Imagine designing and creating a puzzle with no rules, using everything you love about Mother Earth, Father Sky and everything in between. This is what’s inside all of us and reflected in my collages, radiant and dazzling like a gem. Each piece is unique to its surroundings and placed with an absolute metaphysical intent, much like the Big Bang that created life as we know it.
The angles I see in crystals and gems are a reflection of the larger formations I see in the landscapes surrounding my home in Bend, Oregon, which is part of the Cascade Mountain Range. I’m lucky enough to see this small segment of the range every day, Mount Bachelor, Broken Top, the South, Middle and North Sisters, and Mount Jefferson, each covered in snowfall and filling the Central Oregon blue skies as they break through the clouds. These massive shapes reflect the angles found in crystals, as if repeating physical traits between family members.
The round halo of the moon moves things inside us, looks over us and forever witnesses the magic of minerals that glisten in its light. The rhythms of the moon and the rigidity of the angled crystals align with the fluidity of organic, yet geometric natural shapes.
Color is the eye-catcher moving your gaze from one side to the other, like swaying to your favorite song. Choosing one hue and placing it beside another acts like a harmony of music notes. Even more colors come together, inspired by the previous choice, building a symphony of nature and humanity. This is my puzzle.
Collages by Emily Hoy.
xx Emily Hoy
This article was originally published in RANGE Magazine Issue Nine.