Amy DiMare

As a child, moving from the bay area to the desert southwest was an eye-opening change to say the least. I was surrounded by beautiful landscapes and was dealt an imagination greater than most kids my age. I was bound to create. I knew from a young age I was meant to make art, but it wasn’t until high school that I found photography. Being able to share with others images of the desert, and places that are special to me was pivotal in my art journey. But I slowly became dis-interested in the idea that photography is simply recreating the beauty that nature already created but on a flat surface. I was losing passion for 2D art. Later in college moving from a darkroom to the digital industry, that dis-interest was becoming more apparent. The lack of creating with my hands and manipulating art with physical techniques was lost. That’s when I took to my photos with a knife. I started cutting out the most interesting parts of my landscape and travel photos then putting them together. That’s when imaginary landscapes were created. The act of using photos I’ve taken and creating something or somewhere that no one had been, brought passion back to photography for me. Making radically different landscapes flow together was a creative avenue I wanted to explore more of. Imaginary Landscapes is a project I’ve been working on for many years now and it’s always evolving and changing, much like the world around us. It’s about creating a place that no one has been but feels like home at the same time. Each piece has something we can all relate to. It’s your backyard, the trip you’ve always wanted to take or the old house you grew up in and I’m simply creating visual interpretations of it. When inspiration for new imaginary landscapes is lacking, I use the same cutting techniques to bring texture, and dimension into my photography. Often times when I see photos of things or places that I’ve never been to, I want to know what it feels like. When we see a photo of the beach, everyone thinks sand on our feet. But when you see a photo of lichen growing on a rock, can you think of what that feels like? By using layers of the image and cutting techniques I can show you. Bringing life and texture back to that lichen, or the dilapidated plaster walls in Venice, even the long spines of a cactus. Taking my photography from 2D art into the 3D realm. Photography is a tactile art for me and because of that everything I create is one of a kind and I hardly ever make the same cut twice.

Utah

Mature Amateur

The landscapes of the desert southwest is what inspires me the most. Utah has such an amazing array of landscapes but I keep running back to the desert. There's something about it that pulls at my heart every time. Maybe it's the idea that a place so harsh and empty can create such beautiful landscapes and bring life to so many creatures and plants. Have you ever been to the desert in the late spring? The wild flowers here are something you can only dream of. Second to the landscape it's the people. It seems like we're all here for the same reason, to find adventure, nurture the creative mind and escape every once in awhile.