Keepers Of The West
My childhood summers were spent on a family dairy farm in Nova Scotia. Waking at dawn and herding cows alone in the field, where the only sounds were the birds waking and the gentle murmurs of the cows. The smell of fresh milk and fields of grass were the touchstones of my youth. The barn where I helped my uncle hand-milk the cows is now gone back into the earth.
My ongoing series Keepers of the West took me back to fields at dawn, this time on the family-run ranches of the American West. Visions of the West have long been central to our culture, but the way of life of the cowboy and the family-run ranch is fast disappearing.
Over half of all family owned ranches in Montana are run by people over 65 and many of their children are not choosing to remain in ranching.
It is because I recognize these struggles that my series celebrates the beauty of family-run ranches. The lives of these people are framed by hardship, yet they thrive in the simpler way of life that remains their routine, and in the stewardship of the land and the animals they tend.
Over the past four years I have witnessed the strength, determination and commitment of these families to continue this way of life, and pass it on to their children. The images are made up of the places, people, and creatures that have welcomed me into their world to remind us of the arresting moments of grace and beauty found in a life lived under the wide-open western skies.
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2023 Solo Exhibition The Center For Photographic Art Carmel, CA curated by Ann Jastrab October 7th
2022 Solo Exhibition Griffin Museum of Photography Winchester, MA curated by Paula Tognarelli January 6th - February 7th.
2022 All About Photo Special Mention Solo Exhibition
2010 GALLERY 135 Portland Oregon
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2022 APA LA Off The Clock Exhibition Curated by Paul Martineau Curator of Photographs at J. Paul Getty Museum
2022 Old West Museum Western Spirit Juried Art Show awarded Best In Photography
2021 The Griffin Museum of Photography Splash Exhibition curated by Crista Dix
2021 The Center for Photographic Art, Members Juried Exhibition Second Place curated by Susan Burnstine
2021 A Smith Gallery, The Chair Exhibition curated by Kevin Tully
2020 The Griffin Museum of Photography Online Juried Exhibition curated by Paula Tognarelli
2020 The Center for Photographic Art , International Juried Online Exhibition curated by Aline Smithson
2020 A Smith Gallery, Trees Exhibition curated by Kevin Tully
2020 SE Center for Photography, Black and White and More curated by Paula Tognarelli
2019 The Center for Photographic Art International Juried Exhibition curated by Paula Tognarelli
2019 SE Center for Photography Women by Women curated by Kat Kiernan
2018 Praxis Gallery The Found Object curated by Laura Migliorno
2018 PhotoPlace Gallery Elevating The Mundane curated by Kimberly Witham
2018 Foto Fest, Houston, USA
2018 Saatchi Art The Other Art Fair
AWARDS
2022 The 19th Julia Margaret Cameron Award Black and White Series Professional
2022 Critical Mass Solo Show Award The Center For Photographic Art
2022 Critical Mass Finalist
2022 Old West Museum 41st Western Spirit Juried Exhibition Best in Photography
2022 All About Photo Awards International Fourth Place
2019 Critical Mass Finalist
2019 The Black and White Spider Awards Nominations for Fine Art, Children of the World, Wildlife
and Sport
2018 Tokyo Foto Awards Honorable Mention for Nature and Wildlife
2018 SIPA Finalist
2018 The International Color Awards Two People Nominations
2018 The International Color Awards Portrait Nomination
2018 The International Color Awards Wildlife Nomination
2018 Julia Margaret Cameron Women Seen By Women Finalist
2017 PDN Faces
2009 Lurzer’s Archive Best Photographers Worldwide
2009 Communications Arts Photo Annual Award of Excellence
