In its 5th year, The Bascom’s photography residency has grown as an essential component of the organization’s mission. Attracting photographers from across the country, this unique residency opportunity not only benefits the resident artist through a variety of professional development opportunities, but also serves the community through important education programs for local students and adults.
2021's Bascom Photography Resident is Deborah Shannan.
"The complexity and chaos inherent in nature makes us all pattern seekers as our brains attempt to create order and understanding of the natural world. Upon closer inspection we see individual threads of patterns repeated at different scales throughout nature.
Rivers flow down from mountains in branching formations. Turbulent water broils in repetition, forever shifting and disintegrating. Branching patterns extend from tree roots up through the trunk to the veining tapestry of the leaves, becoming chaotic as growth is influenced by weather patterns and competition for light. Spiral patterns are woven within the arrangement of petals and leaves on a stem, as well as the scales on a pine cone. Tiling and cracking are visible in tree bark. As the tree ages, growing wider, its' protective outer layers crack, forming distinctive patterns. Spots and stripes in plants result from pigmentation changes offering improved visibility for insects, increasing the likelihood of pollination. Symbiotic relationships among plants create diversified patterns from the spherical mistletoe growing amongst the branching tree limbs to the fractal patterns of lichen growth on trunks.
Each thread of nature's tapestry serves to create a pattern that expresses the rich interconnectedness surrounding us in the natural world. The observation of which brings me raw delight." - Deborah Shannan
