Self-Portraits and Poems

It began on the day of my mother’s funeral, as I was walking along a lake on a cold autumn day. I encountered an old dinghy, and a paddle, and an overwhelming urge to disrobe and make a photograph.

Then, the following summer, as I travelled for two months in an RV in the western United States, the same urge would appear, seemingly at random. Each time, I listened, though sometimes only after asking the questions, “Here? Now?” Another year passed and I began to work with the images by staring at each and asking it to talk to me. Poems provided the answers: nature was channeling messages through me to stop over-consuming, to celebrate aging, and to balance the tension between reverence and desecration that applied to both women and nature.

The resulting project I call: I AM: For the Love of Nature. I have had many of the images juried into national and international exhibitions. The public response has at times been almost overwhelming. Being a formerly very private person, I willingly offered myself to be the messenger. All photos were taken in my sixties. A few are provided for you here.

You can learn more and see the entire portfolio on it’s on website, I AM: For the Love of Nature.