There is evidence of the woods perpetual decay and rebirth in many of the fungi and mushrooms that I compulsively photographed for their various forms and textures, but none were as strange as the "ghost flower." Otherwise called, Indian Pipe, I was reminded when I saw this plant (and heard its unfortunate name) that the woods of western massachusetts have already been through many transformations. The "ghost flower" or "ice flower" (scientific name is montropa uniflora meaning once-turned single flower ) is a small whiteish plant with translucent leaves and flowers. It appears and disappears randomly thoughout the woods in mid-summer. It never comes back in the same spot and actually lives off the fungi that live off dead trees. The "ice plant's" odd colorless color is due to its inability to produce chlorophyll. It is also very difficult to photograph because it grows only in the shadows and washes out with a flash which I discoverd (and others have noted)-so I have included both the drawing and the photograph. Since my earlier works used pearls and icebergs as physical reminders of the welcome presence of indeterminacy in everyday life, these "ice plants" may work their way into the project. At the moment, however, they seem to raise the question, why not think of the development of the land into housing as simply another transformation in an ongoing reworking of the landscape?
