Where art and science meet This design is a fossil snail, orthoceras, and shows the growth of sutures of the snail's shell. Other "designs from the earth" photographed by Mary Shaub include rock and mineral images that appear to be icy rivers, ferns, candle flames, mushrooms, and purely abstract arrangements of brightly colored forms.
Geologist and naturalist Mary Shaub doesn't look at rocks the way most people do. She not only observes their outside surfaces, she also saws very thin slices of rocks and minerals and photographs the resulting patterns.
The Abstract Designs from the Earth exhibition, which will be on display in the Art Museum's print room through April 5, features dazzling color photos that sometimes resemble miniature desert scenes or plant like forms. Shaub notes, "Some of these remind me of abstract paintings, while others look like aerial views of land or seascapes."
Over six decades, Mary Shaub, a Northampton resident, has traveled widely throughout Europe and Africa, and from Alaska to Patagonia. During these travels, her camera has recorded the land and people of these regions along with botanical and geological subjects. Her photographs illustrate numerous textbooks and nature guides, as well as articles she has written for scientific and popular natural history publications.
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