This plate belongs to Pictorial Whispers, my ongoing body of work using flowers, natural light, a vintage window, and 19th-century photographic processes to speak about grief, memory, endurance, and healing.
Category Archives: Abby’s Project
New Behind The Scenes Video for Pictorial Whispers Plate 4
This plate belongs to Pictorial Whispers, my ongoing body of work using flowers, natural light, a vintage window, and 19th-century photographic processes to speak about grief, memory, endurance, and healing.
Where the Flowers Were – Pictorial Whispers 2026 Plate 5
This plate belongs to Pictorial Whispers, my ongoing body of work using flowers, natural light, a vintage window, and 19th-century photographic processes to speak about grief, memory, endurance, and healing.
A Page Left Open – Pictorial Whispers 2026 Plate 4
This plate belongs to Pictorial Whispers, my ongoing body of work using flowers, natural light, a vintage window, and 19th-century photographic processes to speak about grief, memory, endurance, and healing.
Waiting at the Threshold – Pictorial Whispers 2026 Plate 3
This plate belongs to Pictorial Whispers, my ongoing body of work using flowers, natural light, a vintage window, and 19th-century photographic processes to speak about grief, memory, endurance, and healing.
Standing in the Shadows – Pictorial Whispers 2026 Plate 2
This plate belongs to Pictorial Whispers, my ongoing body of work using flowers, natural light, a vintage window, and 19th-century photographic processes to speak about grief, memory, endurance, and healing.
Learning to Breathe in the Dark Pictorial Whispers 2026 Plate 1
Pictorial Whispers is my ongoing body of work made with fully handmade 1840s calotype paper negatives. I work at the same old window in my Ozarks studio, using only natural light, as a way to stay present with the loss of my youngest daughter and to write honestly about grief, fear, and endurance so people who are hurting feel less alone.
Why My Art Starts With Grief and Ends With Endurance
Most people meet my artwork first. They see a quiet scene, soft tones, and a sense of stillness. What they don’t see right away is the reason it exists at all.
Pictorial Whispers was born from a loss I could not fix or outthink: the death of my youngest daughter, Abby. Grief didn’t arrive as a single event. It came as a long, uneven road that still continues. My work is not an escape from that road. It is the way I walk it.
I’m Moving to a Historically Correct Calotype Workflow
As of November 1, 2025, I now work exclusively with the St Andrews-era calotype: iodized paper, excited with aceto-nitrate of silver (no gallic acid in the exciting bath), and developed in gallic acid. This is the chemistry John Adamson used to make the process stable and repeatable.
How the Year-Long Jacks Fork Project Will Work (and Why It Matters)
I shared yesterday that I’m spending the next 12 months inside a two-to-three-mile loop on the Jack’s Fork River corridor to build a four-season portfolio—landscapes, river scenes, and the wild horses in their environment. The goal is simple: show change over time and tell a real story of place, not just make one lucky or pretty photograph. This expands on my announcement from October 5, 2025.