Earth’s Canvas

The photos in this exhibit were taken over a 40+ year period of time from airplanes, flying between the East and West Coasts of the U.S. at 30,000 feet! These trips were mostly to visit family, grandsons and to attend various Art conferences. From such a distance, the earth below offers a rich canvas filled with beautiful yet ephemeral compositions. This amazing “aerial art gallery” is created by rock, water, soil and plants, as well as man’s interactions with these elements. Change is ever the constant.

Originally, these photos were never taken as art photography per se – they were primarily collected as resource materials, ideas for use in teaching design or to be incorporated into other creative work in ceramics or fibers. The cameras used were simple Olympus or Canon point-and-shoot models, and later, iPhones – nothing fancy. Most of the titles reflect my aesthetic responses to the image I captured however some of the more recent shots have GPS coordinates attached and so I tagged the location into the title also. Some of the photos have Kuba in the title. I’ve long been a fan of the beautiful and intricate textiles created by the Kuba people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The variety of designs they create in raffia with simple squares, rectangles and triangles is truly astonishing. I see that spirit often from the air on the ground below.

Also, my first “favorite artist” was Paul Klee, who worked in the early to mid 20th century. He explored a very individual type of abstraction, influenced by some of the prominent movements of his time. I see his spirit often from the airplane window and his name is referenced in some of my titles also.