Julie
McCarter

There's a Thread You Follow

This series of photographs began at a time when I was grasping for answers to heart-centered questions about mortality, eternal connection and spirit. My parents were experiencing declining health, and I sensed that the road ahead would require new levels of wisdom, strength and understanding. Within the first year of this project, my parents both passed away.

The first image was created by photographing a scrap of sheer fabric from my mother's linen closet at the edge of a lake; it was all very ordinary. Within a few minutes of cultivating presence with open curiosity, nature's elements transformed the ordinary into something else entirely. As the wind re-shaped the fabric and the sky lent its blue color, I felt like I had entered into a conversation with the wisdom of Mother Nature herself.

The images that came forth hold visual imprints of knowing, received gratefully by this one beating (and grieving) heart.
In each image you may recognize wisps of paper from my father's Bible or hints of silver from family heirlooms – but what I hope is that you have your own felt-sense of the mystery and wisdom held within.
The title of this series is inspired by the first line of William Stafford's poem, "The Way it Is".