2021 began with the intention of creating a body of work inspired by my backyard: the St. Croix River Valley. The sandstone cliffs suspended in the mists above the river - peeking through gaps in the trees or creating dramatic silhouettes against the sky - border on the sacred to me, their origins pre-dating mankind’s existence here. “Ishpiming” is a Native American Ojibwe word meaning “in the sky”, an appropriate name for how I see the cliffs lining the river.