Marianne Werner

I have always felt more at home outside than in, exploring the natural world. The patterns, colors, and purity of what is in nature fascinate me, and I can see beauty in what may seem ordinary. Nature’s lack of volition appeals to me; it simply “is” as it needs to be, without consciousness or guile. The natural world represents moments of perfection, and when the person-made part of life seems unmanageable, unfixable, nature thrives and endures, helping to sustain my balance.

Years ago, I began writing poetry, and then I gravitated to taking photos. Since my passion is travel, when I visit distant places, curiosity prompts me seek out natural and man-made beauty: Ireland’s Cliffs of Moher; monarch butterflies migrating to the oyamel fir trees in Mexico; frozen waterfalls in Iceland; wild white horses in the Camargue; the Royal Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh; or, in our own abundance of tulips at the Woodburn, Oregon Tulip Farm. These moments, now memories, reflect how I have experienced the world, and they help form my poetic and my photographic vision.

Photography means “to write with the light,” and it is through the coalescence of written image and visual image that I think best represents what I try to capture or create—words and photos that seek to preserve and perpetuate touchstones of beauty in a world where such preservation seems ever more needed, more urgent.

I am honored to represent Gallery One, adjoining the Grants Pass Art Museum, on historic G Street in Grants Pass, as Artist of the Month for February. I will be present at the Gallery on February 3 from 5:30-7:30.