The Birth of a Collection
I am excited to take you through the process and tell the story of my Thin Spaces collection.
This series delves into the ethereal realms where the boundaries between heaven and earth seem to diminish. In this space, there exists a momentary pause, where we can experience the elusive and altered light that unfolds, allowing worlds to converge. We are invited to explore the mystical and transcendental spaces where imagination and existence coalesce.
The concept behind this series has been evolving over time, not without challenges. There was a moment when I contemplated abandoning the entire direction, struggling to find its authentic voice. However, clarity emerged for me during a near-total eclipse, where shadows intensified, paradoxically enhancing the brilliance of the light.
SEE THE WHOLE COLLECTION
When people ask me how long it take to do a piece? It’s a hard question to answer. These aren’t individual entities. It all happens as an ongoing process. And this series has been taking form for a long time.
Did you know I date stamp my collections? It’s part of the filenames and a code I use for all my artwork. Each design has its own number and it travels with the assets. It marks the day that I open and save the first file of a collection.
It can be kind of a goal if I’m approaching a marker. Often times the series is brewing for months – in my mind, research, sketches, photography – before I actually sit down at the computer. So often times the code is intentional and significant.
This date code is my birthday: 080823. Which coincides with the Lions Gate Portal which peaks every year on August 8th when Sirius, Earth, and the Orion constellation are all in alignment with each other. It is believed that the eighth of the eighth is a fundamental spiritual date, as it’s when the veil between our world and the spiritual world is incredibly thin.
THE PROCESS BEGINS…
I love pinterest… with as image hungry as I can be at the beginning of a series, it’s such a wonderful tool to gather visuals without filling up my hard drives.
Can you see where this collection is heading?
THE PROSE…
THE VISUALS…
The designs portraying passages with radiant openings are symbolic of the unique journey we each undertake as we seek this space. The interplay of light and shadow not only illuminates our individual paths but also emphasizes the transformative nature of the experiences we encounter along the way.
My design process begins with vague ideas, pinterest boards, sketches, and sifting through so so many visuals. The research is layered.
Once the process moves to the design phase, the drawings are created. Many many many versions of drawings…. edited, culled, combined… This is a very important foundation of the series. If the drawings aren’t right, none of it works.
And then there is always the touchstone of “Can I work with these lines”? “Will these shapes still make sense when I fill them with patterns”? “Will this be a giant mess”?
THE PHOTOGRAPHY…
Photography is of course the integral component of my imagery. It’s really everything you see in a piece. There are no filters, no manipulation. If there is a color shift it’s because one photo is overlaying another and producing that result.
I have tens of thousands of photos. I don’t shoot for a project unless it’s a commission. I just shoot.
When I begin a series, I have a pretty good idea of the vibe I’m looking for… botanical, architectural, location specific.
Within this collection, you’ll find photos of my cherished destinations, from Wimberley and the Pacific Northwest to the Gulf Coast beaches, Sedona, and the rivers of Texas—each holding a spiritual connection for me. These are my personal “thin spaces”.
My compositions are complex and I love to add little easter eggs in to allow for deeper discoveries. This series has a few of my favorite feathered friends alight here and there. Also I’ve used figures in the pieces to emphasize the human journey. I realize that I LOVE using people and I need to shoot more!
The only one that doesn’t have a living entity is “Where Worlds Softly Meet”. In this piece it’s the absence of the person that is important… The float photo was taken one early morning as I sat and watched the sun come up over the bay of Pensacola. In the distance I just could make out something floating on the surface of the water. As it drifted closer, I was finally made able to make it out as a child’s float and it became even more intriguing. I love the surreal quality of the lone toy and the symbolic nature of the imagery.
I want to share one of the challenges of digital composition: too many choices.
I know that seems like a good problem to have. But when you’re in process and trying different photos, it’s really easy to slip down the rabbit hole on a design.
Some pieces have around 100 layer comps in photoshop. If you’re not familiar with that term, well let’s just say it’s a lot of versions and makes for a humongous file.
Below are a FEW of the options I went through while working on this series.
