2026 SPE Annual Conference: Catalyst for Exchange
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print this pageMoon Journey
Claudia Smigrod
Friday, November 06 - 10:00AM to 10:55AM
Clemson One Building
Moon Journey is the product of two linked collaborations: a genetic collective between myself and my two adult sons Sam and Jake Dingman, the other a longstanding artistic relationship with John Risseeuw, Pyracantha Press. Bookmaking provided the optimal format to collaborate on a robust creative idea.
As a book artist and photographer, narratives of both logical and visual meaning form the backbone of my work. Thus a neighbor’s well-labeled iris garden identifying plants through their cultivar names suggested the beginnings of a psychological history. I recorded the plant names (e.g. “Chasing Rainbows,” “Slipping Away,” and “Moon Journey”), and began the project that culminated in Moon Journey, Pyracantha Press, 2012.
My prior photographic work focused on the role of everyday objects in the creation of personal memory. The effects of time and other natural forces on this phenomenon were of interest to me and dovetailed with the expressive cultivar names. As I continued to explore these interactions photographically, a mental narrative evolved in Jake’s writing, augmented by Sam’s musical composition and by John’s tactile embossments on the book’s text pages. These four elements are meant to engage multiple areas of the reader’s conscience and thus provide a discrete yet complete experience.
speaker
Claudia Smigrod
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