c  o  n  f  l  u  e  n  c  e 

A flowing together of two or more streams.

The idea of confluence has been present in much of my past work as I have explored the juncture of the natural world and the human-made world through the spaces I create – my home, gardens and imaginings (see “Excerpts”, “Potpourri” and “Collaborations”). Living a life that honors the natural space just outside my door is an element of much of my photography as the images become two-dimensional representations of my life. All work is autobiography, in some way.

My way of seeing – the choices I make when composing a photograph, designing a garden, arranging my living space – is rooted in the formal aspects of organizing visual information colored by my personal taste. On one hand, I am fascinated and challenged by complexity, creating highly detailed visual tableaux. This is quite apparent in my gardens; the newcomer is often overwhelmed at the mass of visual information to take in but is able to comprehend it over time. On the other hand, I am drawn to simplicity as it distills to essentials the visual cues that allow us to process and understand what is before us (see “Abstracts”, “Illumitones”). Complexity is a lesson in finding coherence rather than confusion. Simplicity is a lesson in finding all that is necessary from little.

In “Confluence” I employ visual simplicity to convey the bones of the meeting of the natural world and the human-created world. These works are the joining of my vibrantly colored and richly detailed “Florilegium” botanical images with the more monochromatic, nonrepresentational forms of “Illumitones”. I believe that nature provides us ideal models of form and design from which to learn and draw inspiration, so this is a natural pairing.