What a strange year 2023 has been. I started the year strong with some additional work on my Manifested series, but this soon tapered and I was unable to resume. I filled gaps by chasing images for other projects, including a nebulous, unspecified grouping with the working title of “Midwestern“. The year saw my public speaking schedule continue, and in new directions (book signings, workshops, etc.).

The year began with an exciting solo exhibition of my work at the Foundry Art Centre in St. Charles, Missouri. The exhibition, my first showing of Does a parasite know that it’s a parasite?, was an opportunity to depart from a linear showcasing of images in favor of something more exploratory and site specific with an intention for the viewer to spend time with each work individually (differently than as a chapter in a story) and to explore and make discoveries for themselves–much in the same way that I did while making the images. The viewer was able to walk a straight line or to break away and investigate something that caught their eye across the room. There was no beginning or end to the layout. Adding to this, the images were printed using divergent techniques, including digital chromogenic printing, dye sublimation, instant film, and pigmented ink, were scaled across a wide range from business card size up to 24 x 36 inches, and were framed and matted, pinned to the wall, or held in place with magnets.

The exhibition was included in St. Louis Magazine’s Managing Editor Christine Jackson’s arts and culture roundup:

Also in January, my son Harper was featured as the voiceover narrator in a welcome video for the Saint Louis Art Museum, which was sent out to schools all across the region.

Throughout the year, I continued to find placement for my first photobook, Mound City Chronicle. It was included in the bookstores at Spine Bookstore and Cafe, International Photography Hall of Fame, and Dunaway Books. It was also added to several libraries, including Richardson Memorial Library at the Saint Louis Art Museum, St. Louis Public Library (copies housed at five separate branches), Missouri Historical Society and the Haynor Library in Alton, Illinois.

In July, I was invited to speak about Photo Flood Saint Louis and conduct a photo workshop at the Connecting Entrepreneurial Communities Conference in Benton County Missouri. This annual event, sponsored by the University of Missouri Extension, brings representatives together from across the state to network and learn how to increase economic prospects for their communities.