About Cathy
Baltimore County
BRIEF ARTIST BIO
Cathy Leaycraft was born in New York City and raised mostly in the Philadelphia area.
Her mother frequently took her to… more
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Reflected Landscape
When doing a photo shoot, I choose a location that I think will produce intriguing imagery. It could be a garden, a beach, or a friends yard. Once I am there, I set up my “glass studio” on the ground and begin exploring potential images. I move my body and camera around while looking through the viewfinder. In this work, I have shunned computer manipulation in favor of manipulating light and reflection, before it reaches my camera.
I strive for a dreamlike quality, and a sense of timelessness.
I strive for a dreamlike quality, and a sense of timelessness.
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Side YardThis image was taken in the yard of the house my husband and I were renting on Monhegan Island, Maine.
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Trees KneesThis image was taken at Adkins Arboretum in Maryland. I was on the ground in a somewhat swampy area that bordered a pond. The dark brown bulges are tree roots.
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Yellow DawnThis image was taken early in the morning in my backyard. My glass sphere was on a pillow that had been in the seat of an Adirondack chair. The chair is also in the image.
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Copper GlobeThis image was taken on the boat dock in Provincetown, Cape Cod, Massachusetts. I was able to get to the area where the boats were tided up because it was December and off season.
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Tears at DawnThis image was taken in my backyaed. The "tears" were created by condensation on the glass.
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Mouth to MouthThis image was taken in the fenced in deck surrounding a friends cottage in Provincetown, Cape Cod, Massachusetts. The "mouths" are really one life preserver reflected twice in my sphere.
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VortexThis image was taken on the dunes along the Ceader Woods Trail in Provincetown, Massachusetts. I particularly like the way the stick figure appears to be drawn by some spiritual force toward the womb like vortex.
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Lobster's ViewThis image was taken at the water's edge amoung the rocks on the shoreline at Fish Beach on Mongegan Island, Maine. The ball was in a puddle of water amoung the rocks. I am visable along the rocks on the right.
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Eye LashThis image was taken at Cylburn Arboretum in Baltimore. The "lashes" across the "eye" shape were created by the pattern in a cut glass bowl placed under my glass sphere.
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Enter the WreckThis image was taken inside a boat wreck at Lobster Cove on Monhegan Island. I crawled inside with my camera and sphere.
Nature Portraits
These images were created by inserting objects, that I found in the area, into my glass sphere. I consider these photographs to be portraits. Each subject finds itself surrounded by layers of imagery (distorted landscape beyond and beneath the glass).
My blown glass sphere has a one inch opening, so any object I photograph must fit through the opening and come back out. The coming back out part can be a challenge.
My blown glass sphere has a one inch opening, so any object I photograph must fit through the opening and come back out. The coming back out part can be a challenge.
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Red LeafThis image was taken at the bottom of a wooden fire escape behind the apartment where my husband and I were staying on Monhegan Island. I found the leaf on the ground nearby.
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Turkey TailThis image wae taken at Adkins Arboretum, Ridgely, Maryland. It features a line of Turkey Tail mushrooms growing on a dead branch.
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Stone TrioThis image was taken during one of our visits to Provincetown. These stones were collected by my husband while we were walking along the beach. I barrowed them briefly for this photo shoot.
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Purple VetchThis vine is prolific on Monhegan Island. It was unfamillar to me, so, I looked it up in a wildflower book when I got home.
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FeatherThis was my first feather image. I found this slightly weathered feather in my yard near the bird feeder.
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Finally SpringDuring an early spring visit to the Rehoboth Art League in Delaware, I walked around the neighborhood capturing sighns of spring.
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Hosta BudSome plants on Monhegan Island have developed distinctive characteristics due to the 10 mile distance from the main land. This hosta bud was unusually large.
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Andrea's FeatherThis image was taken in my friend Andrea's yard. She offered me a couple of feathers from her collection. The edge of her balcony-deck is visable in the lower left corner.
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Red ThistleWe recently moved and a friend brought us a bouquet of flowers. This thistle was in the arrangement.
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Monhegan GoldOn Monhegan there is a ritual. As a tourist boat pulls out of the Harbor, brave soals throw flowers and jump into the water. This island Goldenrod is often amoung the flowers picked for this occation.