All of my work in the Topo Series is inspired by the beauty of topographic maps. As a geologist, I look at a lot of maps on a daily basis and am always struck at how elegant and beautiful a 2D representation of a 3D landscape can be. A topographic map is still at its core a generalization, but it tells the story of the landscape and how it came to be. You can read a map like you can read a book and you can glean what wind, water, and geologic processes shaped that landscape. From the wide U-Shaped valleys that are shaped by glaciers to narrow canyons shaped by fast moving rivers, all of these processes have a unique look and are beautiful in their own right.
Not every piece in the collection is a 1 to 1 map of a real location. Mugs in particular, with the curved forms I like to create, are difficult to project maps on. However, every piece does in fact start with a location in mind. Is it a chain of islands, a mountain peak, sandstone ridges, or maybe some other feature?
When I do work on pieces of specific locations, most maps are not useable in their raw state. There may be a large water feature so the topo map needs to be combined with the bathymetric map. There may be a large cliff that the contours are too tight and needs to be simplified without losing the message of the elevation changes. Perhaps there is a unique feature or landmark is in the area. I look at a variety of maps beyond just the topos to decide how best to tell the story of an area while I am drafting the pattern I will use for the final piece.
