“Minutiae” is my latest project. The prints are large (from 16x24 to 42x66), but the source of the image is tiny, usually about 1/2 inch or less in size.


As far as I know, "Minutiae" an original idea: make extremely tiny works which are designed to only become “art” after they are massively enlarged.

This reveals of the intricacies of the tiny natural textures and Taoist-realities around us. Some folks have called this work “very Zen."
“…the shapes nearest shapelessness awe us most, suggest the god.” (A. R. Ammons)  and  “Beauty is the Universal seen.” (Alfred Stieglitz)*

Ever since as a child, lying in the grass and observing the tiny world hidden there, I’ve found beauty in the incredibly small. Seeing my first snowflake changed my life.

I’ve been taking abstract macros for years, but in Minutiae, I’m also designing the work to be photographed. Some of it is paper and ink; some is molding plastic, or arranging artifacts or whatever is at hand, but the point is that it’s not “merely” macro photography, but art specifically created to be greatly enlarged.


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                                                    (Above: detail from “Abstract Tree”)

It’s not merely a matter of “taking a picture” either:  each print requires the assembling (stacking) of 20 to as many as 50 individual images to achieve what is needed for a quality final print. Then, as the image may call for, I’ll add multiple layers, usually as background. Many hours of work goes into each final image.

So, this isn’t strictly photography, as my other work is, nor is it only “an artist who uses a camera”, but a cross somewhere between the two. Given my background in fine art, it’s ideal for me.

I plan to do a lot more of this, as I’m really enjoying the result. I’m printing extremely limited 5-print editions of these images.