Historic Ozark water mills—and the spring-fed waters that once powered them—are rendered as rare 8×20 ultra large format platinum/palladium contact prints. Guided by my creative frame pillars of resilience, transformation, and connection, each handmade print honors the people and history of the Ozarks and invites a slow, quiet look at a way of life nearly lost to time—a reminder of a simpler, more peaceful era.
Ozark Icons: Historic Mills & Waterways — Artist Statement
Historic Ozark water mills—and the spring-fed waters that once powered them—are photographed with a rare 8×20 ultra large format view camera. Each film negative is contact-printed by hand in platinum/palladium.
These structures stand as sentinels in the Ozark landscape. Platinum/palladium—slow to make, warm in tone, and stable over time—meets the subject on honest terms. Each print is coated, exposed, and finished one at a time to honor the craft that shaped this region.
Guided by my Creative Framework:
Resilience — Timber and stone that have endured floods, decay, and repair.
Transformation — Springs and rivers in continual change: veiling, carving, smoothing, renewing.
Connection — The bond between people and place—how work, water, and memory endure together.
These prints are not records of a lost era; they are portraits of relationships: mill to water, time to material, maker to place. I invite the viewer into the calm space where the water slows to a hush, reflections evoke memories, and wood and stone resolve to a quiet breath. The photographs honor the people and history of the Ozarks and invite a slow, quiet look at a way of life nearly lost to time—a reminder of a simpler, more peaceful era.
