The Light in the Garden is a bouquet of the freshest pickings. Taken between 1998 and 2000, Allison's images capture the vibrancy of botanical life with velvety brilliance and graceful artisty.



Author's Note:



In a summer long ago and far away on a strawberry farm in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, I found myself in the most enchanting flower garden.



Between the bold colors, the curves and the light, I was lost for hours with my camera among the pistils and stamens and soft petals unfurling in the sun, enrapt by the wonders of nature. In those moments, there was nothing but the sounds of the warm wind dancing between the blooms, the bizzy buzzing of bees pollinating the nearby berry fields, and my shutter clicking endlessly in a whirlwind of film flying through my SLR.



As a budding photographer, I loved how flowers didn't move much (O'Keefe shared similar sentiments to explain the artful mastery of botanical subjects), and how they lived 'without a why.' Their grace was immanent. And when the sunlight caught them just right, their cells glistened. In these pages, those auspicious moments are still blooming in vivacious clarity.



About the Author:



Allison Schultz is a Boulder, CO, based writer, artist and the chief creative conspirator of Auspicious Projects, her creative consultancy where text and image is brought to life with soul and savvy.



Raised in the wooded, rolling fields of Wisconsin, when she wasn't stalking flowers in nearby gardens with her camera, she could be found in the barn with the horses.



Allison's interest in Nature Studies encompasses the sciences, Deep Ecology, the mystics, art and other ways of knowing. She holds a Masters Degree in Religious Studies from the University of Colorado at Boulder, has been known to have rose petals for breakfast, and has a penchant for permaculture, pansies, and starlight.



More of her work can be found at auspiciousprojects.com and

lovelifeartwork.com.