About Page

Marti De Alva

Artist Statement

"... Let the beauty we love be what we do.

There are hundreds of ways to kneel

and kiss the ground. " --- Rumi

My medium is photography, which means, "painting with light". The camera's film is sensitive to and records light, and before that -- the photographer's eye and spirit.

I believe that contact with the natural world is good medicine for what ails us in the modern world. I know it has been so for me. Noticing the details of ordinary things -- the colors and textures of the ripening grasses, or the way flocks of birds burst up and out of the fields in late summer, moving together in the elegant choreographed way they do -- urgent flag waving! -- these things lift my spirits and remind me of the beauty and grace that are ever present in our world, even with all its troubles.

Each image I choose to develop represents a moment when I experienced a particular kind of aliveness. It is this relationship -- this bright moment of connection -- between nature and human nature that I am drawn to explore in my work.

My way of working bridges traditional and contemporary photographic methods in that the work I offer spans my scanned film images, as well as my newer digital images. Working in the digital darkrooom gives me yet again, another creative space for exploring and expressing what it is that I want to say in a given piece. Each image is printed on fine art papers with archival inks.

Prints are available in a range of sizes. Please feel free to contact me for more information.

Exhibitions

Summer '09
Hangin Art Gallery, Arlee
Killdeer Artisans 2009 Summer Invitational Show

Winter '09
St. Patrick Hospital, Missoula, Montana
Luminous Moments

7 - 9/06
Hangin Art Gallery
The Nature of Home

2 - 5/06
Kalispell Regional Medical Center
Art from the Heart - group show

10 - 12/05
St. Patrick Hospital/Women's Care Clinic
Natural Impressions -- solo exhibit

10/2005
Period Gallery
Color III International Exhibition

3/2000
Catalyst
Dancing at the Still Point

8/2005
Period Gallery
Digital Experimental V

7/1998
Arlee, Montana
Spur of the Moment Gallery

10/1998
Ninepipes Trading Post and Museum, Charlo, MT
Landscapes and Spirit

11/2001
Kalispell Regional Hospital, Kalispell, Montana
Play of Light

10/2002
Kalispell Regional Hospital, Kalispell, Montana
Color Dance

8/2003
Kalispell Regional Hospital, Kalispell, Montana
KRMC Collection, Regional Artist Aquisition Project Award

11/01/2004
Wild Plum Gallery, Dixon, Montana
Wild Plum Christmas Show

09/27/2004
Hangin Art Gallery, Arlee, Montana
Love of the Land

06/01/2005
Period Gallery
Abstractions VIII

7/15/05
Great Falls, Montana
Hand-Crafted in Montana Fair at Bluegrass on the Bay Festival

Gallery Representation

Hangin Art Gallery, Arlee, Montana

Reviews and Press

10/2001
Lively Times (regional arts & entertainment monthly)
Covering Ourselves (cover image on first post 9/11 issue)

8/17/2006
Missoulian Entertainer
Arlees Off-the-Beaten Path Gem

Marti's Favorites

Earth Passage - Music for Your Journeys

Quiet Paths

Saving Luna

Two Singing Trees (poetry & photography blog)

Claire Emery Wood Engravings and Illustration

Boot Wood Carvers

BetterPhoto.com

Peripheral Vision -weblog by Lynda Lehmann about the creative process

Panhala Poetry

Riversongphoto On-location Portraiture

RiverSong Projects: Artists at Work

Sampling of my original multi-media work