115

We go down to “the valley” fairly often. When we moved here, I was puzzled by people referring to “the valley” until I finally asked- it means the Phoenix area. The elevation there is about 1000 feet, compared to Prescott, which is a mile high. We get snow- Phoenix does not. Phoenix has saguaro cacti and paloverde trees; we do not. Summer temperatures in Phoenix are often well over 110 degrees. That doesn’t happen up here in the high country.

A month ago when we drove to the airport for our flight to Alaska, it was 115 degrees in Phoenix. Today’s abstract is a tribute to the blistering heat of the valley.

Heat Dome

As you may remember, I am part of an wonderful group called Find Your Voice, run by the amazing Valda Bailey and Doug Chinnery. I have learned so much from them and from the photographer/artists who are a part of the group! We create work in the expressionist style, using multiple exposure, intentional camera movement and other techniques to express our vision. It is the time of year when we submit 3 pieces to Valda and Doug who will pick ONE to show in the online exhibition, like we did last year. This year, the exhibition is titled “Fragments” and we are encouraged to use elements of collage in our work, which may be other photographs, painting, cyanotype, or other techniques. Many of the members are also artists in other mediums (not me!), so, as you can imagine, I have to fight off “Imposter Syndrome” at every turn!

The image above is a collage (or composite) of an in-camera multiple exposure layered with parts of several gelli plate printed images. My inspiration was the recent massive heat wave- hence the title, “Heat Dome”. It is one of the three images I am submitting, so may or may not be in the online show.Another image I’m submitting is “That Morning”, which has appeared here on the blog. I will post the other entry later, once I figure out a title!