Pullman is a small town isolated on all sides by vast expanses of rolling grain fields and prairies, the Palouse. On the abrupt edge of town, beyond the hill of grain in front of me, was another. Beyond that hill was yet another, and another, and another. I attended Washington State University in Pullman in the late '70s. In the spring, when temperatures warmed, I would lay on an open sloped grass area between buildings between classes. This grassy hillside had a view of the main road out of Pullman, leading to seemingly nothingness. I reflected on how geographically isolated Pullman was. I remember being anxious to travel that road a last time and wondered what would be beyond that nothingness.
I often think about the isolation I felt while lying on that grassy slope in the Palouse. I created this body of work to express my sense of isolation and explore the Palouse's vast expanse.
