Mary Edna Fraser

My life's work is from an aerial perspective, a view of the earth I choose to transcribe onto silk using dyes in the ancient medium of batik. The art comprises a series of narrative landscapes inspired by the terraqueous reaches of the continent - where separate realms of earth, sea and sky converge.

Often photographing from the open cockpit of my grandfather's '46 Ercoupe plane with my father or brother as pilots, we explore the natural wonders unaltered by man. Color is an emotional rather than realistic response, the design often abstracted. The slowness of the unforgiving medium gives time to reflect on the thoughts and emotions feeding into the artwork.

Threatened landscapes have become my focus as I travel and photograph. Witnessing vulnerability and noticeable changes only seen from the aerial viewpoint brings subtle environmental messages through the individual batiks. This body of work is the earth stage as I continue toward the heavens looking into space.

Mary Edna Fraser lives in Charleston, South Carolina.