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I flip frequently from thinking on the acute problems of the pandemic to reminding myself to stop and turn away.
I go to empty spaces and landscape riffs to try to forget and recharge.
But can I really forget?

Below another collage from mid March. I hesitate to post or publish images that I feel might be exploiting individuals who just happened to be within my camera range.
I was concentrating on the trees as I rummaged around off the path, searching for signs of Spring. As I panned left I caught the family -- but felt I was intruding. Reality is sending messages I suppose.


Looking for Spring (Arnold Arboretum, March 2020)

On this day I was confronted with the importance of a place to go during this crisis. I was also confronted with runners and children not practicing social distancing and I became edgy and tense.

The bare trees reflect the vulnerability of our human existence in the face of this virus. We are without armor against a disease that has already killed so many.

Bent and reaching, the trees speak to each other and to me of our universal weakness. Any strength comes from within the roots and marrow of our ability to care for others.

It is May - almost two months of social isolation with everyone's nerves reaching a fever pitch.

I must quit the mob scenes on the news and look at things keeping me afloat - finishing shoots from visits to the Arnold Arboretum in March and moving on to April (my favorite month- usually).

First below - forsythia is blooming. The weather was reasonable and I saw a few masks on walkers.

Most visitors on this day were alone or in pairs. I made the journey to admire the first shock of living color -- Yellow.

The woman on the path nearest me is holding herself as if in self-protection. People are walking on the grass to keep away from others. There is tension in the air, but we are here.


Pilgrimage to Yellow (Arnold Arboretum April 2020}

This second image is from earlier in March. The day finds me walking into a wetlands area being drawn by the plume of orange/pink, some of the first buds of the season. The houses along the Arborway can be seen.

As I worked on this collage I was thinking about my isolation and lonely desire to find a friend to talk with without barriers between us. This is as close as I can get right now.


With a friend (Arnold Arboretum March 2020)

We are essentially quarantined in our homes because of Covid 19. With the drastic cancellation of normal social activities, it seems inevitable to question which activities are habitual or frivolous or irrelevant or meaningful.

I have been watching myself withdraw from the arbitrary rules of the art game for a few years. The constant pursuit of shows and reviews seems increasingly meaningless - unsatisfying and artificial on many levels. Am I simply jumping through hoops in a maze that is self-perpetuating?

I made a visit to the Arnold Arboretum in Boston on March 9. The weather was balmy, and there were early buds and soft waves of color. I am navigating my way slowly in my sensitivity to this place and what it can teach me. With all the unrest and undermining of our habitual anchors, I am finding that this public pathway through the trees can provide something very simple -- A place to be and a place to walk.


Just a walk (Arnold Arboretum)

Recently I started to work on a 2017 photo shoot from a site on Nantucket Island that is known as "The Hidden Forest." I guess I put this material on the back burner because I had other things to work on.
The "Hidden Forest" is a fairly untouched plot of privately owned land. A Tuckernuck native told me about it in 1994 and I finished 3 large cut & paste collages at the time. In 2017 I found the site again although I had a hard time locating it. Not on any map and one should seek permission to enter, I kept asking people randomly if they knew it. It took me most of my 2017 trip to find it after a few false leads.




I really didn't think I had shot anything I could use in 2017. Recollections from my 1994 visits were that this semi-secret place was truly magical (in the mythic sense)- where the air was laced with potions and dreams. My two decades of expectations could not possibly be met.
Well, I was wrong.

My photo collage "Windmill, Auvillar" is included in "The Architecture of Time" at the Boston Society of Architects (Jan 10-May 15) - scroll down. This is the second time this "driving" collage has been chosen for a show about architecture. I submitted other pieces with more traditional building environments.

For me, a car is a structure I can maneuver. We all look through windows in our homes or other buildings. Automobile windows are more essential for obvious reasons - and will usually reveal a landscape. The fun part is that the landscape appears to be moving as in cinematic capture. Driving is an enjoyable adventure of space in time.

"Untitled (Nantucket)" was shot in 2017. I had just finished a temporary driving ban due to a medically related accident and had been experiencing a fair amount of driving nerves. But upon arriving on Nantucket I immediately went off road.

Untitled -Nantucket 2017


For the Boston Society of Architecture show use the link to my artist statement on their website https://www.architects.org/the-architecture-of-time-artists/amy-ragus

Below - Moulin a Vent (Windmill, Auvillar, France)

It is October and I am out haunting homeowners who have decorated their lawns with ghouls and witches.

When I am prowling around, I might pull into a driveway and start walking through displays - sometimes seeing the homeowners inside. This year I was escorted out of a haunted front yard in RI. Last year the same at a "scare emporium" in Salem - I was shooting in the ticket entrance, presumably a public space. But I suppose I appeared intrusive.
This is what photographers do - we mean no harm, but I understand the offense.

These days many property owners are instantly aware of intruders via security cameras. Optimally I will first knock on the front door to ask permission. But my favorite light is at dusk and one cannot waste time with idle chatter. Out on the street, I have all but given up trying to shoot young trick-or-treaters, as their parents will aggressively approach me. I must be very careful with the children... and am grateful if they are completely covered up with masks. In Salem of course, it is fair game. Anyone who is out on the streets of Salem is likely to be photographed. Many adults will stop without my speaking to let me admire them with a clicking shutter.

As with my other photo work, I shoot multiple frames and compose later. In the case of my Halloween series, I merge the shots to mimic a single-frame photograph in the tradition of street or portrait work. This is the only series I have that is what I might call "documentary."

I started the series in the last years of my father's life in New York. We made local road trips during the Halloween season and I would roll down my window and take a few snaps. The year after his passing I took up the baton more seriously.

And what is it about? I haven't a clue. It is some sort of seasonal passage - alchemy and natural warnings. As soon as the leaves start to color and the wind snakes about, I am hooked. By November 5th or so.. it is done. The balloon deflates and everything goes silent - what is left is the rustle of squirrels burying their nuts for the months ahead.

Another photographer had the pose and I stepped in fast.

The cat came to me and explained it.

It is July 2019 and I am taking a pause .. ....
In these troubled times, it requires a bit of focus for me to block the impact of the news. Working on visual files is an escape. I pulled up this image because of the dog -no other reason really - animal energy is joyful.

This dog appeared suddenly as dogs do. He galloped up the ridge and stopped to wait patiently. The simple narrative made me stick around a bit as the weather was deteriorating rapidly. The dog's person came into the scene a few minutes later trudging up from the beach - ritual complete.
On the outer cape, November.



I finally focused some attention on the image below declaring it finished.
I have been playing cards with this collage for 6+ years. It would have gone the way of the trash heap if I hadn't finally added that fog in the foreground.

I pulled into this private drive to turn around. The atmosphere was enchanting - the fog thick and mysterious. I kept driving a bit.
On principle, I mostly do not add data to my digital capture. In this case, I softly erased it.



Two related collages to the beach/doggie scene were chosen by this year's Julia Margaret Cameron competition exhibition in Barcelona in their single image category. Looking at all the winners (and there are many many) makes me aware of the huge amount of work out there in the photo arena. These two images -(one in Gloucester, MA, and the other in Provincetown, MA) have interested viewers so far. If you scroll down in my News posts you can see them in a larger size.



On exhibit now is my image Into the Light at the newly opened Danforth Museum as part of their permanent collection exhibit. Danforth Art is now part of Framingham State University and is a modern space. The forced abandonment of the old Danforth turned out well it seems.


Of particular interest to me in the new Danforth is the permanent installation of work of an African American sculptor Meta Vaux Warrick Fuller - she is generally unknown. This separate room includes a re-creation of the artist's attic studio. The project was spearheaded and designed by curator Jessica Roscio. I was very touched by the display. Bravo. The artist's sculpture "Emancipation" can be found at Harriet Tubman park in Boston.

C.A. Millner and I traveled our collaborative exhibit to the Firehouse Center in Newbury, MA. This venue was a tight space but we managed to include our 13 pairs, selling one pair to a private collection. We are pleased that they will be kept together. C.A. quotes Abu Hamid Al-Ghazali - The perception of beauty is a delight in itself.
My image "Voyage" is an object collage using a piece of found coral and the beach at dusk in Englewood Florida - a bit over-the-top surrealism for me...

Below is C.A.'s choice of my object sketch and C.A.'s calligraphic response. More work that I might not have ever exhibited ...
C.A.'s composition is of Robert Henri's "There are mighty few people who think what they think they think."

I am thinking about my experience while in residence at the Truro Center for the Arts at Castle Hill on the Outer Cape www.castlehill.org.
I was there in November and the weather was harrowing - cold, windy, fierce.
I suppose this was a gift although I was cursing it at the time -- racing to a site before the clouds moved in. The clouds win.

Castle Hill is a unique place for artists - a jumping-off point to the outer limits.

After I got home I noticed the listing on the Truro Center website which outlines some of my intentions for my visit - See below. I had read Thoreau's Cape Cod before arriving in Truro but did not look at materials I brought with me. I wanted to face my surroundings without thinking too much.

The power of the Outer Cape is startling. Who knew?
While working on some of my collages I visited Thoreau again and a few pieces fell into place.
- Long Beach, Gloucester 2015


Below is my first shoot at Race Point, Provincetown.
I was the only person on the beach. Although the sea grass looks billowy and softly inviting, the wind knocked me over.


Looking East - Wellfleet

In June 2017 I visited Nantucket Island with a residency at the Artists Association of Nantucket. In September 2017 I was at the Catwalk Institute along the Hudson River in Catskill NY. Both landscapes were blissful. Here are a few of the finished collages. In some, you can see the separate photo frames within merged shots and in others, all the separate frames have been merged.

From Catskills, NY:


Bastion Falls, New York
This is in Hains Falls, NY and my 1st waterfall on this trip. I shot from 4 vantage points, this being the last try. The waterfall was running low and finally, I went around to the far side. This view expressed the lyrical path the water takes as it descends. Two hikers on right (see wood kiosk) are reading the map. I met them later at the upper falls - Kaaterskill Falls.


Goldenrod
This location I found after a day of wandering. In September the Catskill roads are dotted with clumps of goldenrod that draw my eye. I was thinking "Wow, you need to shoot some of that." A mile or so later I glimpsed this private drive off the main road. My image doesn't do it justice, believe me.


Yellow
Driving home from a tiring day of chasing waterfalls... I cannot resist the vibrant wildflowers along the road. It is September and I am only too aware that these flowers will be gone with one cold snap.


From Nantucket Island, MA:


Polpis Road, Nantucket
I spied the pink as I was driving along Polpis Road on Nantucket. There was no direct access point but I eventually found a route into this magical pathway.


The southernmost point, Nantucket
This beach on Nantucket is accessed from a dead end with only two parking spaces available.
For me, this is the most beautiful place on the Island. The vista opens after a meandering walk and a climb over a narrow dune.
The sound of the surf increases as I approach.
As I retreat the sound slowly softens and my ritual is complete.


Fog, Nantucket
Fog descends on Nantucket and this simply makes this lazy path toward the bay more enticing. I cannot see exactly where I am going. For this I am grateful.

A new exhibit with C.A. Millner at the Heritage Gallery in Whitinisville, MA.
The show runs from Sept 1 - Oct 13 and has 13 pairings of images to calligraphy. Also on view are additional displays documenting C.A.'s process and my use of found objects.

I was fortunate to have C.A. agree to collaborate on this show which pairs some of my small-scale drawings, prints, and photo collages from the past 20 years with C.A.'s highly creative visual wordplay. I gave C.A. about 50 small copies of images and she chose what she wanted to respond to.

The Heritage Gallery has purchased "Receive" for their permanent collection. This piece is paired with C.A. Millner's calligraphic interpretation of Lao Tzu's writing "Empty yourself of everything. Let the mind rest at peace."
I love this combination. Although I was thinking about receiving when I constructed this collage, it is also my belief that one must empty oneself with prayer and meditation in order to receive.

I just returned from a visit to Nantucket Island. This is my third artist residency on Nantucket with previous visits courtesy of the Nantucket Island School of Art & Design.

On this trip, I foraged many sites that I will be gleaning from over the coming months. I seem to seek out Nantucket after particularly traumatic events in my life. This time I was testing my strength after a very sudden near-death (or actual death) experience and a seemingly miraculous recovery. There is something on this island that is an elixir to my frayed nerves.

Aside from Nantucket's sublime landscape, I am attracted to the history of the whaling era and the architectural preservation of the main town and historic Siaconset. Lectures and exhibits at the UU Church, the Whaling Museum, the Athenaeum, and the Lifesaving Museum helped curb my severe shock and disappointment with how developed the Island has become.

I returned to the Hidden Forest which truly is hidden and I will not reveal its location. Even locals don't know where this is and it took me most of my trip to find it again --- like some old friend, I had been searching for.

I took my 4wd off-roading as an antidote to my 6 months without a car -- and to perhaps see into my future... How far goes that road ahead? Better take it now.

I also had an encounter with a ghost, but that is a story for another day......

As a prelude to this visit, I reconstructed a previous Nantucket landscape that I shot in 1994. I scanned the negatives to make a digital version. I thought perhaps the colors were off, but on re-visiting the Nantucket moors I found them to be fairly accurate. The yellow sky shot is just how it appeared from the negative - so I left it. On the day of my photo shoot, I found a red tail hawk feather which I later gave to a local woman who had property on Tuckernuck Island. She was suffering from Lyme disease and told me that Red Tail feathers could be useful in easing her symptoms.

Red Tail, Nantucket (2017) Dec 2017 -Purchased by the Brigham & Woman's Hospital Collection, Boston.


In 2003 I visited Nantucket again. During that trip, I experienced a Nor'easter and I went to Getty Beach to photograph the surf. I was standing at the shore and a rogue wave came up to my waist. Not a good idea. These shots I used in several shell images including "Isadora" and "Listen."

Isadora

Listen

I am showing a sequence of 4 large photo collages for "Plot - Gardens and the Stories of Seeds" June 9 - August 14, 2017 at the Davis Gallery in Worcester, Ma.

This show was curated by and dedicated to Heather Adels who died suddenly during the planning stages. Below I include my statement for the exhibit. Also included in this show is work by one of my favorite artists Steve Negron.


Ripe (Tower Hill) ©2017


Seed Dreams for Heather (Tower Hill) ©2017


The Pink Shed (Tower Hill) 2017


Harvest (Tower Hill) 2017

Artist Statement for "Plot"

For this exhibit, I show four images shot at the Tower Hill Botanic Garden in Boylston, MA.

I had been visiting Tower Hill periodically and walking the trails on the property. The terrain was a challenge because I normally use wild nature and not “gentrified” gardens as my subject.

But when nature is involved the “wild” is always in play. To make a garden we must measure and lay out the plots, prepare the soil, and plant the seeds. Then the sun, water, and air take over. The calm expectancy of April is havoc by mid-June.

Gardens are places where the imagination can flourish. In wild nature, seemingly random combinations create patterns that express the specific elements in play. In a gentrified garden, the human hand plays a more powerful and controlling role, but “nature” is ultimately in charge.

In my interaction with the curator for this show I sent Heather Adels a few images that might work for her theme of “Plots.” She was most enthusiastic when I superimposed flowers over the landscape. With this in mind, I dedicate the winter image “Seed Dreams” to Heather, whose laughter and enthusiasm are indelible.

For this image, I visited Tower Hill in March. There was snow on the ground and a Witch Hazel tree was in its yellow bloom. This is one of the earliest harbingers of spring. That day I also visited the greenhouses at the Tower Hill complex and photographed various blooms. After putting the composition together (from about 25 separate photo frames) I added the flying flower as a prompt to our memories and imagination. We are dreaming of what is to come after the earth has warmed.

At Tower Hill there is a shed that became a motif in my sequence of images. In “The Pink Shed” we are in early/mid-spring and the dance has just started. The elements of growth are at the beginning of their engagement. In “Harvest” a few months later the almost chaotic results bombard us with their frenzy —and we are catapulting to the end… In “Ripe” we know that the heavy color of the fall foliage will soon be on the ground, the earth will slumber, and then we will start again.

This exhibit was an opportunity for me to find my small place in this beautiful cycle.

Thank you Heather.

I am having an exhibition a the Art Center of Sarasota, Sarasota Florida from May 25- June 30, 2017. Works included are 16 photo collages completed from a three-year repeat Artist Residency at the Hermitage Artist Retreat in Englewood, Florida. www.hermitageartistretreat.org


Morning/Infinity (Englewood, Florida) 2017


Nokomis, Florida 2017


Exhibit poster

All my pieces in the show can be seen in my Florida Gallery on this site. This show includes three collaborative pairs with shared objects also used by Amy Ernst.

Aspects of collage and Surrealism inform this exhibit. The title of the show is -
The Third Entity - which implies alchemy when different realities are combined. In this case landscape and found objects reside in the same space and produce a heightened reality.

I have been photographing the beach for many years. For me, the clean slate of the ocean landscape is a fertile background for musings, dreams, and fantasies.

I am included in an exhibit at the Southeast Center for Photography, images chosen by
Tillman Crane - www.tillmancrane.com. The show is called "Architecture." Crane chose my car piece "Moulin a vent (Windmill)." I shot this as we approached this interesting site outside of Auvillar, France. My tour companion/tour guide had not prepared me for what was coming and it was a happy serendipity. Check out the Southeast Center at www.sec4p.com

My image "Spring Rain, Walden" is included in the inaugural Dean's Gallery exhibition commemorating the merging of the School of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston into the Tufts University Art Program. The show will be up from Jan 11 - May 31, 2017.


Sold - private collection in Concord, MA

In January-Feb. I showed 5 collages at the Moosehill Gallery at Mass Audubon in Sharon, Ma.
Moosehill's Curator Jan Goba invited several artists who have shown at Moosehill over the years to participate in this exhibit titled "Looking Back...Moving Forward." I showed the usual suspects. My image "Freight Train, Walpole" was used for the show's publicity.


Freight Train

Elsewhere, "Freight Train, Walpole" was given the First Prize award for Alternative Processes in The Fine Art of Photography exhibit currently at the Plymouth Center for the Arts (until May 14). It was also chosen for a show at the LA Center for Digital Art and was singled out by Mark Feeney in his Globe review "Differing Visions of Photography at Danforth Art" (scroll down to Mark Feeney Globe Review). Occasionally one of my images seems to have more legs than others. The Plymouth show attracts submissions from hundreds of artists nationwide and is worth seeing. Not only that, they give substantial prize money to the winners, which is how it should be.

Switching back to the Audubon show, the more subtle composition "Blush, Beebe Woods, Falmouth" paired nicely with a spring forest photograph by Art Donahue (well-known videographer for the popular New England Chronicle News/Feature program). Also exceptional in this show were images by photographer Fred Martins who I have shown with before at Moosehill.


Blush, Beebe Woods, Falmouth

Danforth Art in Framingham, Ma (formerly the Danforth Museum and I seem to call it that having known it since 1981...) has acquired my photo collage "Into the Light."

It is included in their show The Memory Palace: Domesticity, Objects and the Interior" (through Feb 28,) and was mentioned in Mark Feeney's Jan 19 review in the Boston Globe. Feeney notes "Amy Ragus's fragmented photographs of a car interior (a very post-1950's sort of domestic space)" etc.

I have donated a print of Manasota Key Sunset (Stump Point) to the Hermitage Artist Retreat in Englewood for an upcoming fundraiser. Photographed in 2013 on my first visit to the Hermitage as an artist in residence, I visited this northern section of Manasota Key on a suggestion from a new friend. The place was lovely and almost deserted as it was a bit of a hike to get there. I chose the early sunset as a time to shoot. This piece is actually a collage of 30+ separate frames fused to make a continuous surface. You can see the collage in its first manifestation (with the overlapping frames) in my "Florida" gallery on this site.

I am included in the "Small Prints" exhibit at Panopticon Gallery from Sept 10 - Nov 30.

The image "Wyman Meadow, Walden Pond" is best seen at 40x40" Here it is 10x10" Still packs a punch.