2026 SPE Annual Conference: Catalyst for Exchange
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print this pageI am a Clay Hill
Friday, October 25 - 12:00PM to 12:50PM
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The artwork in the series "I am a Clay Hill" consists of imagery captured during two summer artist residencies in the Val d'Orcia region of Tuscany in the summers of 2023 and 2024. Set against an expansive backdrop of untouched hay pastures, wildflower fields, and olive groves, this work explores the starkness of barren clay hills dotting the rolling Tuscan landscape like lunar anomalies and the surrounding environment in which they have existed for centuries.
My connection with these desolate hills was immediate and personal. I felt a connection to these barren hills, having recently experienced a pregnancy loss before each summer's visit to the artist residency. Just as the clay hills stand barren amidst vibrant surroundings, I was surrounded by life's richness yet unable to sustain it within myself. This composition mirrored the external façade of strength often maintained by women facing fertility challenges, concealing emotions deemed unsuitable for everyday discourse.
Using the cyanotype and palladium processes, with their monochromatic Persian blue and rich tonal range, the hills are depicted with the materiality that signifies a symbolic nature of that which has endured over time. This artistic technique captures their barren essence and evokes a sense of melancholy and resilience intertwined.
Conversely, the wildflowers flourishing among the clay hills left a lasting impression. Symbolic of life's cycle and the regenerative power of nature, these color studies of blooms, with their varied hues, embody the continuity of life. Each photograph's circular composition serves as a visual metaphor for this cyclical rhythm-birth, growth, decay, and rebirth-mirroring the profound processes of fertility and renewal.
The contrast of these ancient barren hills with the floral abundance that surrounds them poignantly reflects complex emotions where fertility and barrenness coexist and hope and sorrow intertwine. Through producing this work, my understanding of the delicate balance between life's vitality and its vulnerabilities fostered a deeper understanding of the shared human experience of loss and hope.
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Kalee Appleton
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