Coastal Series

RELEASING PEBBLES

I created this coastal series of cyanotypes during my time at the 26 Split Rock Cove artist retreat. When I first moved to Maine a few years ago, my early days were spent scouring the coastline for shapes and textures that were completely novel to me, having just left a farm in the middle of Ohio.

One of my favorite activities at the old farmhouse was to walk barefoot through the creek, collecting scraps of crawdad claws left behind from the heron, or searching for interesting pieces of metal or glass that washed in after a heavy rain. I was doing the same in Maine, now with an ocean nipping at my ankles; sifting through the known in search of special gems to pick up and place in my pocket.

When my pockets get too full, I have no choice but to let things go. These objects are no longer precious to me. I’ve now walked the coast countless times and can see that speckled texture on the back of a crab with my eyes closed. I know the difference between sea glass and broken glass. I remember the texture of a sand dollar and how lightly it lies in the palm of my hand. Their magic now lives through the memory of fascination.

As an artist, I make a lot of works, but in order to create more, I must let some things go. There is often a struggle to figure out how/when/where/if to sell my work. The most precious pieces have been stuffed in my own pockets or priced in a such a way that my heart will not break into a million pieces if I can never see that work again. But now my pockets are getting full, and I have a very long journey ahead. I’m ready to let these go and will slowly release my grasp on more and more pieces which I will post here in my journal.

I would like to give one piece away as a gift. All others in this series can be purchased at an amount of your own choosing (I’ll add in actual shipping costs once they are known). Leave a comment below telling me why you would like one of these handmade photographs and if you are making a purchase, send an e-mail to contact@amyparrish.com, letting me know which image you’re interested in and what price works for you.

Each new release from the journal will be a little closer to my heart with greater limitations on their release. I consider these test prints, so grab them while you can.

[os-widget path=”/amyparrish/coastal-series” of=”amyparrish” comments=”false” width=”700″]