After taking pictures in nature, I digitally develop each photograph starting with the black and white image. Focusing on shades of black, I keep these dark spaces discreet; they are hard to reach, yet compelling like trying to hold on to a fading memory. From this deep darkness, I consider how nature is resilient, and can be a source of inspiration and optimism, while at the same time, a reminder of the world’s vulnerability. And yet, observing nature and representing what it means and how it feels with only a black and white photographic image is not enough.
This has led me to add language and color to my compositions. For each photograph I combine geometric shapes created with an array of colors and selected words that describe the natural world as I experience it: fragile, dangerous, sad, beautiful, tragic, lonely, magnificent, enigmatic, irrepressible. The colors I choose are found in nature, from wildflowers to sunsets to frosty cold winter skies. I create the geometrics starting with a grid and then as I make shapes, I consider the natural elements in the picture and improvise.
For example–– On a frigidly cold day alone I went to an unfamiliar and unexpectedly icy area to photograph. Inspired by the combination of the cool winter light and the stark contrast of the elements against the sky, I took pictures but then realized my camera battery was quickly running low and suddenly died because of the cold. I had to make my way back to my studio without all the photos I wanted to take. Still, one photograph stood out from that day because it made me think of the novel, All My Puny Sorrows by Miriam Toews, where in anticipation of the pending move her virtuoso piano-playing sister was making away from home the narrator asks her “What’s so hot about playing the piano?”. From her answer describing how to render a riveting, emotional experience, I chose 11 of her words to incorporate into that picture ––because they riveted and consoled me as I faced my own feelings of loss of someone very important to me.
Art communicates abstractly but transparently, conveying meaning and profound emotion. This is my motivation, and my process develops with a will to create art that people look at to find emotional depth and meaning reflected from their own lives.