Vignettes presents the viewer with a discrete yet fragmented examination of the intersection of Lake Erie and Euclid Creek.  Each photograph depicts observations and remembrances of minuscule details within the larger unfolding saga of the shoreline ecosystem, and together the images paint a broad portrait of this ever-shifting terrain and its inhabitants. 

 

I chose the title Vignettes for both its literary and cinematic connotations as well as its connection to photographic history. The photographs I am presenting to the viewer are brief, evocative visuals, snippets captured on my walks along Euclid Creek with my husband and son, as well as recollections of our time spent on the beach at the end of our street.  In viewing the photographs, I am asking the audience to walk through this terrain and observe the flora, fauna, and architecture of this theatrical space to find connections or threads present in the imagery.  The photographic landscape I have created spans only a few miles geographically, however, the narrative unfolds over two decades, so walk slowly. What surfaces are several constants, such as the flow of water, the coming and going of migratory birds, or the herons that watch over our escapades. There are also dramatic changes documented in this tiny stretch of land, such as the disappearance of the willow tree or silver maples, the momentary construction of forts, or the fleeting emergence of mayflies. The landscape is both constant and continually changing.  

 

While the photographic triptychs show the evolution of the landscape over time, the oval vignettes transcend one specific instance.  As a collective the oval photographs function as a stage set, recreating the north end of Euclid Creek.  Each oval frames an index of characters, animals, and props that appear without a specific plot or defined action.  Analogous to walking the creek with a camera in hand, the audience must construct their own adventure, for the fabricated world in Vignettes presents a moment, an observation, without clarity or purpose.  One must string together these fragments to find meaning or joy or simply exist side by side with nature.  Of course, there are obvious parallels between the characters, such as their shared habitat, their reliance on the creek for food, or the intertwining of man-made elements within the urban wilderness.  With this collection I’m presenting an exercise in observation and an invitation to the game of being an artist, attempting to find meaning in the cataloging and mapping of an ordinary landscape over time.