What Are the Colors of the Place You Love Most in This World?

A collection of 16 intaglio prints, the plates were sketched between May and October 2025, and were printed over the months spanning 2025-2026.

a left hand, which is tattooed opens a large handmade book of botanical intaglio prints — The book, open

Studies of botanical beauties from some of the places I love most, from the Rocky Mountains of Northern New Mexico, Colorado and Wyoming.

The book was hand bound with a cover of hand dyed paper. Dyed with Creosote, Mesquite and Ephedra viridis.

A detailed image of a hand bound book with naturally dyed yellow covers in a white gallery setting, you can see that the spine of the book is had sewn — A detail of the hand sewn Coptic binding

Last night I couldn’t sleep, knowing the forests are going to die in our lifetime.
In the half waking half dreaming of deep night and early morning I can feel the yellow pine needles crunching and poking my bare feet. The softness and comfort of needles against my bare skin is punctuated by the sharp points lovingly biting my flesh. My tiny body occupies the space between giants, and I know that they are speaking beneath me and around me. And I also know that my tears are not enough to keep the forest alive. We need rain. I think we of the desert have always watched the clouds, yearning to decipher their secrets. I rest my cheek on brittle moss.

I inscribe the forms of these plants to know them more closely, to know each curve and fold and the wondrous ways they grow. Each plant perfectly adapted to the place it resides. To know them as closely as I know myself.

intaglio prints of plants, in black and white, hang on a white wall — All 16 intaglio prints of the series

a left hand, which is tattooed touches a large handmade book of botanical intaglio prints with a yellow hand dyed cover — The paper for the covers were dyed with creosote, mormon tea and mesquite.

a close up image of a large art book, standing open to reveal the black and white intaglio printed pages — One of six five species of willow growing in New Mexico

A detailed image of a hand bound book with naturally dyed yellow covers in a white gallery setting

black and white intaglio prints of plants hang on a white wall — Globe mallow

two women smile in a white gallery setting one holds a big book , and they stand in front of two small books with wooden covers — Jeannie and Priscilla Spitler, her book binding mentor

I am so lucky to have Priscilla Spitler as a friend and mentor in the book arts.

a black and white intaglio print that has been painted with yellow and chartreuse watercolors hangs on a white wall — One of the handful of prints that were hand painted - this is Artemisia tridentata, or Sagebrush - the smell of the place I love most in this world

a close up image of an black and white intaglio print, the words what are the colors of the place you love most in this world? are foil stamps on its surface in copper color foil — The intaglio print of Horsetail, with a foil stamped detail.

Coyote Willow - watercolored and foil stamped

Here is the complete collection of all 16 botanical etchings.

Sixweeks grama grass - Bouteloua barbata - From Tres Piedras, New Mexico

Pinus ponderosa - From Tres Piedras, New Mexico

Polemonium brandegeei - From Vedauwoo Wyoming

Quercus gambelii - From Tres Piedras, New Mexico

Coyote Willow - Salix exigua - From Taos, New Mexico

Equisetum hyemale - from Bellvue, Colorado

Globe Mallow - Spherelcea - From Taos, New Mexico

Salix bebbiana - Willow - - From Las Tablas, New Mexico

Populus tremuloides - from Vedauwoo, Wyoming

rice grass - Achnatherum hymenodies - From Tres Piedras, New Mexico

Heuchera bracteata - bracted alumroot - from Vedauwoo, Wyoming

Artemisia tridentata - from Jelm, Wyoming

Pleuraphis jamesii - from Severance, Colorado

These are a few more of the that I hand painted.

a black and white intaglio print of grass hangs on a white wall

a detailed image of hand dyed paper cover of a book, a hand with an awl is punching a hole through the cover so that it can be sewn into a book — The cover of the book in process of being sewn