Elementals

Written By Susan Patrice
 

Elementals

 
 

Through cycles and seasons, photographers were invited to explore their relationship with the elements. As we moved through the elemental wheel of the year, each season would bring a new elemental focus. Drawing on the Elementals book series from the Center for Humans & Nature, photographers responded to essays and questions that inspired unique new ways of seeing and communing with elemental forces.

 
 

Air

Infinite and always in motion, air is unutterably old, and its spirit carries with it the story of everything. Can contemplating air help us expand into the more ethereal nature of being? In what ways can air offer breathing room, allowing our imaginations to thrive and play in the intervals of daily life? When we engage deeply with air, what spaciousness emerges in our relationships with our earthly kin and each other? The photographs in this collection explore ways that we can respectfully attend to the atmospheric forces that shape our everyday worlds.

For further reading, see Elementals: Air, published by the Center for Humans & Nature.

 
Featured
‘in the ground of my beseeching’ - Kate Kennington Steer
‘in the ground of my beseeching’ - Kate Kennington Steer

Poet, contemplative photographer, and visual artist Kate Kennington Steer explores the element of air in this mixed-media video featuring spoken-word poetry and imagery.

Untethered - Phil Lewenthal
Untethered - Phil Lewenthal

For the last several years, Phil Lewenthal concentrated on a project photographing the interplay of the elements on California’s north coast. In recent months, a spontaneous and even chaotic urban project has emerged (perhaps not coincidentally) as he engaged with the Elemental practice groups.

Thin Air: George Lottermoser
Thin Air: George Lottermoser

When suggested, the title, Thin Air, seemed to appear out of thin air. It had not occurred to me. I had to look it up—and found, to my sheer delight, “disappear / vanish into thin air / idiom: to appear or disappear completely in a way that is mysterious.” So. Perfect. For where I’m at as eye express and document my aging out of aliveness in this way, with these selected images.

 

Fire

Fire is both wild and domestic, destructive and generative.  Life is fueled by fire, from plants creating energy through photosynthesis to the inner fires that spark meaning within our lives. Fire invites us to do the alchemical work of justice and change as well as the tender relational work of love and care. What is revealed through the spark of our attention? And how might this inspire us to sustain our own internal fires as darkness descends? The photographs in this collection explore the many manifestations of fire and how it sparks intimacy between us and our earthly kin.

For further reading, see Elementals: Fire, published by the Center for Humans & Nature.

 
Featured
Fire as Gesture - April McNiff
Fire as Gesture - April McNiff

Photographed at night in the forests of western North Carolina, April McNiff moved—sometimes danced—across the landscape, allowing gestures of fire to unfold within darkness. The resulting streaks are not representations of flame, but traces of energy: moments of presence revealed through time and movement.

‘lit’ - Kate Kennington Steer
‘lit’ - Kate Kennington Steer

Poet, contemplative photographer, and visual artist Kate Kennington Steer explores the element of fire in this mixed-media video featuring spoken-word poetry and imagery.

Light Passed Between Us - Frances Bukovsky
Light Passed Between Us - Frances Bukovsky

In Light Passed Between Us, Frances Bukovsky explores how relationship to place can shape partnership, and uses tender imagery to highlight the intentionality within their long-distance relationship to nurture and care for both place and person. Fire is expressed through both light and love in this intimate portfolio.

Alchemy: Alli Harper
Alchemy: Alli Harper

Alli Harper’s ongoing project Alchemy explores elemental fire as a powerful symbol of transformation, representing both renewal and destruction. The cycle of life is a constant kindling of sparks and the dying of embers. In Alli’s work, fire symbolizes purification, spiritual connection, and is a symbol of passion and danger. Everything it touches is transformed.

 

Water

As a living presence, the circulation and flow of healthy waters make life on Earth possible and define our very existence. In what ways does the flow of water around us and within us make us feel alive? The photographs in this collection invite us to ponder the traditions, perspectives, and aspirations linked to this vital element.

For further reading, see Elementals: Water, published by the Center for Humans & Nature.

 
Featured
‘mother you display me as pearlescent’ - Kate Kennington Steer
‘mother you display me as pearlescent’ - Kate Kennington Steer

Poet, contemplative photographer, and visual artist Kate Kennington Steer explores the element of water in this mixed-media video featuring spoken-word poetry and imagery.

Ice Remembers - Alli Harper
Ice Remembers - Alli Harper

Ice is the archivist of the world, holding centuries in its translucent layers. Each trapped bubble is a whisper of ancient winds, a chronicle of forgotten seasons—snowfall, ash, storms, and sunlight pressed into memory. Alli Harper's luminous collection of images reminds us that in the evolving story of the Earth, even the most enduring forms are transient.

Not so still life: The way water flows through the natural, mystical, and man-made — Julia Nagai
Not so still life: The way water flows through the natural, mystical, and man-made — Julia Nagai

Julia Nagai’s dreamy exploration explores how water flows from humans to their co-creations with nature, and connects them to what may lie beyond the physical realm of our Earth.  Autumnal rituals performed under a cloudy moon in a Tokyo garden connect city dwellers with the changing seasons and bring a moment of stillness to their souls.

Water, Water Everywhere - Brenda Spielmann
Water, Water Everywhere - Brenda Spielmann

Brenda Spielmann’s poetic book explores the interplay between nature, mythology, and our relationship with water. Brenda’s photographs of Iceland invite you to step into the bones of an ancient world where the landscape is the storyteller, and myth and reality blur.

 

Earth

Earth is living matter, place and planet—soil, ground, and home. Here, we find our form and weave meaning from the complexity and multiplicity of our earthbound experiences. What depths can be found in Earth’s cycles? Can embodied photographic practices inspire earthy perspectives that awaken the transformative power of humility, interdependence, connection, and care? Through practice, can we foster co-creative and collaborative partnerships with the living earth that invite mutual flourishing?

 
Featured
Season of Earth - Chris Warner-Carey
Season of Earth - Chris Warner-Carey

Chris Warner-Carey's images from the Season of Earth were made as part of a year-long engagement with the classical elements of Earth, Air, Fire, and Water. This collection offers us a glimpse into the ordinary yet beautiful moments of life being made and unmade. At the heart of this work is a quiet sensitivity to life’s shifting and changing rhythms.

Bodies Connected by Earth - Anna Rotty
Bodies Connected by Earth - Anna Rotty

In this portfolio, Anna Rotty responds to things bound, in space and in long, drawn-out time…Rock, sediment, earth, aridification of small plots of property in her neighborhood. Recording the glimpses of things, things she imagines will always look the same on short walks built around small moments of available time.

A Walk in the Park - Casey Visco
A Walk in the Park - Casey Visco

Casey Visco’s collection of photographic observations were made during daily walks in the riverfront parks and trails around Asheville, North Carolina. Visco’s work reminds us that our ordinary earthbound moments can be full of beauty and quiet meaning.

Susan Patrice

As the founder and director of Makers Circle, Susan Patrice designs and implements arts-informed community initiatives in partnership with non-arts organizations who want to expand their reach and impact through innovative cross-sector collaboration. Makers Circle has a deep passion for the power of the creative process to encourage adaptive change, expand awareness, and open up new ways of seeing and relating. We believe that the arts and artists should play a major role in community regeneration and non-profit advancement. Web design and digital storytelling are foundational to the work we do with non-profits.

https://kinship.photography/