It’s a steamy Monday morning here in Cabin Country, Minnesota. At first glance, this looks dreary, but find the peace this dew-covered window gives. Mother Nature grabs my attention again and gives me something to see that I haven’t paid attention to in the past. I give thanks for simple blessings like this image. I find beauty in the storm; I find my inner peace.
Autumn is Summer’s last party celebrating a colorful season, so step outside and participate in Mother Nature’s gorgeous grand finale! For me, it’s like the trees are excited to shed the old in a colorful magical way; getting ready for their much-needed hibernation to rejuvenate and start fresh coming spring.
Commando photoziac artwork series statement:
My award-winning Photozaics are inspired by where Van Gogh’s textures meet Ansel Adam’s simplicity near the intersection of Bob Ross’ healing vibes. This technique is a labor-intensive multi-step process and starts with my journey into nature; recording the landscapes that spark my eye whether it be rolling hills or a babbling brook. After modifying the composition, I take the print and head to the stained-glass shop to find matching colors. I cut the glass by hand by taking smaller shards and placing them in a rock tumbler to remove sharp edges while larger pieces are sanded by hand and assembled in the frame. Grouting finishes the artwork allowing the detail of each cut glass shape to add texture to my art. This series I call commando, it’s liberating to see the photo in sync with the frame no boundaries separating these two mediums from dancing: just beautiful fluid flow.
Daisies are a true sign of spring: A lovely reminder of how beautiful change can truly be.
Sleeping Bear Beach photozaic 16x14x1
The Ashininaabek people used the Mother Bear as a landmark and tell the story about how she came to be there. Long ago, along the Wisconsin shoreline, a mother bear and her two cubs were driven into Lake Michigan by a raging forest fire. The bears swam for many hours, but soon the cubs tired. Mother bear reached the shore first and climbed to the top of a high bluff to watch and wait for her cubs. The cubs drowned within sight of the shore. The Great Spirit created two islands to mark the spot where the cubs disappeared and then created a solitary dune to represent the eternal vigil of a mother bear. These images reminded me of the gulf coast just minus the salty ocean air.
I watched as morning fog kissed the landscape, slowly burning off showing Lake Michigan’s beautiful teal-blue waters. While I was exploring Sleeping Bear Dunes, I had the story above playing around in my head; carefully documenting the landscape with both color and infrared cameras.
Continuing with Emily’s suggestions of going matte less here are a few more matted vs matte less works of art. Images Breakpoint at Racepoint and Pine Edged Road.
I recently had a portfolio review with Emily Schiffer thanks to Photograph Resource Center Boston and she along with others suggested doing my photoziacs without matting. She offered up the print option of Metal or Wood; as soon as our meeting was over I jumped online knowing my custom print lab offered up metal prints. I decided to Experiment with my image called Green. Below you will see side by side comparison of the same size frame but two very different looks as one image are printed on metal and the other is on foam core and matted.
Please leave a comment and tell me which one you like and why? I love reading your comments about my art! I’m working on another comparison one in my Infrared series- so stay tuned.
