In The News
Verum Ultimum Gallery, Portland, OR - August - September 2024
Bare Branches, The 11th Annual Living Mark
The 11th Annual Living Mark exhibit, produced and curated by Founder/Owner/Curator of Verum Ultimum Gallery Jennifer Gillia Cutshall (@jennifergilliacutshallart), included pieces in a variety of fascinating forms, including paintings in acrylic and oil, stoneware, lithography, horsehair raku, ceramic, and steel wire.
We are so grateful to Jennifer for choosing Bare Branches, the first ArtFramedPhoto that is a marriage of my photography with my husband’s woodturning to be featured in a gallery setting.
As described by Jennifer:
Ellen Zimmerman’s work continues the glow. Her photograph is cradled by a beautiful wooden sphere crafted by Mark Zimmerman. The lucky viewer revels in the golden hour collaboration and the celebration of the forest. The yellow globe of bare branched trees contrasts gloriously with the well- crafted deep walnut frame.
And here is my blogpost for Verum about why the Living Mark concept spoke to me:
My photographic images often draw from nature, especially from the magnificence of trees. Mark creates distinctive pieces on a lathe from a variety of woods. In this marriage of photography and woodturning, we celebrate a fall scene. The leaves in this golden-brown time have fallen from the trees. Still, there’s warmth in the afternoon sky, spreading light throughout, crowning the image with dramatic clouds. The unique wood-turned walnut frame creates a calming circle around this moment. Wood around wood; life around life.
Stewart Furini Woodturning Newsletter
NEW COLLAB! Where My Imagination Can Wander ArtFramed Photo
My husband, Mark Zimmerman, is a woodturner who has been creating elegant bowls and platters for nearly 25 years. He brings to life the gorgeous natural grain in pieces of cherry, walnut, ash and maple. Zimmerman also embellishes his work with carvings, wood-burnings, acrylic paints and spirit stains.
Recently, he and I have been collaborating, making pieces that combine his woodturnings with my photography. Stewart Furini, a well-known UK-based woodturner specializing in carving and embellishment, saw the new work and featured us in his May 2024 newsletter.
Where My Imagination Can Wander highlights Mark’s intricate carving and use of iridescent acrylic paints to generate a unique texture within a circular walnut frame. The image is a surreal scene of triangular-shaped mountain, multiple suns and tender summer reeds.
TEASER - two of our collab pieces have been accepted into upcoming shows. Images and information coming soon!
For more information about this new collaboration, email me at ellenzphoto.com/contact
Felt Photographic and Digital Camera World
Smoky Mountain Sunrise
I am so grateful to Kat Mahale and her team from FeelMoreCreative.org for selecting my image Smoky Mountain Sunrise to include in her recent HERE I AM exhibition.
Kat’s philosophy had me at hello:
Curated entirely on the felt sense, HERE I AM is an international photographic acknowledgement of our existence in the now from a physical, metaphysical, spiritual and/or existential place. It is a declaration of our presence. It’s location, environment and who we are at this moment.
While my hope is always to create an emotional connection with the place and time, with Smoky Mountain Sunrise, I felt the power of the moment in the deepest way.
I arrived before dawn at this perfect vista in the Great Smoky Mountains. It was freezing cold – cold that somehow added to the experience of “freezing” time. Initially, I saw only hints of color and only suggestions of the mountain curves. Then, gradually, the layers of mountains revealed themselves, as did the frilly tree lines, faint clouds, and rising mist.
To view the other artists in the HERE I AM exhibit guide, click here.
In addition, in a lovely bit of lagniappe, the image was selected to be featured in Digital Camera World (by Leonie Helm, published July 10, 2024) in a discussion about felt photography.
PhotoPlace Gallery, Middlebury, Vermont, August 2024
Enchanted River
I am honored that my image Enchanted River was chosen by juror Janet Jeffers forinclusion in the Abstraction exhibition at PhotoPlace Gallery in Middelbury, Vermont.
According to Jeffers,
. . . in a compelling abstract, the artist is going beyond mere unrecognizability into territory that evokes wonder and mystery. I think of abstraction as a form of invention – the artist is looking beyond the real and creating something new from what exists unseen in front of most people’s eyes. This requires vision and intention.
In the most successful abstracts, the viewer is drawn by a spark, but photographs that go beyond the initial “wow” moment evoke an emotional connection and draw the viewer back in repeatedly. The magic of abstraction lies in a sense of discovery – by the artist and the viewer.
This description was powerful for me, since my image was definitely an invention, something no one else would see in that form. I do hope that it evokes wonder and mystery, because that is always my goal.
You can see all the images in the exhibition guide here.
LACP Exhibit, Los Angeles, CA, July - September, 2024
Ready to Explode - Third Place Winner
I was so honored that juror Anne Massoni (@annemassoni), Executive Director & Curator of the Houston Center for Photography, selected my image, Ready to Explode, for the Conflict Exhibit for Los Angeles Center for Photography – and for giving it a third place!
Conflict invited LACP members to explore issues relating to global, regional, national, communal and personal conflicts. In this topic of immense impact now, Conflict addresses “how global conditions shift how we see others and represent ourselves . . . and how we as individuals are affected by political, social and economic transformations.”
The Opening Reception was held on July 11, with the live exhibit running until September 17, 2024. The virtual exhibit will be up until January 11, 2025.
Warning: Some of the images are disturbing, given the subject matter.
click Here to view the images
Barns of Rose Hill, Berryville, Virginia, June - August 2024
Where My Imagination Can Wander & Infinity
Barns of Rose Hill in Berryville, Virginia, is now celebrating artists who are members of the Shenandoah Arts Council (@shenarts) in a juried show called Solstice that will be up through early August.
Thank you to the jurors who chose two of my favorite images to display in this show: Infinity and Where My Imagination Can Wander.
Where My Imagination Can Wander is a fantasy image of many suns, triangular mountains, and gentle reeds, painted with a soothing palette of golden yellows, greens, and browns, with hints of red. The mix of textures and shapes says autumn, beauty, time passing, nature. More important, it feels like a mythical and welcome place. Walk right in!
Infinity is like a small earth floating within the cosmos. It is a compact entity bringing together all life forces. Soil cradles grasses that are battered by blustery winds. Yet bits of sweet blue water nurture them, bubbling up from below, sprinkling down from above. Fiery light then kisses the tops of the trees completing the oneness.
Verum Ultimum, Portland, Oregon, June - July 2024
Smoky Mountain Sunrise
Jennifer Gillia Cutshall (@jennifergilliacutshallart), Founder/Owner/Curator of Verum Ultimum Art Gallery recently opened a second gallery in Portland, Oregon, with a magnificent exhibit called “Whisper.”
I am so grateful that she juried my image Smoky Mountain Sunrise into this debut show.
In early April, on a freezing cold morning, I set up my tripod just before seven when the sky revealed only smatterings of blue clouds and hints of pink. But the details of the mountains were essentially hidden. I was entirely in the quiet, magical moment of light emerging from darkness.
Gradually, gentle mountain curves appeared, like infinite layers of time. Faint clouds floated above. Mist rose. Even bitter cold could not penetrate my joy. All was silence and majesty. You could have heard a whisper.
To see the range of beautiful work, click here
FYV Art 2024 Summer Exhibition
Papyrus Fragments
I am thrilled to participate in the FYV.ART 2024 Summer Exhibition, an annual event built on a theme that pushes the artists to explore new approaches to creation. This year’s theme is Fragments. My image, Papyrus Fragments, is a digital collage of a variety of components, including type from an old Haggadah. In preparation for this exhibit, FYV offered seminars about collage creation. It reminded me very much of the appearance of the Dead Sea Scrolls, ancient manuscripts discovered in caves near the Dead Sea in 1947.
Considered to be one of the most important discoveries in modern archaeology, the Dead Sea Scrolls are made of leather, papyrus, and copper - and are presumed to date from the third century BCE to the first century CE.
Thank you to Doug Chinnery (@doug_chinnery) and Valda Bailey (@valda_bailey_art), masterminds of the FYV.ART community for putting together this exhibition, as well as this creative expressionist photography community.
To see the exhibition, click here:
To learn more about the community, click here https://FYV.ART.
More about FYV:
FYV (an acronym for Find Your Voice) is a supportive community of like-minded creative photographers and artists who love exploring Photographic Expressionism and growing creatively.This is a place to find learning opportunities, mutual support, and encouragement as we enjoy our craft together.
Scuola Italiana di Pesca a mosca, Castel di Sangro, Italy, June - September, 2024
Hidden Fishing Spot & Dawn on the French River
Huge thanks to Alessandro Galizia and team for selecting two of my images to feature in honor of the 2024 SIM (Scuola Italiana di Pesca a mosca) exhibition called “L’arte della pesca…la pesca nell’arte,” to be held in Castel di Sangro, Italy, beginning on June 21, the day before World Fly Fishing Day, June 22.
Hidden Fishing Spot will be hung at the exhibition itself as a 12 x 18 canvas print.
As the wife of an avid fly fisherman, I have learned to explore and cherish peaceful fishing spots. In a recent blog post about a tucked-away stream, I wrote this: “I walk off into the woods to sing.” (David Meltzer)
Here, within this quiet beauty, I sang in my heart as I felt hugged by the late morning sunshine. All around me were vibrant spring colors in an off -the-beaten track fishing spot. I wandered up and down a mostly deserted stream bank. Every curve took me to a different vista, from waterfalls to fallen logs acting as dams to berry-covered bushes inviting the birds to snack.
When I see the image now, I sing silently again - and remember the splendor, the peace, the harmony of the moment. And I remember the feeling when the light and foliage and water seemed to envelop me in pure joy , like the softest cashmere.
The other piece, Dawn on the French River, is featured on the Facebook pages of both World Fly Fishing Day – June 22, 2024 and SIM - Scuola Italiana di Pesca a Mosca.
Mysterious fog. Proud pine trees. Reflections into clear, peaceful water. New beginnings. This was the view from our cabin on the French River in Ontario at dawn. What a beautiful way to greet the day in shades of blues and pinks, knowing that the glorious greens would soon appear.
Artists from around the world – including the United States, Ukraine, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, and more - were selected for this exhibit, including oil, watercolor, and cold wax painters; sculptors; and charcoal, ceramics, and mixed media artists.
This huge event includes food and wine tasting of products from the Abruzzo area, an exhibition of contemporary art, fly-tying workshops, bamboo rod-making workshops, an array of fly-fishing workshops, roundtables of various kinds, and an annual drawing.
To see a video summary of the exhibition, click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7AVFpt-xuk My image is visible at 5 minutes, 34 seconds.
Shenandoah Arts Council, 2024
Autumn Splendor, Artscape 15
Thank you to the jurors of Artscape 15 for selecting my image, Autumn Splendor, to include in this year’s showcase of regional artists as both a banner and a framed print. The banner will hang for the whole year, while the print gallery will remain in place for two months.
Autumn Splendor celebrates the color and texture of my favorite season and was sponsored by Uno Pizzeria & Grill. The framed size is approximately 18" x 22".
Artscape, a project of the Shenandoah Arts Council now in its 15th year, is featuring the artwork on 53 banners located through Old Town Winchester and Middletown, as well as in galleries at either the Museum of the Shenandoah Valley or the Laurel Ridge Community College.
You can see all the wonderful artwork, much of which is for sale, by clicking Here.
Spring 2024
Nesting, Artistonish Magazine
Thank you to Artistonish Magazine for choosing this image to include in their spring issue. Artistonish is an international contemporary art magazine published in Canada reaching art lovers in over 140 countries.
Called "Nesting," this image can mean so many things. Beginnings. Cocooning. Sheltering. Is it something lost, waiting to be found? Is it hidden from the eyes of the world? Is it tiny or enormous? The highly textured background holds the rounded shape and the spidery cobwebs of possibility. We enter the unknown.
And while we are in the unknown, we can explore one of humanity’s favorite colors, threaded through with browns and whites of vitality and movement. Blues always come out on top in studies of color preferences. Why? Because they represent mostly positive things - like sky, water, and even blue jeans.
To see the image in the publication. click here.
September 2023 - March 2024
Road to Oz, LACP Members Exhibition
A huge thank you to juror Andi Campognone (@andi_campognone), MOAH Museum Director and Curator, for giving my image, Road to Oz, an Honorable Mention in the Ninth Annual Members Exhibition of LACP (Los Angeles Center of Photography)!
Here’s how the call was described: “It might be a land or a town we inhabit, a space that either rejected or welcomed us, or a place we imagined a certain way before encountering its realities . . . Whether concrete or imagined, territories define how we understand our place in the world.”
This was a perfect concept for me, since my work is generally composed of reality re-imagined. The place of this scene exists, but does not look like this. But oh, it feels exactly like this to me on a beautiful day.
Views from the Shenandoah Valley
#CaFEAllOverThePlace
Thanks to call for entry (#CaFEAllOverThePlace) for featuring three of my images today on Instagram: On the Road to Oz, Gateway to the Valley, and Windmills on a Stormy Day.
The Shenandoah Valley is a beautiful place with rolling hills, wooden fences, old barns, peaceful fields, and fertile farms. I share here my vision of fthe valley - a vision softened by intentional camera movement and enhanced through multiple exposure to showcase the feeling I get of the here and now that is, however, often based on a distant time and place.
Verum Ultimum Art Gallery, Portland, OR
Infinity, February - March 2024
I am so grateful to Jennifer Gillia Cutshall @jennifergilliacutshallart, Founder/Owner/Curator of Verum Ultimum Gallery @verumultimum in Portland, OR for choosing my image Infinity to include in the 11th Annual Abstract Sanctuary exhibit.
As Jennifer said, “We might be drawn to the non-representational nature of abstract art as a vehicle for our imaginings. . . The works in this [exhibit] are expansive territories that move in step with earthly elements.” To enter the virtual gallery which she has organized brilliantly, click here.
I am honored to be included in this year’s edition, celebrating an international group of 54 artists from the United States, Canada, Austria, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, and Shanghai China.
How I see “Infinity” - Like a small earth floating within the cosmos, this compact entity is an amalgam of life forces. Soil cradles grasses that are battered by blustery winds. Bits of blue water nurture them, bubbling up from below, sprinkling down from on high. Fiery light kissed by the sun completes the oneness.
Maine Media Catalogue 2024
Cabin in the Woods
I made this image in Rockport, Maine in the fall of October 2022 during a class called “The Colors of Fall” with Vincent Versace, an internationally recognized pioneer in the art and science of digital photography. We had been in a classroom for the whole morning because of torrential rains, so Vincent pivoted and led us in a great indoor activity.
By early afternoon, though, the rain stopped and the color returned to the earth. We walked out for a breath of fresh air.
Using a little intentional camera movement, I created this dreamy shot that feels far, far away – but is right on campus.
Maine Media chose this image to include in their 2024 catalogue, featuring it on the Maine Media Student Showcase page.
If you’ve been thinking about taking a workshop in photography, film, or writing, I highly recommend Maine Media. I’ve been fortunate to have taken workshops with Alison Shaw (@alisonshaw), Vincent Versace (@vincent_versace), Kari Wehrs (@kariwehrs), and LeeAnne White (@leeannewhite). And I’m slated to take a class with Tillman Crane (@tillmancrane) in the Great Smoky Mountains. To learn more, visit mainemedia.edu.
Las Laguna Art Gallery, January 2024
Thank you to Lori McBride, owner of Las Laguna Art Gallery in Laguna Beach, CA for selecting my image called “Masking” for their online exhibition called “Black, White, or Gray” running from January 4 – 26.
It is an image of a man whose story we can only imagine. Is he unhappy? Ill? Hungry? He definitely looks as though he has been through hard times. Even without seeing his whole face, we feel strong emotion. And the mask hanging from one ear reminds us of a pandemic that we will likely never forget.
That said, I know from the little bit of street photography I’ve done that capturing a single moment in time, a single expression, can lead to totally inaccurate conclusions. Years ago, I made an image of a couple walking off a beach where they had just gotten married. The groom was in military uniform. The bride was in a traditional wedding gown. Both were looking down as they crossed the street back to the hotel. There was no joy in their faces. Was he being shipped off? Did they “have to” get married? Or – simply – was the wind on the beach kicking up sand in their faces and they were eager to be inside? Maybe that is the magic of street photography. As photographers, we can capture a moment in time - but there is always much more to the story.
Learn more about Lori and Las Laguna Art Gallery at @laslagunaartgallery or https://www.laslagunaartgallery.com/.
Verum Ultimum Art Gallery, Portland, OR
Snow Moon, December - January 2024
Jennifer Gillia Cutshall, Founder/Owner/Curator of the Verum Ultimum Gallery in Portland, Oregon has done it again! She’s brought together the work of over 50 artists for a fascinating virtual exhibition called A Generous Kingdom. Jennifer describes it this way: “art that explores symbolism, story, and beyond.” I was honored that Snow Moon was chosen to be part of this, after nine rounds of jurying. The show will run from December through most of January.
Since I love creating scenes that come from my imagination – or from serendipity – this was a perfect show to enter. Snow Moon is a combination of two images – the full moon from February 2023 and a night sky with branches reaching out, like hundreds of waving arms. And yes! The night I made the moon image was as cold as it looks.
I think we all feel the magic of a full moon. This quote from therapist/author Shannon L. Alder seems perfect paired with my image:
“The moon will guide you through the night with her brightness, but she will always dwell in the darkness, in order to be seen.”
To explore the other art in A Generous Kingdom, visit the exhibition page. And to see previous exhibits, look here on the Verum website. Or follow Verum Ultimum on Instagram at @verumultimum.
Las Laguna Art Gallery, Las Laguna, CA
Falling Into Fall, December 2023
Lori McBride, owner of Las Laguna Art Gallery, is a fountain of creative energy, conceiving of monthly online exhibits featuring the work of artists around the world. The current show is called small works – BIG TALENT, based on the limitation that art submitted should be no larger than 18” on each side. “Smaller works,” Lori says, “provide art lovers a great opportunity to begin collecting art.” And she quotes Vincent Van Gogh, as well: “Great things are done by a series of small things brought together.”
For this exhibit, she chose my image, Falling Into Fall, a multiple exposure showcasing my favorite season. Autumn’s regal beauty is brown and gold and green. The colors of nature transition from the lighthearted pinks and blues of summer to these deeper, richer, more somber tones that carry us into the gray of winter.
“The falling leaves are whispering winter’s on its way.” – John Denver
You can explore all of the artwork here.
Shenandoah Photographic Society
Year-End Awards 2023
Thanks to Nancy Kurokawa, the judge for the Shenandoah Photographic Society’s year-end competition, for choosing three of my images for awards.
Nancy chose my Saplings Against the Wind (see below) as the First Place winner in the creative category. In addition to offering verbal comments, she gave all members written feedback – thank you, Nancy! “What a cool abstract image! While I am not sure what it is, it looks like a macro view of the threads making a piece of fabric. There is a sense of depth and movement.”
She gave my Surreal World an Honorable Mention in the Creative category, noting: “This is a creative image. Looks like a composite image that has been blended together well. I have spent a lot of time looking at the image trying to absorb everything in it.” I love that last line, showing that she really connected with it.
Finally, she gave Masking a First Place in the mono category. This is an image of a man during the pandemic who looked like he’d been through tough times. Her comment: “What a phenomenal and impactful image! Without showing a full face, the maker was able to show such strong emotions in this image. One can easily see a story. The black and white editing was done very well with lots of strong contrast.”
Shenandoah Arts Council, Winchester, VA
Snow Moon, October 2023 - January 2024
Shenandoah Arts Council (shenarts.org) is celebrating its Sapphire Anniversary this year – its 45th! And to celebrate, they asked for artwork that explores the color blue.
Images in a variety of genres and styles were juried into the exhibit located in the Museum of the Shenandoah Valley in Winchester, Virginia. Two long hallways are filled with photographs, paintings, mixed media, and wood pieces in a wide range of blues – from cerulean to sky blue and everything in between.
“Snow Moon” is a combination of two images – the full moon from February 2023 and a night sky with branches reaching out, like hundreds of waving arms. Yes, the night I made the moon image was as cold as it looks.
Because this moon represented a unique moment in the cycle of 2023, I found this quote from Aaron Siskind to ring true:
“Photography is a way of feeling, of touching, of loving. What you have caught on film is captured forever…it remembers little things, long after you have forgotten everything.”
Thank you, @ShenArts, for including my image in this special exhibit!
Verum Ultimum Art Gallery, Portland, OR
Prehistoric, October-November 2023
Jennifer Gillia Cutshall, Founder/Owner/Curator of the Verum Ultimum Gallery in Portland, Oregon, has created an extraordinary exhibit called The 10th Annual Living Mark. She describes the exhibit as a celebration of the “art of vision, art of the hand, art of marks on canvas, clay, and beyond!”
Those words really spoke to me, because I often make images that feel like rough marks – maybe formed by man or water or an unknown power. And that creates the mystery for me.
I am so grateful that my image “Prehistoric” was chosen to be part of the exhibit. The feeling I get is like being in an ancient cave – a place that takes us back to dreams of sacred spaces, secret passages, maybe even the entrance to the underworld.
Perhaps minerals and acidic water dripped onto these walls to etch the marks and shapes, lights and darks. Maybe charcoal from fire, white from ground calcite, and brown from hematite are the source of this natural color palette. The tones feel uncontrived, pure. And oh, the warm brightness! It feels like the color of light itself.
You can view the exhibit here by clicking on the PREVIEW button.
FYV Summer Exhibition - June 2023 - October 2023
Night Lights
A marvelous organization that supports and nurtures artists interested in abstract, expressionist, and fine art photography has created a wonderful exhibition featuring images from around the world.
Doug Chinnery (@doug_chinnery) and Valda Bailey (@valdab) - both amazing artists themselves - are the masterminds behind fyv.art.
I am delighted to have my image "Night Lights" included. The prompt that they gave us to spur creativity was this line from T.S. Elliot's poem "Wait Without Hope:"
So the darkness shall be the light, and the stillness the dancing.
You can visit the virtual gallery here until October 1.
Verum Ultimum Art Gallery, Portland, OR
Delicacy in Light, Summer 2023
Verum Ultimum gallery owner Jennifer Gillia Cutshall has put together an amazing exhibit she calls "Abrazo," (hug/embrace) to celebrate her 10th anniversary. She is an artist herself, as well. And she uses language brilliantly. By featuring each piece of art individually, she introduces us to them in a way that makes us feel that they are friends we want to get to know more deeply.
Here's what she wrote about my image:
We begin this artist-a-day journey for the ABRAZO exhibit with the luminous work of artist Ellen Zimmerman. Ellen makes magic from the small graceful moments that may mostly go unnoticed. But she notices and beyond that…she stirs an alchemy so powerful that it seems to whisper the title… “Delicacy in Light.”
May we all experience the delicacy in light the way Ellen paints it (with her lens). And may we always celebrate the fragile bits as much as the ones with fireworks!
You can see more of the images in Abrazo here. To learn more about the gallery and Jennifer, visit her IG page @verumultimum and her website.
Las Laguna Art Gallery, Las Laguna, CA
Red, August 2023
Las Laguna gallery owner Lori McBride does a wonderful job of putting together online exhibitions monthly to help share the work of artists from around the world.
Here, she chose my image, simply titled "Red," showcasing a moment in Rockport, Maine where the calm gray and white water creates the perfect background for the red buoy and its reflection.
Click here to learn more about Las Laguna Art Gallery.
Taubman Health Center, Ann Arbor, MI - Through August 2023
Thrive! Healthy People, Healthy Planet
Thanks to the vision of MutualReawakening.org, there is now an international photography exhibition designed to illuminate the essentials of health for people and the planet. The first location for the exhibition is the Taubman Health Center in Ann Arbor, Michigan from mid-June through late August, 2023.
I am so grateful that they selected two of my water images -- Nature's Art and Morning Dew - to include! To read more about this amazing exhibition - which will be traveling around the United States - and the creative women who are encouraging individuals and communities to consider how they might act for their own health and the health of the planet, click here.
Barns of Rose Hill, Berryville, Virginia
Opposites Attract Gallery Show, June - July 2023
I am grateful to Shenandoah Arts Council for selecting two of my images for their juried member show called Opposites Attract hosted by the Barns of Rose Hill during June and July.
Heaven's Breath is the initial image from my "Dance of the Winter Winds" project. Just before daybreak, I made this photograph of white first light streaming out of deep blue skies, as clouds and trees trembled in the wind.
Autumn Glory showcases the beauty that comes in late fall, as maples turn brilliant red and mingle with the greens, browns, and golds of the season. The emotional resonance many of us have at this time of year is built on the knowledge that this peak part of the year is fleeting. We know that we are about to enter the gray months - so we relish the richness.
Las Laguna Art Gallery, Las Laguna, CA
2023 - Digital Art, June 1-30, 2023
Thank you, Las Laguna Art Gallery and owner Lori McBride, for selecting my image "Saplings Against the Wind" for their in-house and virtual gallery show in June.
The call for art specified digital art creating any processes desired. This image, which I made on a blisteringly cold day, reflects how I and the little saplings felt, as we were buffeted by strong winds. You can read more about the moment here. Using multiple exposure in-camera and intentional camera movement, I was able to capture the feeling of that wintry afternoon. Brrrr!
YourDailyPhotograph.com - April 20, 2023
Straw Dancers
I am delighted that YourDailyPhotograph.com chose this image for their "Under Water" call for entries. You can view the other images of the day here:
According to their website: "YourDailyPhotograph.com is a service for collectors of fine art photography, sharing a daily email of curated photographs for sale, as well as an online archive for purchase. Our passion for fine photography is unparalleled and we enjoy helping collectors find the perfect fit for their collection."
Martinsburg, West Virginia
13th Annual Art and Earth Juried Exhibit, April - May 2023
"Mysteries Within" - I am grateful to Judith Becker, the juror who selected this image for inclusion in the exhibit running from mid-April to late May at the Berkeley Art Works in West Virginia. The call requested images reflecting different interpretations of the broad theme of art and earth.
At the opening reception, she announced that my image won a Merit Award!
Becker noted that she looked for pieces of art that had that wow factor. "These are the art pieces that you want to look at for more than a glance, the ones that prompt the viewer to linger a while and be amazed at the overall impact of the art."
Dance of the Winter Winds
ICM Photo Magazine, March 2023
I was invited by ICM Photography Magazine (icmphotomag.com) to work with brilliant Scottish photographer Morag Paterson (@Mog_Pat) for a six-week mentoring program during which I created a series of 10 images and an accompanying 1,000-word article that tell the story of the "Dance of the Winter Winds." You can see all of the images and some of the content here:
The publication features ICM (intentional camera movement) images, articles, reviews, interviews, tips, and tutorials by ICM photographers and artists from around the world in a quarterly feature- packed digital format. Founder, Creator, and Publisher Stephanie Johnson had a vision to build a community devoted to ICM, including this advertising-free jewel of a publication of about 300 pages. Kudos to you, @StephJohnPhoto.
Verum Ultimum Art Gallery, Portland, OR
Strata II: Manifesting Through the Layers, March 2023
"Electricity" - I was truly honored to have this image chosen for an online exhibition created by Verum Ultimum Art Gallery after 8 rounds of jurying for a show called “Strata II: Manifesting through the Layers.”
Take a look at this amazing technology that lets you “walk through” the rooms. To find my image, go up the stairs. At some angles, there are even electric sparks visible above my image! Thank you, @JenniferGilliaCutshall!
Las Lagune Art Gallery, Las Laguna, CA
Women in Art, April 2023
"Magical Morning" - Since 2013, Las Laguna Art Gallery has dedicated a month to women artists working in a variety of media, from acrylic to charcoal to collage to photography and beyond.
Thank you, Las Laguna, for choosing my "Magical Morning" image for this exhibit. Here, arcs of white light pierce the morning's medley of rich colors as the world wakes up to the new day. We are witness to the powerful surge of dawn's energy.
Believe, Spring 2023
"Moon Sliver" - Gallerium Art Exhibitions chose this image for their fascinating exhibit called "Believe" to be showcased in their international online group exhibition and published in The Book of Arts: Believe.
I submitted this image because we believe in the power of the moon to control tides, rains, water, seasons. Here, the sliver of a moon is absorbed within a huge orb surrounded by the magic of purples and blues, with a floor of dawn’s orange light. The waning moon, shown here, represents the time for a fresh start. Perfect, I thought, for the theme.
Gallerium Shapes & Colors, March 2023
"Secret Kingdom" - Thanks to Gallerium Art Exhibitions for selecting this image for their "Shapes and Colors" competition. The theme was chosen because shapes and colors are the essential elements of creating art. Lines create an enclosed area - that is, a space that can be defined as shape. It can be in free form or geometrics. Color is recognized as it reflects or omits light. Color conveys emotions, creates moods, and provides realistic or magical effects.
They encouraged submission of abstract and figurative art "as all real and imaginary art . . . creates a bond between the artist and viewers." The selected artworks will be published in The Book of Art: Shapes and Colors series and showcased in Shapes and Colors international online group exhibition by Gallerium.
We see a series of gently rounded shapes, all bisected by curved lines, as well as a palette of golds and browns, with sprinklings of reds and greens. It suggests a magical world.
Botanical, February 2023
"Red and Gold Magic" - Las Laguna Art Gallery in Las Laguna, California accepted this image into their February online exhibition. According to their website, this image was "selected from several hundred submissions featuring stand out works from artists spanning the globe."
This maple tree glows with burnished golds and red in the strong sun of the late afternoon - capturing the most dramatic of part of autumn’s glory as it foreshadows the coming of its last days before the harsh winter sets in.
Happiness International, January - March 2023
“Butterfly Magic” – Given a year of uncertainty on many fronts, I am thankful to Exhibizone for launching a search for images designed to “extend happiness” and to emphasize joy and optimism. The artist call requested artwork inspired by “the concept of genuine happiness and joyfulness as one of the main cornerstones of well-being.”
“The world,” they expanded, “needs this valuable feeling while recovering from global lockdown.” Part of the goal of the exhibit is to “remind the world to stay happy and spirited despite difficult situations.”
By choosing this image, the exhibition helped me relive the glorious afternoon where I made this photograph. I was surrounded by golds and yellows and browns. Sunlight and warmth embraced me. And I was taken by the magic of butterflies dancing on the sand next to a cool, flowing stream. The experience was balm for the soul, joy for the heart.
Artistonish Magazine, January 2023
“Cubist Tea Party” – I was thrilled when this image was chosen to be included in the January 2023 issue of Artistonish, an international contemporary art magazine published in Canada that reaches art lovers in over 120 countries. From their website: "Our publications are available to tens of thousands of art lovers, experts, collectors and enthusiasts in both digital and print format worldwide, while the print magazine can be ordered online.”
Here, a simple white cup and teapot turn surreal, throwing their shadows all around them in vibrant colors of red, orange, green, purple, and yellow. Some of the magic was creating by using the dark mode of multiple exposure which "chews into" the shapes of the cup and teapot as they sit on a dark surface. Tungsten white balance adds to the tension and drama.
ICM Photography Magazine, December 2022
"Roots of Spring" - I am very grateful to @StephJohnPhoto and the team at ICM Photography Magazine - icmphotomag.com - for choosing my image to feature in the December issue in a section called "A World Reimagined." Other artists in this grouping are from the Netherlands, Belgium, Australia, and England. You can follow the magazine on Instagram @icmphotomag, on Facebook at icmphotomag, and YouTube at ICMPhotographyMagazine.
This quarterly publication is a rich, beautifully curated e-magazine featuring images, articles, reviews, interviews, tips, and tutorials by ICM (intentional camera movement) photographers and artists from around the world. The lead story in December is about @Doug_Chinnery, an amazing photographer and teacher.
I’ve gotten some lovely responses to my photograph, including these:
“Gorgeous image – your color palette radiates vitality and the joy of Spring!”
“I am sure I travelled in my lifetime to the color in the middle. I am drawn to it. It is giving
me energy.”
“The colorful image with such texture evokes a soothing feel of wonderment and the unknown. It’s almost like a close-up of a cathedral stained glass window’s view of the outside world.”
Emptiness 2022
"Light in Darkness" - Selected for the Emptiness 2022 exhibit from Exhibizone based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The theme of emptiness was chosen because of the range of interpretations - from kinds of sadness or even "a state with no emotion or purpose" to "the true nature of things and events" in Buddhism. The call quoted Lao Tzu from Tao Te Ching: "We mold clay into a pot, but it is the emptiness inside that makes the vessel useful." This idea reminded me of the invitation of a high school English teacher to listen to the spaces between the notes of a Ravi Shankar song.
The theme was also especially poignant this year because of the way COVID-19 forced us into isolation and made us all face some kind of emptiness - ranging from loss of a loved one to loneliness - or, perhaps, to new ways of finding ourselves.
In my image, the magic of celestial light penetrates the darkness in small orbs around the primary orb. Golden rays shoot out from the center, piercing the blackness with hope and possibility. Imagine standing at the edge of a field, witnessing this glory, feeling the warmth of light bathe you in wonder.
The exhibit was on display for one month beginning December 10, 2022.
Far Away Places 2022
"Fantasy Fence" - Selected by Las Laguna Art Gallery, Las Laguna, CA, for their Far Away Places 2022 exhibit which ran online through the month of November. In the call for entries, they invited artists to submit works that "can be unique and exotic places that you consider 'far away.' The locations can be real or imagined."
That's perfect for me, since I created this imaginary scene from a real fence and its shadow which I superimposed over a mountain (well, a triangle) that I "made" shooting against a treed hillside in another state using tungsten white balance.
Visionaries
“New Growth Springs Unbidden” – Selected by Shenandoah Arts Council for their Visionaries exhibit scheduled to be displayed at the Museum of the Shenandoah Valley through January of 2023. For this show, ShenArts requested art that is “informed by both the past and the present and turns imagination towards the possibilities of the future.”
Through multiple exposure, this image pulls together the straight lines and rich colors of a corner cherry cabinet and painted wall with an elegant, airy tree from Sky Meadows Park. So it is new growth springing from older wood.
What makes the image work, I think, is the unusual color palette of reds, peaches, golds, greens, and purples, as well as the contrast of the vertical lines with the feathery branches and leaves of the tree arms.
MAGIX 2022: Dream, Fantasy, Illusion, Magic
"Secret Kingdom" - Chosen by MAGIX 2022, an artist call encouraging "visualization of Dream, Fantasy, Illusion, Imagination, and Magic. The most important quality of art and its aim is illusion." The exhibit ran through the month of October.
The call asked for artwork that extends "our surreal possibilities, challenges our beliefs in our senses and gives birth to a dreamlike fantasy world risen from artists' magical thoughts and illusive imagination."
Secret Kingdom imagines a whole society hidden from the rest of the world - illuminated by light and fantasy.
Artistic Independence Abstract 2022
“Mystery in the Forest” – Selected by Las Laguna Art Gallery in Las Laguna, CA for their Artistic Independence – Abstract – 2022 online exhibit that ran in October. The exhibition was open to local, national, or international artists creating any type of abstract artworks.
In literature and life, lights in the forest can be signs of magic and mystery. What is the source of these lights? Are they symbols of good? What do they portend? There’s enough light here to feel safe. But there’s enough blackness to be dangerous. The scene is limited only by your imagination.
Plantarium 2022
"Golden Golden" - Chosen by Gallerium Art for their Plantarium 2022: Trees, Leaves, Flowers exhibit and publication. The online exhibit ran from mid-September through mid-October.
“Plantarium 2022 encourages artists to share their visual story of the plant world and create a unique botanical expression with their brilliant art of plants, herbs and vegetables, forests, trees, grass, flowers, and extensive usage. The planet will cease to exist without plants, and we enormously rely on the plant world and use them in diverse ways, from food and medicine to clothing, building, and fuel.”
About the image: It’s end of day. The sun is setting. And there, between the trees is the pure magic of light and play – with sparkling golden and brown tones embracing you and beckoning you to enter the moment.
Scenic 2022
"Gateway to the Valley" - Selected for Scenic 2022 by Exhibizone, an online visual art exhibition platform based on Ontario, Canada. This exhibit, running for the month of August, featured 174 images from artists around the world in a wide range of formats, including photography, mixed media, painting, and drawing, This image marries the long, wooden fences that are iconic in the Shenandoah Valley with a barn door, also a beloved symbol of the area. In the background, you can see the gentle mountains embracing the valley.
Exhibizone & Barns of Rose Hill
"Mysteries Within" - Chosen for a juried Art Show, July 5-23, 2022 at Barns of Rose Hill, a performing arts venue and community center in historic Berryville, Virginia. Housed in two early 20th century dairy barns that were fully restored in 2011, the center has a mission "to enrich lives through programs in the performing, visual, and literary arts."
Also chosen for Exhibizone - Grand Prize 2022, an online exhibition running from September 15 - November 15, 2022.
Museum of the Shenandoah Valley & Artscape 13
"Hidden Colors of Sunset" - Selected for display at the Museum of the Shenandoah Valley and on a banner hanging in Old Town as part of Artscape 13. The banner remains up for the entire year. Artscape is a public art program open to artists of all ages that is meant to represent all walks of life. It is described on their website as "a group of work with diverse themes to create a shared experience of art by an entire community."
Artistonish Contemporary Art Magazine
"Dreamscape in Red and Green" - Chosen for inclusion in the June 2022 issue of Artistonish, an international contemporary art magazine published in Canada. From their website: "Our publications are available to tens of thousands of art lovers, experts, collectors and enthusiasts in both digital and print format and reaches people in over 100 countries."
There's more than a little magic in this icy cold dreamscape colored with brilliant reds and greens -- from the leaves still on the maple tree to those sprinkled on the ground. And from the greens on the path and grass and rocks to the watery mini-pond with jagged edges.
Las Laguna Art Gallery
"On the Road to Oz" - Selected by Las Laguna Art Gallery in Laguna Beach, California for the Golden: 50 and Over, June 2022 Online Exhibition. From their website: "As we grow older, the maturity and insight life has given us multiplies. The viewpoints and experiences that come with age are invaluable lessons to us all on how to life life - and live it well. This month we will celebrate the talent and wisdom of the artist over 50." Shot from a moving car (husband driving!) with a little vertical intentional camera movement, it created a scene both magical and surreal. Imagine it from the viewpoint of a child who looks up and sees possibility, wonder, and awe.
West Trade Review
"Woodland Magic" - Chosen by Ken Harmon, editor of West Trade Review, to accompany a poem in the spring issue called "Elegy to the Ivory-BilledWoodpecker," by Eric Fisher Stone. As described on their website, West Trade Review "seeks to perpetuate the work of artists both well and yet-to-t-know, simultaneously enriching our world through the written word and visual arts." Find out more @WestTradeReview.com.
612 Vineyard
Located in a beautiful part of the Shenandoah Valley, 612 Vineyard asked to display my image, "Country Door," inside their winery. They had seen it at the Firehouse Gallery as part of our "For the Love of Wood" show. I shot this old barn door embellished with healthy geraniums in the Valley - so it seemed like a perfect fit.
Shenandoah Arts Council
In January 2022, I was selected as the FeatureFridayArtist by Shenandoah Arts Council, a nonprofit arts organization cultivating the arts through promotion, instruction and exhibition. Several of my images were featured, including this one called "Tulle Skirts."
Firehouse Gallery, Berryville, Virginia
My husband and I had a joint show at the Firehouse Gallery called "For the Love of Wood," featuring his wood-turned bowls and platters, as well as my photographs of lone trees, like this image called "Maple with Snow" that was the lead image of the show.
It included photographs made in Maine of wooden boats, a pine tree shrouded in fog, and a slender maple bereft of leaves, kissed at the base by the remnants of orange and gold weeds. Other images were from the Shenandoah Valley, including a close-up of a red wooden barn, a fence line on a frigid winter day from Long Branch, a wooden country door decked with red geraniums, and a classic rope and wood swing hung from a tall tree.