Visions

This piece is entitled Visions and was created with imagery I captured while in Assisi, Italy working on my Thin Places project. It was created by fusing two photos.  One image is of a fresco from the exterior of the Basilica of Saint Mary of the Angels, located just outside of Assisi.  The other is of a medieval alleyway winding through the town.  I like how the images work together to create the sense of a vision unfolding ahead.  It conveys a trace of a thin place.  This glimmer of the unknown-- that which is just beyond-- continues to draw me in.

I am very excited to continue my work exploring thin places.  I will be traveling to Scotland May 30-June 8 to capture imagery to create a new body of work that portrays thin places.  I am particularly interested in Iona, which is a very small island in Scotland that is considered a thin place.  I am very eager to explore and experience this place!

But I wouldn't be doing this without the amazing support and encouragement of so many people! I am grateful for those who really "get" this project and want to see it succeed.  A friend recently wrote me: "This is an exciting part of your art journey, life journey too... enjoy/share/create/teach... but most of all = GROW! "   Thanks, my friend, I plan to!

For more information about my upcoming project, visit my Iona Imagery Kickstarter page!

Size: (h x w) 20" x 16"
Media: Digital Photography
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Iona Imagery Kickstarter Partners

My sincere gratitude goes out to the following people who are partnering with me on my Iona Imagery project.  Their support will help enable me to create a new body of work inspired by my experiences of thin places in Iona, Scotland.  

Special thanks to:

Barbara J.

Pamela Daum, in honor of her mother, Betty Joan White Zucker Milner

Lexi

Tom and Joyce Waalkes
Sharon and Jim Charmley
Fredlee Votaw
Brett and Brenda Woudenberg
Emil Alecusan
Jeff Dreyer
Su Nimon
Robb Hankins
Heidi Beke Harrigan
Marcia Everett
Barb Walker
Paul & Gail Wetherell-Sack

To find out more about my Iona Imagery project and how you can back my project please click here to visit my Kickstarter page!

The piece pictured above is part of my Thin Places body of work that was inspired by my thin place experiences in Assisi, Italy.  It is entitled Shelter, and is a combination of two images.  One is a photo of sheep grazing on a peaceful hillside outside of town.  The other is of the Eremo delle Carceri, which is the cave in Mount Subasio where St. Francis used to retreat for prayer and contemplation.  Perhaps it was because the cave was integrated in the quietness of nature, but I found it to feel even more sacred, or thin, than the St. Francis Basilica with all of it's frescoed splendor.

Size (h x w) 12" x 9"
Media: Phototransfer on wood panel
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Iona Imagery Kickstarter Project

I am so pleased to announce that I will be continuing my exploration of thin places in my artwork!  I will be going to Iona, Scotland, an area described by many as a sacred or thin place-- a place where one experiences a more visceral sense of the Divine.  Many people describe thin places as a "thinning" of the divide or veil between heaven and earth.  This concept continues to intrigue and challenge me personally and in my artwork.

While in Iona, I will photograph new imagery and document my "thin" experiences.  Afterward I will begin creating a new body of work that seeks to visually portray the essence of Iona thin places. This project builds upon my recent Assisi Thin Places work, and I am very eager to see how I can push it even further!

If you'd like to learn more about my project or if you want to learn how you can get some artwork inspired by this trip, please click here to visit my Kickstarter page!  Thanks!

Transcendence

Transcendence was created using imagery from Assisi, Italy.  It combines a photo of a stairway going up to the Basilica of St. Francis with an image of the Umbrian countryside, as seen from outside the San Damiano church and monastery.  On their own, each image captured a quiet sense of space, one near and the other far. Together, they fuse into a contemplative space somewhere in between here and there.

Size: (h x w) 24" x 16"
Media: Original digital photography on wood
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Simplicity

Simplicity. This work combines an image of a sculpture of St. Francis in a niche with a photo of a window with plain lace curtains and a sparse, unpretentious window box. Nothing fancy, just simplicity in the everyday. This seemed like a fitting way to portray the humble monk known for striving to live simply and at peace with fellow humans, animals, and nature. 

The imagery was captured while on an artist residency in Assisi, Italy.

Size: (h x w) 12" x 9"

Media: phototransfer on wood

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Journey

The Basilica of St. Francis is a structure with three levels.  Each descending level grows more simple. The Italian Gothic upper church, built upon an existing church, is the most ornate with brilliant frescoes by Giotto of the life of St. Francis.  The lower church, is smaller, darker, and more intimate, with more humble frescos.  Below this is the crypt that contains the tomb of St. Francis.  This rough hewn space with simple adornments, low lighting, and few distractions turned out to be a quiet space of contemplation for me. 

I used an image of a cross candle holder from the crypt and overlayed it with a photo of a long stone hallway from the fortress, Rocca Maggiore (which is lit sparingly by arrow slits and a few lights), to echo the sense of the deep quiet in the reflective crypt space. 

This is part of the Thin Places body of work created from my artist residency in Assisi, Italy last year. 

Size: (h x w) 20" x 16"

Media: original digital photography

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Porta

The medieval arched gate seen in this piece is the Porta Cappuccini.  It was built in Assisi around 1316 and is still sound (cars drive through it!).  I overlayed this image with a shot of the winding dirt road that leads to the Arte Studio Ginestrelle, where I stayed for my artist residency.  These images were paired to convey the feel of wandering, of not knowing what lies ahead, and of the intrigue that drives us on. 

Size (h x w) 24" x 18"

Media: Phototransfered digital photography on panel with pastels

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