Flow State

Great Sand Dunes National Park in Colorado features the tallest dunes in all of North America. During the previous melting of glaciers, water flooded the San Luis Valley, creating enormous lakes. When the area eventually drained of this water, winds carried the sand across the valley, dropping it at the feet of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. These dunes are ever changing; shaped by the unending forces of nature.

The Dunes as a subject are overwhelming at first. Their scale is hard to understand at first and with the seasonal Medano creek flowing, it’s texture overload. For this piece, I worked in the clouds and shadow they create on the dunes to give a “roof” to the scene. The puffy clouds contrasted nicely to the rippling water and undulating dunes. This series is called “Sea of Sands” and I think of this as the thesis image of the collection. The rolling dunes are like distant waves, and the foreground waters like those waves breaking on the shore.

The title “Flow State” references that feeling when you are deeply embedded in a moment. It feels like the rest of the world falls away, and you are riding the waves of creativity — waves as fanciful as an ocean made of Dunes.