About Crystal Illusions

For several years I have been planning a body of work that incorporates a specific subject as a foundation for the expression

of color and form.  Finding the right subject to use as the basis for this project proved to be difficult.  I attempted to fulfill my

vision using several different subject from buildings to elements of the

landscape, but none fit my pre-visualization of the project.  In late 2008

I found the perfect vehicle to photograph in the magnificent crystal

glass created by my friend Martha Croasdale.  Martha produces some

of the very best crystal art glass that I have seen.  Her “Crystal Ovals”

were a perfect foundation for my project.

Crystal Illusions is a body of work created to fulfill a need to work in

color as abstract imagery.  The work is an expression of color and

form without the subjectivity of the original subject interfering.  The

images are extreme close-up photographs of Martha’s crystal art

glass.  Multiple images were taken at different focus points and then

merged and blended to create deep depth of field.  Most of the

photographs in this project are printed without any additional

abstracting of the original image.  A few images have been further

abstracted simple because they look cool that way.

This project is a work in progress and it will be finished when it's finished.