Openings Connecting: UPNESS

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

UPNESS

     many of life's little surprises are UP...
   and OPENING US....to LIGHT,

SECRETS,

EXPANDING PATTERNS.

WHAT MAY SEEM UNINTERESTING,

COULD BRING SUCH JOY!

A LITTLE MYSTERY IS GOOD.

JUST DO WHAT IT TAKES TO SEE:

KEEP YOUR CHIN UP!!

12 comments:

LauraFebruary 23, 2011 at 3:15 PM
Wonderful collection of images Neva...and inspirational words too;-) So much to see and experience when we look up and out and down and in... when we open our hearts and minds to possibilities.
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ELKFebruary 23, 2011 at 6:06 PM
i relish all the contrasts .. the sharpness and so very inspiring neva..hope all is well!
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S. EtoleFebruary 23, 2011 at 6:26 PM
powerful images and reasons to keep looking up ...
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Caterina GiglioFebruary 23, 2011 at 7:10 PM
... very UPlifting post...
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ooglebloopsFebruary 24, 2011 at 10:38 AM
Rock collecting makes one forget to look up to the possibilities- thanks for the reminder - beautiful photos.
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ArtPropelledFebruary 24, 2011 at 11:45 PM
Laughing at Pat's comment. So often I am looking down, searching for the more accessible of nature's treasures (pebbles, pods and rusted bits) that its a wonderful surprise when I look up. I will be more aware of what is up high this weekend. Thanks Neva.
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Renee HowellFebruary 25, 2011 at 5:35 PM
UP - Yes and Yea! Great little colletion you have here. Each one a nice surprise as I scrolled down the blog path. thanks!
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UnknownFebruary 26, 2011 at 3:35 PM
Wow. What wonderful photos! Visiting from the Everyday Goddess.
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layersFebruary 28, 2011 at 2:00 PM
I look down way too much! Either because I am always looking for that elusive rock or textured cracks in the pavement or I don't want to trip again.. but you have some wonderful images and words telling me I should look up more.
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Jill ZaheerMarch 5, 2011 at 10:12 PM
These photos are great alone- and as a journey of visions! Just wonderful and love the views and angles of looking up! Great upbeat piece!
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annell4March 9, 2011 at 8:40 AM
Lovely post! thanks so much
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rivergardenstudioMarch 12, 2011 at 12:21 PM
Oh Neva, this is a profound and beautiful post, photographs and words. I love the wooden ceiling, the windows, the staircases and the MYSTERY that you have us see and feel. roxanne
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FOUR DIRECTIONS/FOUR VISIONS: Two Graces: First showing for me, JUNE 3, 2011

With no directions home, I found Taos in the late 60s. It felt like home immediately. It still does. I know this sentiment is familiar to countless others.

The mountain stopped me in my tracks, and I stayed for several years. Since that time, I circle back annually.

To me, that circle is symbolic of this body of work at Two Graces. This is a time in my life when I've been fortunate enough to experiment with art making. Not surprisingly, I found myself drawn back to the images in the Ektachrome slides that I'd taken in the early 80s of Chaco Canyon, the San Francisco de Asis Church, dusty roads, and the ever changing skies of Northern New Mexico. The spirit of this adobed land lingers in my core and manifests itself within these works.

This past Michigan winter was spent creating enlarged negatives from my thirty year old slides, pulling part of my past into the present via today's tools of scanner and computer. Using traditional silver-gelatin darkroom processes, these resurrected and modified negatives acquired a new life. The majority of these prints are the result of this mediated reincarnation.

The smaller images took me into photographic processes from the mid-1800s. These handmade platinum/palladium prints are created coating vellum, for translucency, with these metal salts and exposing them to ultraviolet light. They are then bathed in the alchemy of the darkroom. The tonal qualities are unique in each print. Finally, 24k gold is layered to the backs of the prints, emanating the warmth, glow, and depth of these beloved places.