The sun is my enlarger, and plants are my muse.
My creative process heavily involves gathering inspiration from my surrounding natural environment. Silver gelatin photographic paper is my canvas on which objects are placed, and an unrepeatable image is exposed under the sun.
Working in a cameraless photographic process is full of unknowns. With lumens, what normally is controlled through aperture, exposure, and chemistry, is unpredictable.
The process of creating each lumen is meditative. I focus on my hands; how they feel, what they look like, the way they move. What I feel and think determines my creative freedom. I am not my body, and neither are you.
Living in disconnect from our senses isolates us from the flesh. When collecting materials, I walk in silence. I allow the Earth to connect to my mind and my body. Energy reaches through the soil, grasping my feet like roots. I breathe, and I truly feel alive.
I yearn for a connection between my body and the natural world; to transcend beyond the physical. I am fearful of a life detached from nature.
Every day I challenge myself to think innovatively about the work I create. I push through the boundaries of photographic paper, using anything containing pigment; from Hawaiian Punch to Chaga, and most recently, RIT Dye. The addition of these pigments permanently stains the photographic paper, preserving the colors that were once lost to the light-safe chemistry.
Focusing on the process instead of the outcome is liberating. I am grateful for each quiet moment I am allowed a deeper breath, where time slows, and I connect with myself on a level far greater than physical. In each of these moments, I spend time observing my natural surroundings, picking plants most would discard or leave unnoticed. I want to thank the earth through my work; creating an image manipulated uniquely by nature.
