patterntology

"The Patternists specialized in cerebral asymmetry. With grossly expanded right-brain hemispheres, they were highly intuitive, given to metaphors, parallels, and sudden cognitive leaps. Their inventive minds and quick, unpredictable genius had given them a competitive edge at first. But with these advantages had come grave weaknesses: autism, fugue states, and paranoia. Patternists grew out of control and became grotesque webs of fantasy." - Bruce Sterling Schismatrix Plus

08 April 2015

Pinacatix Senita

The Pinacate region of Mexico is so unique in the Sonoran Desert I think I'll be doing a number of pieces from the region. Ancient volcanic lava flows created ridges and eddies in the landscape forming little walled gardens. Roaming through them is like being in the backyard of a master gardener.

I was struck by the strength and royal presence of the Senita cactus. It's interesting how the bottom of the stems crawl away from the center, laying on the ground and push up. Weird but it looks like it's very comfortable on the desert floor.

Following this ancient sci-fi aesthetic, I've used slow arcing arrows to mimic the sense of growing up and out, and the circulation of life force all around the cactus. I'm trying to be subtle with this commentary because the true focus is nature itself. This one was pretty fun!