Our work is based on observations of our home in North Central Washington, a place of rugged mountains, sagebrush foothills, and narrow river valleys. While the snow-capped peaks inspire awe, it is the sparse dry hills and agricultural fields that continually draw our attention. It is in these lowlands that we find our voice, exploring the intersection of the native and farmed landscape, and the relationship of man to the land.
Blackbirds flocking to a lone cottonwood tree, a winter moon signaling the end of the harvest, straw bales left to rot in a farmer’s field, an abandoned fence line. These simple, abstract images present to the viewer our interpretation of nature, of the spaces in between. But at the same time a more elaborate storyline lies in the periphery. Through our narrative we continually seek to define our connection to the land, to each other, and to our collective past. In doing so we hope to convey the importance of culture, community and stewardship. We take example from our local, small-scale agriculture and the values of simplicity, patience, and respect for the natural rhythms of the land. We look to the cycles and the seasons that, consciously or not, inform and direct our daily lives.
This body of work is, on one level, about the surrounding agricultural fields, the transformation of the land, the interplay between wild and cultivated. Yet within this narrative we hope to reveal the subtlety, strength and wisdom of the natural world, our relationship to it and our dependence on it.