One can’t help but conjure images of the steadfast, the eternal, and the permanent while considering these powerful, but familiar words. Rock and Stone. Place the words rock and stone in the context their symbolism invokes and we start to feel foolish for the many times we choose not to notice their beauty, their majesty, or their tranquility. This article is part of a series dedicated to inform and inspire.

Boulder formations in a pristine Colorado Rocky Mountain lake

The various descriptive words we come up with are enough to testify to the ancient relationship we humans have with these long-lasting elements of the physical world. The Stone Age, we say, as if we are attempting to reference a long ago time devoid of comfort. In actuality, rocks and stones were the material of early tools and weapons; the material that enabled humans to be more productive and more efficient.

Abstract creations of sandstone boulders at the Joshua Tree Natural Monument in Southern California.

Dense, heavy boulders, chiseled to size, became foundation stones of great architectural structures. Large slabs, intricately designed, became altars. The architects of the Statues of Easter Island, 887 stone heads embodying great clan ancestors, surely must have labored endlessly to achieve such a lasting feat. It’s not hard to understand why stone was so often chosen for these endeavors. It is a material of integrity, it patiently bears loads, and its sturdy make up allows it to weather well. To this day, 887 heads still gaze out over the land of their clans, and serve as architectural masterpieces of power and permanence.

A face, formed not by man in this case, but by the elements over thousands of years

Though most of us may never have the chance to physically be in the presence of such remarkable stone architecture, photography can be the medium that allows us the same joy and awe. Fine art photography, whether looked at on the screen, in books and publications, or hanging on your walls to decorate your residential or commercial interiors, can take us to new places and remind us of how rich in beauty our world is.

Pebbles on the shore of Lake Michigan at Warren Dunes State Park in Michigan.

The longevity of structures made of rock and stone often means that they are associated with the divine and the eternal. Homes are not only built for the living, but for the dead as well. Stone formations often symbolize the passage from one life to the next. A stone archway or a stone carved boat mark this spirit world journey and stand as vessels unconcerned with time as life cycles around them from earth to eternity. In Germany, the spirit of the dead remains in the tombstone, while many African beliefs hold to the idea that stones carry the spirit of an ancestor. Stonehenge, one of the more commonly known stone structures, has long been perceived as an ancient burial site. Though mystery still surrounds this circular site of standing stones, it is impossible to deny the fact that the architects of Stonehenge chose giant slabs of rock to mark their sacred place.

The perpetual motion of a spring creek at the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina. Rocks and boulders, shimmering and glistening in the afternoon sunlight.

Many cultures and religions use stone to symbolize the divine. This is unsurprising considering that meteors fall from the sky and rock exists and endures in places humans cannot. Things unknown and hard to understand easily invoke a fantastical mood. Thus, it’s not hard to imagine Zeus reigning from high up in the mountains, close enough to the sky to gather clouds and throw thunderbolts. Or Mercury, the traveler, who had the luxury of venturing into all worlds much like the stone whose home appears to be anywhere and everywhere. Photography brings mystery to life and through photography; our imaginations find a place to play.

Nature's abstract and amazingly designed rock formations accompanied by a similarly shaped waning moon above

In a Christian church you may hear a congregation belting out “On Christ the Solid Rock I Stand” joyfully proclaiming the solidarity of their God through a metaphor of a reliable God. You might even hear a sermon on “The Rock of Ages,” the God of eternity who is the beginning and the end.

In many cases individuals are simply striving for divine wisdom. And again, it seems only natural to associate wisdom with a substance that is so permanent; a substance that endures age through age. We collectively strive to make the good things like love, patience, compassion and hard work, last and in doing so, we mimic these steadfast rocks and stones that have seen it all and remain standing.

Heart shaped reflection of sky in a pool carved over eons into the volcanic rock at Tamarindo Beach in Costa Rica

Rocks are not only paired with the divine or with voyages into eternity. In our everyday life rocks represent struggles to overcome and perspectives to be gained. Many myths, fables and stories use rocks to symbolize the obstacles a character must overcome to complete their quest. These rocks are immovable and often jagged structures and one must employ perseverance if they mean to climb up and over. But once over, you realize the hard work gave you strength, much like the obstacle you just overcame.

Nature's abstract and amazingly designed rock formations at Joshua Tree National Monument in CA

If you have ever scaled a mountain then you know the climb can offer perspective. The journey of overcoming struggle after struggle, of testing yourself against the very physical substance that gives meaning to the word endurance tends to provide a refreshing new point of view.

Lichens cover the unveiled side of this rock , submerged in a placid and crystal clear lake at the Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado

The awe that descends at the sight of a mountain range is hard to wave off. The sheer size of the rocks and stones can make quick work of pride. Their ancient presence serves to both put us in our place as well as bring joy. Photographs often serve to enhance these powerful emotional experiences. They, like the very images they capture, stand as lasting reminders of that perfect day, that perfect feeling or that life altering experience.

Boulders in all kinds of colors, sizes and shapes at Crane Beach in Massachusetts

The joy is simple delight; quiet moments marveling in the tranquility of streams of water bouncing over pebbles. The excitement of seeing a jewel catch and hold the light. Or, the mesmerizing quality that stones have of taking on both cold and heat. It isn’t any wonder that Native Americans viewed rocks as the bones of Mother Earth just like most of us are not surprised to see faces or animals in natural stone formations.

The perpetual motion of a spring creek at the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina

Steadfast wisdom, enduring perseverance and joyful awe; these are the affects that nature has on us. Yet, somehow we seem to forget this. We walk idly by the very things that remind us of the everlasting and the reliable. We forget that it is the physical world that allows us to survive and thrive. Consider how you might infuse your day to day life with reminders of the building blocks of your life. Photographs that draw out your most precious emotions have the power to change your day. Sometimes it is from the mouth of children that we must be reminded of these lessons. As my almost seven year old daughter Stella puts it, “You can just pick up stones and rocks, feel the love, and be happy.”

A still life like creation by nature on the sandy shores of Lake Michigan in Saugatuck, MI

Marian Kraus Photography is a Chicago area based professional architectural photographer, multi media artist and purveyor of fine art photography who has been consistently delivering compelling architectural photography to clients ranging from architects, advertising agencies, construction companies, home builders, corporations, real estate companies and the like since 1999. Additionally, Marian Kraus Photography’ s nature and architecture fine art photographs can be found in a growing number of corporate and private art collections.

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Photograph of a wonderfully colored afterglow following a sunset over Lake Michigan. Every evening the sun sinks toward the horizon, meeting earth with heaven, and slipping under the boundary of our perspective, carrying with it something of ourselves into the netherworld of our imagination. To one culture the sunset is reminiscent of a great, striped crepuscular tiger; to another it is the falling golden eagle of the gods.

The free download of this wallpaper calendar is available in various sizes suitable for the most common screen resolutions for your personal enjoyment, non commercial uses. See previous ones. Click on the image that fits your needs and download your version. It is also available for the iPhone and iPad.

February 2012 free wallpaper calendar

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We often watch the sunset as we might the last embers of a dying fire, peacefully or pensively reflecting on the inevitable repetition of death and rebirth, the declination of an individual life or the completion of a cycle. Some Australian aboriginal tribes depicted the sunset as the more intimate drama of consciousness nightly descending into the timeless realm of sleep and dream in order to find renewal from psyche’s latent spark of creative fire.

Sunset is variously depicted as the surrender, union or tension between the relatively fixed solar element and the watery changeable element, signified by the ascendance at twilight of the waxing and waning moon. Within time sunset closes the day and opens us, in the lengthening shadows, to the possibilities of a different order. There is release in that, allowing us, in the words of Roethke, “To stare into the after-light, the glitter left on the lake’s surface, / When the sun has fallen behind a wooded island.”

You can read more about the healing and metaphysical aspects of nature photography in my blog entry. To see more images of Sunsets in my fine art photography collections, please visit this gallery. If you wish to read more about water please visit my previous wallpaper post and if you want to find out all you may ever want to know about Sunsets please visit Wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunset.

February is the second month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. It is the shortest month and the only month with fewer than 30 days. The month has 28 days in common years and 29 days in leap years. In the Southern Hemisphere, February is the seasonal equivalent of August in the Northern Hemisphere. February starts on the same day of the week as March and November in common years, and on the same day of the week as August in leap years. February ends on the same day of the week as October every year and January in common years only. In leap years, it is the only month that ends on the same weekday it begins.

February was named after the Latin term februum, which means purification, via the purification ritual Februa held on February 15 (full moon) in the old lunar Roman calendar. January and February were the last two months to be added to the Roman calendar, since the Romans originally considered winter a monthless period.

Under the reforms that instituted the Julian calendar, leap years occurred regularly every fourth year, and in leap years February gained a 29th day. Thereafter, it remained the second month of the calendar year, meaning the order that months are displayed (January, February, March, …, December) within a year-at-a-glance calendar. Even during the Middle Ages, when the numbered Anno Domini year began on March 25 or December 25, the second month was February whenever all twelve months were displayed in order. The Gregorian calendar reforms made slight changes to the system for determining which years were leap years and thus contained a 29-day February.

Historical names for February include the Old English terms Solmonath (mud month) and Kale-monath (named for cabbage) as well as Charlemagne‘s designation Hornung. In Finnish, the month is called helmikuu, meaning “month of the pearl”; when snow melts on tree branches, it forms droplets, and as these freeze again, they are like pearls of ice. In Polish and Ukrainian, respectively, the month is called luty or лютий, meaning the month of ice or hard frost.

Please note that all desktop wallpaper calendars by Marian Kraus Photography are for personal, non commercial use. Thank you.

The snow covered, awe inspiring peaks of Mount McKinley at Denali National Park in Alaska, photographed in July at about 1:00 am. Peaks, in metaphysical circles synonymous with ascending, achieving, gateways to heaven, progress, expansion, evolution and the like, seemed proper for the new beginning of 2012. When I photographed the peaks of Denali, I was still about 80 miles away. This massive mountain has its own weather system and the coloration is a result of the seemingly never ending sunsets and sunrises in Alaska at this time of the year. It gets “dark” for about an hour during the night.

Please follow me here to read more about the healing and metaphysical aspects of nature photography and here to view more fine art photographs of mine. If you wish to read more about water, which after all does form the basis for snow and ice, please visit my previous wallpaper post here. My wall paper depicting the Grand Teton mountain range can be found here.

The free download of this wallpaper calendar is available in various sizes suitable for the most common screen resolutions for your personal enjoyment, non commercial uses. Click on the image that fits your needs and download your version.  And for you mobile buffs it is also available for the iPhone and iPad.

January 2012 free wallpaper calendar

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Mount McKinley or Denali in Alaska, is the highest mountain peak in North America and in the United States, with a summit elevation of 20,320 feet (6,194 m) above sea level. Measured by prominence, it is the tallest mountain on land, half again as tall as Mount Everest. It is the centerpiece of Denali National Park and Preserve and has been uplifted by tectonic pressure while at the same time, erosion has stripped away the (somewhat softer) sedimentary rock above and around the mountain. The forces that lifted Mount McKinley also raised great ranges across southern Alaska. As that huge sheet of ocean-floor rock plunges downward into the mantle, it shoves and crumples the continent into soaring mountains which include some of the most active volcanoes on the continent. Mount McKinley in particular is uplifted relative to the rocks around it because it is at the intersection of major active strike-slip faults (faults that move rocks laterally across the Earth’s surface) which allow the deep buried rocks to be unroofed more rapidly compared to those around them.

If you want to find out all you may want to ever know about mountains please go here.

January is the first month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars and one of seven months with the length of 31 days. The first day of the month is known as New Year’s Day. It is, on average, the coldest month of the year within most of the Northern Hemisphere (where it is the second month of winter) and the warmest month of the year within most of the Southern Hemisphere (where it is the second month of summer). In the Southern hemisphere, January is the seasonal equivalent of July in the Northern hemisphere.

January starts on the same day of the week as October in common years, and starts on the same day of the week as April and July in leap years. In a common year, January ends on the same day of the week as February and October, and ends on the same day of the week as July in a leap year.

January is named after Janus (Ianuarius), the god of the doorway; the name has its beginnings in Roman mythology, coming from the Latin word for door – January is the door to the year. Traditionally, the original Roman calendar consisted of 10 months, totalling 304 days, winter being considered a monthless period. Around 713 BC, the semi-mythical successor of Romulus, King Numa Pompilius, is supposed to have added the months of January and February, allowing the calendar to equal a standard lunar year (365 days). Although March was originally the first month in the old Roman Calendar, January became the first month of the calendar year under either Numa or the Decemvirs about 450 BC (Roman writers differ). In contrast, specific years pertaining to dates were identified by naming two consuls, who entered office on May 1 and March 15 until 153 BC, when they began to enter office on January 1.

Please note that all desktop wallpaper calendars by Marian Kraus Photography are for personal, non commercial use. Thank you.

Ice, a form of solidified, and water does cover about  70% of the Earth’s surface, was my choice for the photograph of the free downloadable desktop wallpaper calendar for the month of December 2011. Depicted here is a close up photograph of ice crystals I saw in a small puddle on an early morning hike in the mountains around Santa Fe, NM while immensely enjoying a weeklong workshop on “Art and Commerce” with Doug Menuez. To view more fine art photographs of mine please go here and to read more about water please visit last months wallpaper post here.

The free download of this wallpaper calendar is available in various sizes suitable for the most common screen resolutions for your personal enjoyment, non commercial uses. Click on the image that fits your needs and download your version.  And for you mobile buffs it is also available for the iPhone and iPad.

December 2011 free download wallpaper calendar

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Ice is water frozen into the solid state. Usually ice is the phase known as ice I_h, which is the most abundant of the varying solid phases on the Earth’s surface. It can appear transparent or opaque bluish-white color, depending on the presence of impurities or air inclusions. The addition of other materials such as soil may further alter the appearance. Ice appears in nature in forms of snowflakes, hail, icicles, glaciers, pack ice, and entire polar ice caps. It is an important component of the global climate, and plays an important role in the water cycle. Furthermore, ice has numerous cultural applications, from ice cooling of drinks to winter sports and the art of ice sculpting.

If you want to find out all you may want to ever know about ice go here please.

December is the 12th and last month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian Calendars and one of seven months with the length of 31 days. December starts on the same day as September every year and ends on the same day as April every year. December’s [flower] is the narcissus or holly. December’s birthstones are turquoise, lapis lazuli, zircon, topaz (blue), or tanzanite. December is the month with the shortest daylight hours of the year in the Northern Hemisphere and the longest daylight hours of the year in the Southern Hemisphere. December in the Northern Hemisphere is the seasonal equivalent to June in the Southern Hemisphere and vice versa. In the Northern hemisphere, the beginning of the meteorological winter is 1 December. In the Southern hemisphere, the beginning of the meteorological summer is 1 December.

Please note that all desktop wallpaper calendars by Marian Kraus Photography are for personal, non commercial use. Thank you.

Water covers 70.9% of the Earth’s surface and is vital for all known forms of life. That seemed important enough for me to choose a photograph of it as the free downloadable desktop wallpaper calendar for the month of November 2011. Depicted here is a close up photograph of Lake Michigan photographed very recently at Warren Dunes State Park in Michigan. More fine art photographs of water can be found here.

The free download of this wallpaper calendar is available in various sizes suitable for the most common screen resolutions for your personal enjoyment, non commercial uses. Click on the image that fits your needs and download your version.  And for you mobile buffs it is now also available for the iPhone and iPad.

November 2011 free download wallpaper calendar

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Water…an ancient and universal symbol of purity, fertility and the source of life. In a general sense water is an emblem of all fluidity in the material world and of dissolution, mingling, cohesion, birth and regeneration. Water is also equated with wisdom, as in the Daoist image of water always finding its way around obstacles. Restless water is a Buddhist symbol of the impermanence of all things; still water symbolizes meditative insight. In psychoanalysis it represents the depths of the unconscious. If you want to find out all you may want to ever know about water go here please.

Blue Colors have a range of associations, including faithfulness and loyalty, openness, freedom, responsibility and respect. Blue is often aligned with calming effects, as well as activating the digestive system and circulation and relaxing anxiety and discouragement. Orange Colors emit vitality, ambition, fertility and erotic feelings. Orange can add balance as well as promote energy flow. Yellow Colors bring optimism, cheerfulness, success, generosity and satisfaction. The physical healing energy of yellow stimulates the organs while increasing energy and boosting the immune system. Red, orange and yellow are all associated with the fire element of Feng Shui.

November is the 11th month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian Calendars and one of four months with the length of 30 days. November retained its name (from the Latin novem meaning “nine”) when January and February were added to the Roman calendar. November is a month of spring in the Southern Hemisphere and autumn in the Northern Hemisphere. Therefore November in the Southern Hemisphere is the seasonal equivalent of May in the Northern Hemisphere and vice versa. November starts on the same day of the week as February in common years, and March every year. November ends on the same day of the week as August every year.

In the pagan wheel of the year, November begins at or near Samhain in the Northern Hemisphere and Beltaine in the Southern Hemisphere.

Please note that all desktop wallpaper calendars by Marian Kraus Photography are for personal, non commercial use. Thank you.

Isn’t it amazing that the land we walk upon is the same land that frames the sky with majestic mountains and leads sandy beaches to the shore? The limitations of earth are few and her mysteries are great. In fact, the simple symbolism representative of earth, downplay her complexity. Her far-reaching nature cannot be drawn in a picture, nor can it be limited to words – earth is far too awesome for that. Pictures and photographs however can come close to conveying her majesty and energy though.

Trees alongside a foggy river bank at Island Park in Geneva, IL

Our inability to capture a cohesive understanding of earth makes her subjective, allowing each individual to develop their own relationship with the mother of nature. However, one unifying quality is that she hosts all life. She gives both humans and nature stability, a network to belong to, and a place to call home.

Moss covered tree trunk at Muir Woods State Park in California

In fact, she hosts the three basic elements we’ve discussed in the previous post and breathes life into all living creatures. It is invaluable to our bodies and souls to receive oxygen from the all-encompassing element of earth. By taking in the breath of life we are also able to expel our own greatness into the world.

Tree lined rural highway in Nortrhine Westphalia, Germany

A great symbol that allows humans to call on the power of oxygen, drawing it from the earth to ourselves, and also expelling it into the world again, is the tree. The supreme natural symbol of dynamic growth, seasonal death and regeneration.

Giant Sequoia trees, the most massive trees on earth in early morning fog at the Sierra Nevada, Sequoia National Park, CA

Many trees are held to be sacred or magic in different cultures. Reverence for the power of trees goes back to primitive beliefs that gods and spirits inhabited them. As mythologies developed, the idea of a mighty tree that formed a central axis for the flow of divine energy linking the supernatural and natural worlds took symbolic shape in the Tree of Life (Arbor Vitae) or cosmic tree, rooted in the waters of the underworld and passing through earth to heaven.

Fall colored Japanese maple flanked by mature Oaks at the Morton Arboretum in Lisle, IL

There are many ways to embrace the symbolism represented by a tree and reap its benefits daily. As you go for walks in nature, drive down a street lined with trees, or observe a photograph of trees and woods. In most every setting, the powerful presence of a tree is undeniable. And in their multiplicity, they are mesmerizing, life giving, magnificent and very energizing organisms.

Massive beech tree at the Stadtwald in Krefeld, Germany

Studying the different components of a tree allows one to understand the fullness of it in nature.

The roots grow deep into the earth; the sturdy trunk weathers all storms; the branches extend high into the sky. There are many physical aspects of a tree that one can draw power and inspiration from (i.e. seeds, roots, trunk, wood, bark, branches, leaves, canopy etc.).

The tree flanked alley entry way to a private palazzo in Tuscany, Italy

However, the bigger draw of a tree lies in its rich symbolism. Like earth, the essence of a tree is impossible to capture with words, but it can be seen in photographs if you are open to reflecting upon these 4 entities.

• Trees are grounding and expansive.
• Trees allow humans to ride on waves of energy that underscore existence as we know it. They fuel life in many ways.
• They have the ability to connect us with our true identity. Native American Indians refer to trees as “The Standing People”.
• From them, we may gain the potential to heightened sensory perception.

Single barren tree at Capitol Reef National Park, UT

How we long to achieve the growth the tree fosters in itself, the reach and rootage, the sturdiness and balance between high and low, the way it meets each season, holding its ground, spare or blooming. The tree shows us how, from a tiny, bare seed, of potential, the self can come into existence, centered and contained, around which occur incessant processes of metabolism, multiplying, perishing and self-renewal.

Bluebells in spring at lake Marmo at the Morton Arboretum In Lisle, IL

When we open our eyes to see, our minds to understand, and our hearts to accept the power that is available to us through the visual image such as a photograph, of a tree, we are able to collect all that it bears, like picking of its fruit.

Upon taking in the sweetness of these fruits, we become connected with the most precious understanding of life. For many that may be represented by the cycle of growth and death.  It puts us at one with the core of infinite wisdom and fuels our perceptions to be insightful, fresh and divine.

Soft rainfall covering the walls of a canyon at the Canyonlands National Park in Utah.

A fountain of spiritual nourishment may gush from the tree’s roots. A snake coiled at its base can represent spiraling energy drawn from the earth; birds nest in the upper branches, emblems of celestial messengers or souls. Through the Tree of Life, humanity ascends from its lower nature toward spiritual illumination, salvation or release from the cycle of being. By its very form, the tree is a symbol of evolution, its branches suggesting diversity spreading out from the trunk. Alternatively, the cosmic tree is reversed to show its roots drawing spiritual strength from the sky and spreading it outward and downward  – a favorite in Cabbalism and other forms of mysticism and magic.

Cypress trees alongside a trail at the Angeles National Forest in Southern California

As we allow these understandings to infiltrate our thoughts and actions, we are then able to expel a grand presence into the universe, increasing our reverberations and casting out positive energies that stir the world around us. This further stimulates positivity in all that we do and think, and encourages those around us to do the same.

Group of fall colored evergreen and maple trees at the Morton Arboretum in Lisle, IL

While the tree remains to be a powerful source of wisdom and understanding offered to us by the earth, there are other aspects of earth that offer positive stimulation like this. As we continue to discuss the healing power of natural elements and surroundings, notice objects of the earth, trees especially, in a new light.

Avenue of Oaks at St. Simon's Island in GA

Take notice of how the energy from these photographs affects you, your mood, your attitude, your desires, and so on. Then let’s continue to uncover all the goodness earth has to offer.

Bridge and path in a maple forest at the Morton Arboretum in Lisle, IL

“The Earth has a scaffold of trees and stones. A person is formed in the same way. Flesh is the earth. Bones are trees and stones.” – Hildegard von Bingen

Single tree on a hill in Kaikoura, NZ shortly before sunset

Marian Kraus Photography is a Chicago area based professional architectural photographer, multi media artist and purveyor of fine art photography who has been consistently delivering compelling architectural photography to clients ranging from architects, advertising agencies, construction companies, home builders, corporations, real estate companies and the like since 1999. Additionally, Marian Kraus Photography’ s nature and architecture fine art photographs can be found in a growing number of corporate and private art collections.

Good photography is an art. A picture taken for the purpose of art has an intrinsic value that ideally should speak to an individual and transform the setting it was chosen to beautify. This is why, when decorating your home or office space, it is important to choose a photograph that benefits everyone who experiences it.

If you are wondering how to do this or what art is ideal for you and your space, my new blog series is for you. In upcoming posts, we will discuss the healing power of art, the inescapable ability for art to inspire, and its readiness to change your life — if such a transformation is something you desire.

Fine art photography can transform your space and you

After all, would you agree that all art possesses an innate universal power? Whether art is expressed with paint or words, song or dance, photographs or movies, art has the ability to touch and heal regions of the innermost parts of a human’s heart by inspiring that individual to transition into a more evolved region of ones being.

We all face the human condition and no one is excluded from the complex challenges of life. Being tested by particular and unique life circumstances is inevitable and something to be expected; however, it is how each person handles and overcomes their own fragility that is important. This is why art, or more accurately for the purpose of our discussion, fine art photography is used as a salve and a spark – it heals before it inspires, or it inspires one to heal, causing a transformation to occur, taking the individual from who they were, to who they want to be.

It is also the reason why, as an artist, I concentrate on the healing effect that photography offers and tether it to the inspirational qualities of a photograph. I know firsthand that through healing comes inspiration and creativity and, on the other hand, from inspiration one is encouraged to heal. This wonderful cycle is sort of the transformation that many people seek, but not everyone achieves. There ought to be a personal longing for these qualities in one’s life, or art can have no positive lasting effect.

The sensual lines of a sand dune at the Great Sand Dunes National Park, CO

Essentially that is one of the many aspects of what the multi faceted ancient Chinese art of Feng Shui pursues. The goal of Feng Shui as practiced today is to situate the human built environment on spots with good Qi, a movable positive or negative life force which plays an essential role in Feng Shui. Images that represent the vital elements of Feng Shui are an integral part of this 3,500+ year old ancient science.

Upon realizing and employing the creative and transformative qualities of photography in my own life, I began to educate myself about the deeper symbolic and mythological meanings that are apparent in nature and which constitute essential building blocks to substantial fine art photography. In reflecting upon repetitive patterns, commonly known as the Golden Ratio, and studying symbols that find root in ancient, mythological, and archetypal images, striking similarities became apparent in my own photography. This revelation positioned me to better understand how all photography can be used as a guide and vehicle to the inspirational and expressive process of healing.

Sky with sunlit clouds in Florida

In breaking down this wealth of information into digestible segments for easier understanding, I came across four general subject matters within the natural elements of life, namely:

• Earth
• Water
• Air
• Fire

Wrapped in each element are a number of subjects or settings, images we’ve all seen and appreciate in one way or another. Each of these is representative and highly effective in releasing and conveying a universal power that can assist you in understanding, integrating and growing as an individual.

Before we move on to understanding and exploring how to apply these expressions in our personal evolution, observe your reaction to some of that exists within each of the four elements:

Do you recognize a certain attraction or contextual affinity towards some groups over others? Do you notice that you gravitate more toward one element over another? As we continue to explore the way these elements, represented through my own as well as other artist’s photography and various works of art, can inspire and bring about healing in your life, it is imperative to gauge your personal reaction and visceral response to such imagery.

Within each element, and each piece of matter that is categorized as such, photography is well suited to emphasize smaller parts of the “big picture”. When left alone, photography can be a very clean, direct and non-manipulated representation of the “seen” actual subject, and is therefore a great conduit of universal representations, conveying energy and power in an unobstructed manner. Every person can then incorporate the photographic images into their interior decoration schemes, thereby allowing the healing power to always be at work.

This is because a mountain is not just a mountain – it is a steep diagonal line that is interrupted while it continues to ascend or descend. Just like a rainbow is an arch of different colors arising from waters’ reflection in the air. And on some night shots, a crescent moon shines in place of the full moon. All these distinct characteristics found in different photographs and other pieces of art exist deliberately to offer you, the observer, an underlying potential for contemplation, inspiration and healing.

Frozen water in Santa Fe, NM

In fact, much of what we will explore focuses on how each part of the picture, whether it is lines, shapes, colors, and more, represent symbolic and mythological energies. When one is exposed to them through the visual art form of a photograph, one’s own vibration and frequency may be raised, thus allowing you to access and radiate personal energies towards positive healing and growth, contributing to the greater good of all.

In the coming weeks we are going to explore how these four elements, types of photography, and particular pieces of the bigger picture can stir your core and encourage transformation, if that is what you seek. Upon identifying the areas of your life that need expansion, you are going to be well on your way to looking for photography that benefits you in this process.

Start with what you know you need, and what you know you like. Then, travel with me as we discuss techniques and pathways to implement elements of fine art that encourage your transformative process. Through this we will open our eyes and hearts to a fuller understanding of the power of art — the healing, inspirational and transforming power of art.

Dusk at a magical setting in Florida

All images are from the Marian Kraus Photography fine art photography image archives.

A few months back I was approached by Art Environments to provide samples of my downtown Chicago architecture photography. My client was working on decorating some empty wall spaces in both lobbies of The Garland, an office condominium building in downtown Chicago.

Built in 1914, The Garland

The Garland, a 259,000-square-foot structure that dates from 1914, recently underwent a multi-million dollar renovation and primarily features office condominiums. Located at the corner of Wabash Avenue and Washington Street, opposite Marshall Field’s downtown flagship store, it is also a block from Millennium Park, the city’s lakefront attraction that is credited with revitalizing the east Loop in Chicago. The Garland Building has become a premier address for entrepreneurial professionals and non-profits.

Wabash Avenue lobby

In close collaboration with the condominium association’s Board of Directors, the  management staff and my client, we identified and selected six images that were well suited to represent a cross section of the occupants’ tastes and dynamics. These six photographs were produced into 30 x 40” and 40 x 60” sized prints, framed and installed by my client. They now grace both lobbies of The Garland Building and are a welcome addition.

Art Environments, Inc., a full service fine art consulting firm, established in 1982 by Ms. Mary Riley, and Marian Kraus Photography have collaborated on providing fine art photography into corporate and hospital spaces in past years.

The completion of the lobby at the Garland Building marks our 4^th successfully completed project and I am grateful that my photography has been selected once again to beautify lobby spaces, in this case in a beautiful historic building in the heart of downtown Chicago.

Washington Street lobby

Three large sized photos for each lobby

You can read more about my thoughts on why Marian Kraus’ photography is ideally suited for providing compelling photographs for the decoration of living and work spaces here or visit my display of other installations here.

Transforming an environment, whether it is your or your client’s home or workplace, into a more tranquil space, can be as simple as investing in a few well placed pieces of art. Designing the artwork that graces your walls is as important as the architectural blueprints that created them.

Adding peace and serenity to a private residence

By choosing certain kinds of fine art photography, mainly nature photography that can inspire and soothe with its healing energy, the work environment as well as your place of living becomes a more humane space.

Traditionally, when choosing artwork for a home, corporate office or other workspace, buyers think mainly about aesthetics: What colors match the room? What style fits the space? In recent years, however, interior designers, art consultants, gallery owners and architects have embraced the positive impact of the healing and inspiring energy fine art photography can infuse into spaces, and thankfully many are guided by the principle of: “How does it feel?”

Board room of First Midwest bank in Plainfield, IL

Let’s look at an ideal case scenario, if fine art photography was chosen for the beautification of, say a corporate office environment, aside from filling the spaces on the walls, what should it do…? I believe that

• the photographs should serve as a resource that symbolically conveys the vision and message of corporate leadership
• the photographs ought to emblematically reinforce the Client’s Mission Statement
• they should offer visual representations to motivate and inspire employees
• they should symbolically support the Client’s value propositions to their customers
• the photographs should aid in the recognition of key principles such as trust, respect, integrity,  teamwork and collaboration, innovation and contribution
• they should act as visual tools that awaken delight, passion and sensation while promoting the realization of dreams and aspirations
• by selecting specific pieces and placing them in strategic areas of the environment they should serve as a vehicle that facilitates the creation of aesthetically powerful visual themes which communicate and reinforce their unique and creative energy

Lobby of the Garland Building in Chicago

Which brings me to the point. In an ever increasing world of commoditized products & services, I offer more than just photography. The custom installations of Marian Kraus Photography are specifically designed to convey compelling messages in homes, corporate offices and other workplaces. In addition, healthcare facilities, hotels, restaurants and other institutional environments have also benefitted from my work. Similar aspects as described above pertain to photography suitable for installations in hospitals and other health care facilities. I will be further discussing this in an upcoming blog post.

I am very grateful for having had the opportunity to collaborate on a number of installations with interior designers, art consultants and art galleries who have selected my fine art photography for the beautification of their client’s spaces.

Marian Kraus’ photographs tell stories. They capture insight and invite exploration into the richness of human emotions. They transform spaces and create a fertile ground to breed ideas which motivates behavior and inspires results. Please contact me today if you are at all interested in bringing these aspects of my artwork into your or your client’s environment or visit www.MarianKrausPhotography.com

In our hemisphere July represents one of the hottest months with long summer nights. Due to the prevailing heat, a shady space is oftentimes desired. The wallpaper for July 2011 shows the Avenue of Oaks on St. Simon’s Island, Georgia which clearly provide shade when needed. The quote may not require any comment as we all have the daily choice to enjoy “mental luxury” vs. descend into the “mental slums”, to quote Moni from India.

The free download of this wallpaper calendar, now also featuring the moon phases for the month, and please note that July brings with it two “new Moons”, is available in various sizes suitable for the most common screen resolutions for your personal enjoyment, non commercial uses. Click on the image that fits your needs and download your version.  And for you mobile buffs I have made it also available for the iPhone and iPad.

July 2011 Wallpaper for 2560 x 1600 screens

Go here for 2560 x 1600 screens

Go here for 1920 x 1200 screens

Go here for 1600 x 1200 screens

Go here for 1280 x 1024 screens

Go here for 1024 x 768 screens and iPad

Go here for 640 x 960 for 2nd gen iPhone

Enjoy and come back to get your August issue