ECVA - Sally Brower - Everywhere I Look

Heaven's Rain

Photograph

Artist Statement: Psalm 119:18 informs my work in photography: “Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things.” I endeavor to see beyond the veil of the everyday, to see with the eyes of the heart, to see deeply what God wishes to illuminate, open to the revelatory nature of the images framed by my camera. I have studied photography with Mikel Robinson, Catherine Just, Catherine Anderson, Brad Berglund and Douglas Beasley.

The work submitted for this show is more local in origin than a lot of my work. It grew out of the rhythm of my daily life—a springtime walk through the neighborhood, fishing off the dock with the grandchildren, attending an outdoor worship service.

I was taking a contemplative stroll around a neighborhood pond on a cloudy afternoon. I was trying diﬀerent perspectives on the ﬂora and fauna, attempting to see them with fresh eyes, and creating images that were not ‘nature photos’ but rather metaphors that invited the viewer to see with new eyes as well. The clouds were low on the horizon, but it took some experimentation before I arrived at an image that disturbed the usual perspective enough to evoke deeper reﬂection.

Bio: Sally Brower is a retired Episcopal priest, poet, photographer, and passionate pilgrim whose work explores the intersection of art and faith, creativity and spirituality. A married mother of two, grandmother of eight, she lives in Mooresville, NC. Her work with photography draws on pilgrimages to holy places and nature, each one a divine encounter where the holy shines through the incarnate world.