ARTIST STATEMENT

Twelve years ago I moved from the familiar green pastures and dense forests of my childhood home in new England to create a new life in the desert.

Here I discovered a land where sun, sand, wind, drought and flood gave tenuous hold to only the hardiest plants.

I walked the washes and mountain trails amazed at their adaptations to survive this harsh climate.

Over time my initial trepidation turned to awe - a reverence for the austerity of desert life and a transformation in my aesthetic sensibilities.

My photography - both technically and spiritually - became more attentive to the subtle, muted, tonal dimensions of my adopted home,

and my photography of Smoketrees, symbolic of this personal transformation.

When I first spotted Smoketrees from a distance their wispy tangle of thin gray branches looked like a puff of smoke.

Fascinated, I walked the washes in search of their scarce, small groves. As I spent more time with these curious trees,

I fell in love and they revealed their grace: light, lyrical, dancers in the wind.

So I dedicated my photographer's craft to bring the barely visible - these puffs of smoke - into photographs to share with others their ephemeral beauty.

This body of work documents the Smoketrees growth and blooms; their tenacity and vulnerability.

It is a success to the extent that I am able to help others to see and treasure the Smoketrees unique, dynamic and fragile elegance.

To make the invisible visible.

CV

EDUCATION

Lesley University, Cambridge, MA, BA in Liberal Arts 2009

EXHIBITION HISTORY

2019 - DesertPainter Studio Gallery, Celebration of the Smoke Tree, Palm Springs, CA.

2016 - The Cultural Landscape Foundation, The Legacy of Landscape Architect Lawrence Halprin, Traveling Group Exhibition. Washington, DC.

2015 - SF Camerawork Annual Juried Exhibition, Heat, San Francisco, CA.

2013 - The Cultural Landscape Foundation, The Legacy of Landscape Architect Dan Kiley, Traveling Group Exhibition. Washington, DC.

2013 - Palm Springs Art Museum, Artist Council Annual Juried Show, Palm Springs, CA.

2012 - Palm Springs Art Museum, Artist Council Annual Juried Show, Palm Springs, CA.

PUBLIC COLLECTIONS:

“Inside Out.” Self Published Book. Wellesley College. Acquired 2005

PUBLICATIONS

“Celebration of the SmokeTree.” Desert Magazine. April 2019. Pages 10 – 11.

“Smoke Trees in full indigo bloom are a desert paradox.” Desert Magazine. 2018.

“Ode to the Smoke Tree.” Palm Springs Life Magazine. March 2019. Pages 33-34

“A Celebration of the SmokeTree by Millicent Harvey and Terry Masters.” CaliforniaDesertArt.com. April 2019.

“The Blue Garden: Recapturing an Iconic Newport Landscape.” 2014. Images throughout publication.

“Millicent Harvey: A Photographer’s View.” Visible/Invisible:Landscape Works of Reed Hilderbrand. 2012. Pages 33-92

“Inside Out.” Self Published Hand bound book. 2005. 39 images

TEACHING EXPERIENCE

Photography Mentor at Palm Springs High School. Palm Springs, CA. 2012-2014

Photography Instructor, Charles River Creative Arts, Camp. Dover, MA. 2005-2006

Photography Instructor, Documentary Photography, Digital Presentations, Beginning Camera. Boston, MA. 2004-2006

Head of Editorial Photography Department at New England School of Photography. Boston, MA. 1994-1998.