"BRIGHT STONES"

While my fiance was out workin' on the range, he would always come home afterwards and show me pictures of these wonderful geological formations he'd found, littered around the whole state. Random old boulders and river stones from after the water dried up. We both have a fond appreciation for the weathering of these old stones, but frankly, neither one of us are geologists. Just distant appreciators... maybe even poseurs!

I had recently wanted to futz around with some of Photoshop's bitmap image capabilities as well, just to see what I could do when I had to minimize my palette to just true black and true white; when my only tools are form and texture. So, inspiration struck with a love of those rugged Idaho textures (and some dungeon synth music to stir the pot), and, cobbled together from a couple of his photos and a couple of mine, a series was chiseled away from raw form.

I made a lot of these designs while bored to tears at my old job, just by myself in a dim office with nothing to do and nothing interesting to look at. I have postcard versions of these designs somewhere on my computer that I give out at events and as gifts, just for free. I think of it as my parting gift and thank you to the parts of Idaho that I did love, for as much hardship as I had experienced living there. Stones are hardy, formidable, patient, and stoic; some may see their immovable nature as unkind, but I leave Idaho with a newfound appreciation for the strength of the unchanging landscape, the quiet lessons it taught me and all. I call the series "Bright Stones" because I find looking at their dark, volcanic, alien textures still somehow brighten my day and fill it with joy.

I'd say "play a game and try to guess where these photos were taken," but I'm not even sure I remember myself!

[3-2023 - 11-2023]