Sub Surface View with Trisha Barry

[Image Courtesy-©Trisha]

Ever since we learned to communicate, we look forward to occasions where we can share our experiences, express our true emotions, connect to great people and be a part of something bigger than our own perceived selves. Over the course of history we have devised several innovative ways to communicate - language, gestures, music, dance, art, writing, emails and even SMSs and we'll certainly keep evolving on that front but the basic communication drill hasn't changed much.

All our efforts are usually aimed at sharing stories - about ourselves, about our extreme life experiences, about the super nice people we meet in our lives and about our sources of inpiration. And as listeners (if one is hearing a story) or viewers (if one is viewing the pictorial representation of a story), when we see reflection of our true selves in characters / plots of stories - "Ahaaa-I see!" moment comes and a related impression gets carved in our minds for ever.

A similar thing happened to me two months ago. On September 13th this year, I was at Danforth Museum to attend the museum's annual OPEN HOUSE. It was a very well organised event and thanks to Danforth, every participant had an opportunity to attend art workshops, meet art faculty, take a guided museum tour & most important of all meet ARTISTS! Long story short, that's how I met Trisha Barry, a fine art photographer, and I have to admit that connection was immediate. After I was done expressing my inquisitiveness about her "Pride, 2008" work, she smiled back and told me briefly about the setting and context in which photograph was taken. I was inspired right away!! As I ruminated about Pride, 2008 for weeks that followed, I realized that the meeting had stirred up many questions in my mind and I promised myself to do some research and find out answers to all my questions soon. Here's a snapshot of Pride, 2008:

The photograph was taken in "Nichols and Stone", which has been known to sell the finest solid wood furniture in America since 1762. As ace company was shutting down its operations in Gardener, MA in early 2008, most of us would have dismissed this event as the obvious fate of any company who is not doing well financially in business world. However, Trisha had a difference of opinion. She decided to venture into the factory, observe the factory craftsmen, spend time with them in their last days at factory and get a first hand experience of the situation herself. Most of the factory people she watched and talked to shared the following qualities, which Trisha has captured brilliantly in her photographs.

• They were all ace artisans and exhibited perfectionist attitudes.

• They took immense pride in their work.

• They worked very hard everyday and for several years to deliver ace products.

• They had boundless faith in each other.

• They shared an extraordinary affectionate bond amongst themselves.

Take a look at the awe-inspiring description penned down by Barbara, one of the artisans at Nichols and Stone.

When life treats us with interesting challenges or we face ourselves in a Catch-22 situation, we usually tend to look for inspiration and drive in a variety of distant sources-people, places or things. Trisha's photographs illustrate that inspiration can be tapped from just about any environment and anywhere - one just needs to learn to see the sub surface view! If you cherished Trisha's photographs too, you might wish to check out the foll. links:

• Nichols and Stone - link
• 12 Months with New England Farmer - link
• Trisha's latest stint with fishermen at Newport - link

Farmers >> Craftsmen >> Fishermen >> ? - I wonder what Trisha's upto next :D

"It's on the strength of observation and reflection that one finds a way. So we must dig and delve unceasingly."~Claude Monet