Columbia
Route 6, Fluvanna County

I was driving through Columbia one day, noticing the remains of a small fence that appeared to have no purpose other than to have been ornamental.

Whether it's because I encounter numerous fences in my travels, or because they represent something to me on a deeper plane, I find I have quite a few images of them in my collection. In one sense I see them as supressors, holding back the whims of freedom and adventure. In another sense, they are like protectors, either preserving their contents from dangers on the outide, or protecting the outside from the dangers within. This idyllic picket fence bordered a small home on Stoneleigh Drive, as it arced up, over and around a small, heavily wooded hill in the tiny village of Palmyra.

American Dream
Route 729, Milmont, Albemarle County

Sometimes, despite our best efforts, we are overrun with frustration. No matter how clear our goals, we sometimes see defeat in every endeavor, obstacles in every clear path.

The idea here had to do with feelings such as these. Success is driven hard into the American psyche. Around about the 19th century it was considered a divinely appointed right to all Americans, something called Manifest Destiny. However, I've often wondered why some Americicans are not partakers of this grand scheme? Was the decision to attain the American Dream the doing of God, or of individuals?

Milmont Hills
Route 729, Albemarle County

I like to think that my inspiration comes from within, and that I am unaffected by influences outside of my body and mind, yet I know intuitively that this is not so. In fact, it's obvious, and any thoughts to the contrary are degrees of denial.

States of brokenness, of dashed hopes, of misuse and ill repair have found a way into my work since an accident in 1997 permanently cripppled my wife and upended my family. This fence caught my eye because of the austere beauty of its jagged plank as contrasted to the stability of its horizontal construction.

Ellerslie
Route 627, Carter's Mountain

Installation in Progress

Preliminary Intro: Part of the estate of John Kluge, donated to the University of Virginia, and currently for sale, the Ellerslie Farm occupies vast acreage just south of Monticello, home of Thomas Jefferson, and Highland, home of James Monroe, both early American Presidents, and neighbors to each other. Along the public border of the Ellerslie Farm, Virginia Route 627 passes beneath the shade of these venerable cedars.

Pippin's Farm Snow Storm
Route 53, Monticello

Installation in Progress

These photographs were made in 1999 while I was drving to work. As many commuters ahead of me slid off the road, I tired of waiting aimlessly in my car and began to make pictures from the driver's seat. At several points I left the car in the queue and trudeged around, making compositions along the way. These snow flakes were the biggest I had ever seen.