them some of the vine about a year ago.

"That night, I had a dream that the pieces told me how to put them together," Stone said. Eventually, they created five large-scale, whimsical pieces in which the vine is twisted and bolted together, appearing to be anything from a face to a giant insect to a cello.

For those who work in invasive species management, however, dreams about bittersweet vines are more like nightmares. The vines can grow thick and wrap tightly around trees, eventually causing the tree to die, according to Carole Bergman, the county's forest ecologist. And as a native of Southeast Asia with little in the way of natural predators, the vines have grown wild across the county and the country, Bergman said. "The word ‘invasive' tells it all," Bergman said. "They grow very fast, and nothing eats it, nothing kills it."

The vines were likely introduced in part by nurseries, which sold them for their attractive red-orange berries often used for decorating, Bergman said.

Before Stone and Goldstein started using the material in their artwork, they were unaware of the threat it posed, even though the two are both appreciators of nature. "For all of the time we've spent hiking, we've never been aware of it," Stone said. "Now, we see it everywhere."

When they realized they could save trees while at the same time gain material for their sculptures, the two wasted no time signing up for the county's Weed Warrior program, which trains residents to take to county park land to remove dangerous invasives like bittersweet. The program was launched about 10 years ago by Bergman, who lacked the staff to launch an attack against invasives but thought she might be able to find some volunteers to help out.

She was right — Goldstein and Stone joined more than 700 people have trained with Weed Warriors since 1999, learning to identify and safely remove invasive species. The warriors have donated more than 23,000 hours of work collectively, Bergman said.

"People don't realize how much trouble it is to reforest once a tree is gone," Bergman said. "We have these beautiful 100-year-old trees all around us, and when they are covered with vines, we can save them — otherwise they will die."

The couple's sculptures are part of the Conservatory Summer Display at Brookside Gardens in Wheaton, in celebration of the garden's 40th anniversary. They hope the sculptures will help raise awareness about the threat bittersweet poses to trees.

"What I really like most about it is that it's a whimsical way to teach an important environmental lesson," said Kathy Stevens, who is coordinating the display.

Stevens and Bergman agree that viewers may be surprised at the vine's thick texture. "When you look at the size of the vines and how tightly they twist, it's not hard to understand that they could pull down or strangle a tree," Stevens said.

For Goldstein and Stone, removing the vines are only half the work. Creating a sculpture requires teamwork, they say, and a lot of patience. "We'll turn it upside down, this way and that, and wait for it to say what it wants to be," Stone said. "Finally, it kind of speaks."