Two Women Talk #1

There is no doubt that this past year has been a difficult one...probably for all of us, right?  
At the beginning of 2020, I had plans to go to Japan...to study and to teach..but by spring, those plans were put on hold..and remain on hold..at least for now.

I decided to take advantage of the opportunity of being at home to make a print almost every day.  And I did that.  

But one of the things I have missed the most is the opportunity to connect with other artists while teaching and traveling.  Of course, the visual and cultural stimulation of travel also provides a wealth of new ideas and colors and vistas for photography and for personal expression.

About six months ago, I received an intriguing proposal from a fellow artist and photographer.  While we share visual and artistic sensibilities, I live minutes from the United States/Canadian border and my new friend lives moments from the United States/Mexican border.   She lives in the desert with the Joshua trees and I live in the land of cedars and ferns.. After several conversations, we decided to begin a collaborative project to show some of our work together,  side by side for at least the coming year.

Since then, we have had many telephone conversations, texts and emails.  And we actually met in person for the first time for a an afternoon long cup of coffee when Diana came to Washington to visit her son,  I think we are the best kind of collaborators, encouraging and supportive...while sharing information from techniques to books and sources for materials.  Diana Shay Diehl is an inspired and skilled photographer and artist and genuinely  connected to that sense of place and environment that gives her work its unique voice. 

We decided on a long distance, North/South, desert and forest collaboration.  We both have been using alternative photographic processes.  Our goal for this year is to share work across the miles by means of this artistic collaboration.  We will start to share work on our individual blogs with links to the other, and plan to begin a website together with opportunities for interaction and feedback, and the possibility of some gallery showings of our cross-continent project.
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You are invited to share our journey as the project takes shape.  We look forward to hearing from you!
Here is the link to Diana's blog..
Diana Shay Diehl blog
I encourage you to follow Diana on Instagram @mojavelight
​Here is a link to her art projects on Instagram @projectmojavelight
And a link to my Instagram account @ellenjdooley

When I first shared the image below, "Wound" with Diana, we knew we were onto something.  This image shows the fragile Silver Bark Birch.  They are easy wounded by harsh winter weather or drought-like conditions and have been negatively impacted by warming temperatures.  Diana had just made a similar image in her environment.

"Wound". Cyanotype on Arches Platine 11"x14" March, 2021 Ellen Dooley

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