The Gingerbread Men

The Gingerbread Men ©2021 - Two images of the ruins of the Bethlehem Baptist Church in Hunterdon County, NJ are blended together for the background of this piece. I first photographed it in June 2020 when it was blanketed in lush greenery inside it’s walls. I returned to photograph it again in March 2021 when the leaves were gone and only bare, crawling vines were left, exposing more of it’s interior. Built in 1858, it was abandoned in 1906 as many members moved out of the area. The owner, whose family was part of the congregation, still cares for the surrounding property and graveyard while allowing the church to slowly return to the earth. The 2 young people perched in the vines atop the stone wall (from my vintage photo collection, restored and colorized) brought to mind the dark fairy tale of Hansel and Gretel. The story harks back to the great famine of 1314 to 1322 when starvation led people to killing or abandoning their children and even cannibalism. One of the more palatable versions by the Grimm brothers involve the wicked stepmother forcing the father to abandon Hansel and Gretel in the woods as they can no longer feed them. Overhearing the plan, Hansel leaves a trail of bread crumbs to follow home. The crumbs are eaten by birds and after being lost for days, they follow a beautiful, white bird to a clearing and find a cottage made of gingerbread, cake and candy. A witch, who built the house to waylay children to cook and eat, appears and lures them in with promises of food. As she opens the oven door to check the fire, Gretel, realizing the plan, shoves her in and slams the door. The children discover a vase full of precious jewels, escape with the treasure, and live happily ever after! In my version, Hansel and Gretel rest on the stone wall after following a black vulture (instead of a beautiful white bird) to the witches domain (the church ruins instead of the cottage). My witch (a composite of 3 vintage figures) approaches via a window on the church alter offering a basket brimming with animated gingerbread men (from my Xmas tree ornaments) making their way to Hansel and Gretel. This is where my part of the story ends and the viewer’s begins!

A Vigilant Eye

A Vigilant Eye ©2017 - The rolling field of grasses I used as the background in this montage was a lucky find I happened across in Far Hills, NJ. I love using different types of grasses in my pieces and this vacant property was filled with them. It's the future home of Mine Brook Farm, a housing complex being touted as producing a regenerative environment while positively impacting the local wildlife, watershed, soil and ecology. Hopefully, they can make that happen! The abandoned building I placed in the distance, with it's draping blanket of ivy, was captured in western Hunterdon Cty, NJ on a trip home from Easton, PA. The woman peering out the upstairs window is from a vintage family photo given to me by a good friend who thought it would fit nicely into one of my pieces (and I heartily agreed!). The young girl taking an evening stroll is from my own vintage photo collection, but I spotted the majestic red tail hawk accompanying her perched in a tree behind my house. I didn't notice at the time I took the photo because of all the tree branches in the foreground, but upon inspecting the image, I found he was clutching a mouse (apparently his lunch) between his talons. I toyed with the idea of leaving it in the composition, dangling across the young lady's arm but decided it might be a bit too much. So without his mouse, I placed him on her arm and added some clouds, texture, color and filters. As the moon rises in the background, the hawk keeps "a vigilant eye" on the path ahead just as the peculiar woman in the witches hat keeps "a vigilant eye" on the two of them. And perhaps they are all listening to a song being sung in the distance….

The Poet's Song - Alfred Lord Tennyson

The rain had fallen, the Poet arose,

He passed by the town, and out of the street,

A light wind blew from the gates of the sun,

And waves of shadow went over the wheat,

And he set him down in a lonely place,

And chanted a melody loud and sweet,

That made the wild swan pause in her cloud,

And the lark drop down at his feet.

The swallow stopt as he hunted the bee,

The snake slipt under a spray,

The hawk stood with the down on his beak

And stared, with his foot on the prey

And the nightingale thought, "I have sung many songs,

But never a one so gay,

For he sings of what the world will be

When the years have died away".