I made this picture over the course of two or three days. It began with a photograph of a stem of grass and a kitchen cabinet knob close-up. There are at least two more pictures involved in this and all of them completely different from the other.
I get a sense from this picture of a mountain range involved in volcanic activity. This area is only recently not like this. There are native stories of the mountains having fights and throwing fire at each other and of the mountains moving around. It's not hard to imagine people living 10 thousand or more years ago encountering this activity and then the deluge of the last ice age.
Cataclysms On The Columbia is a book I would recommend which gives a scientifically valid look look into conditions from the periods preceding and after the last ice age.
Living here within sight of the coastal range knowing that not all that long ago this place was a lot different makes this picture real to me.
Downstate at Crater Lake is a spectacular example of the power of volcanic activity. The original mountain which is now the home of Crater Lake is thought to have been 12,000 feet in height. About 7700 years ago the top third of the mountain blew off and the lake and environs were totally changed. Debris from the volcano has been found as far away as Alberta Canada.
When I saw the image emerge I felt I saw the mountain ranges on fire again. Time and again I think of how impossible it seems to arrive at an image like this when it began as a piece of grass and a door knob. It is is not quite like creating something from a formless limitless chaos.
Original photo Copyright 2011 the property of David H. Roche
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