Art captures a light, a mood, a movement, the spark of this world
I learned about standing waves in a class on communication in graduate school. Essentially it results when two waves of the same type, but traveling in opposite directions, collide. The single wave that results appears to stand still as all the other waves rush by. We were given instruction to sit by a mountain stream and find a standing wave in an area just past the rapids. We were to take a photo of the most pleasing one we could find, taking note of its size and shape. Then we were to sit and watch. Was the wave what we thought it was? Was it truly "a" wave? Or was it rather a string of change across many moments in time, of many waves across time? As I took as many photos as I could in those moments that followed, of course I saw the latter is true: what I thought to be standing was ultimately constantly shifting, changing, dancing. And as this wave and others around it swirled over the pebbles below, the sound that rose from the riverbed was that of nature's joyous laughter.
As an artist, you learn to look at things this deeply. And you come to understand that there is a difference between what you think you see, and what is. That is why the best artwork creates resonance for the viewer: It's not so much capturing a moment of time, as it is relaying the spark of life that exists across many, many moments.
Laughing Pebble Studio is an homage to standing waves in bubbling brooks. And my aim as an artist is to bring that spark of nature just a little bit closer to our busy human lives.