Our first full day in Glacier, while Mr. Forager & I were on our big camping trip this summer, we did a 15 mile hike.  The longest I’d ever hiked before was around 7.5 miles.  And I need new hiking boots.  This combo equalled some pretty painful, ugly blisters on both my little pinkie toes.  I love hiking, but I’m not a huge fan of anything that causes me physical pain.  Mr. Forager was appropriately contrite and to make it up to me, a few days later let me drown my pain in pizza, huckleberry ice cream and a little artsiness in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.  It was there that I discovered some of the most striking work I’ve seen in a while– the work of mixed media artist Monica Petty Aiello. [ Warning: Online images do not do this work justice!  The richness of the colors and texture can really only be appreciated in person! 😉 ]

Upon first view, I was drawn to Aiello’s work for the way it reminded me of the beauty of the geological wonders we’d just begin to explore in Yellowstone.  These were familiar, yet most excitingly foreign.

The pieces are “actually topographical landscapes of the planets and moons within our solar system”.  Not what you were expecting?  Me either!  Once I heard that, I could see it, but I also see other possible inspirations– such as fossils, lichen, microbiological imagery, geodes, underwater life.. the list goes on.  It’s the ambiguity of these that is much of their appeal.  We’re looking at a glimpse into another world, but which one?

To see more of Monica Petty Aiello’s work, please visit her website and the website of Diehl Gallery.  What do you see in these?

All images are via the Diehl Gallery website.