This series is made up of photographs of the exposed root systems of toppled trees that line the banks of the Mississippi River near my home in St. Paul.  The roots are washed clean by flood waters in the spring, then dried by the sun in the low water of summer and fall exposing striking colors, textures, patterns, and forms. 

 

 When combined and mirrored, a single photograph can unveil primordial shapes and figures, skeletal and insect forms - as if they have always existed in the life of these trees, and now released.  It's always surprising and sometimes unsettling when I see the final version. 

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The photographs look different from a distance than they do close up.  The images can evolve, fade away, or mutate.  I think it is possible for two people to perceive entirely different experiences in the same photograph. 

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 I don’t pre-visualize - I free fall into the process of uncovering these other worldly spaces.  

Embracing creative simplicity is essential in my process.​​

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