Holding Infinity: on the lasting beauty of fleeting wonders
September 5 – 24, 2025, Salt Spring Island, BC Canada
September – season of blackberries, basil, warm rains and the last of the roses until next summer. As these delights slip away, the gifts they gave will not. And, in keeping with the generous nature of existence, new delights will be offered in succession, moment by moment.
The beauty of this world never ceases to amaze. I marvel at the spaciousness of a moment – how each can hold infinite and opposed aspects of experience, and seem to contain all of time. When I look at anything closely, I see the above & below, the inner & outer, and the grand & tiny, each mirroring the other.
As if assigned, I felt led to the formation of this collection. Throughout the process, I followed my heart, trusting my way forward toward what it has become.
I discovered the series had to be monochromatic, and blue – deep blue, the color of midnight, the changeable blues of the ocean, the indigo of longing and belonging whose shape is revealed in the elegant partnership of light and shadow.
All of the images were chosen intuitively, and without second guessing, to express the multi-faceted qualities of an instant, a day, a life. There needed to be many to reflect a kaleidoscopic perspective.
Each individual image, like perception, offers it’s own standing invitation to linger. In life, there is always more to be discovered beyond an interpretation that may come with a first glance.
The images resisted the attribution of titles. Instead, each is left free to have a unique relationship with every viewer, and one that can evolve with further contemplation.
In these very challenging times, I feel it is more important than ever to remain connected to the profound power, beauty, and vastness available to us, always. A moment shows us how much we, too, have the capacity to hold — all at once.
Amy Melious
September 2025
The title of the exhibition is inspired by the opening lines of Auguries of Innocence by William Blake;
To see a World in a Grain of Sand
And a Heaven in a Wild Flower,
Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand
And Eternity in an hour.
THE PRINTS
For this exhibit, I used two different printing techniques.. The labels that accompany each piece indicate the type of print on display.
Cyanotype Original
Most of the works in this collection are cyanotypes. This printing method was invented in 1842.
The term originates from ancient Greek for “dark blue impression”. This is a very hands-on pocess that, when done properly, is safe and environmentally friendly.
To make the prints, I first painted a light sensitive iron salts solution onto watercolor paper.
Iron salts is an easier to use term for chemistry consisting of ferric ammonium citrate combined with potassium ferricyanide (also- not as scary as the terms may sound).
Many of the images on display are contact prints made with negatives I produced digitally from my photographs. Each one was first paired up with the frame I thought partnered best with the image. Then, I determined the size and printed the negatives. The negative was laid onto the sensitized paper, then placed in the sun or under a UV light source to expose it. I did these one by one over several weeks.
A few of the cyanotype images are “photograms”. These are not done with negatives. Rather, actual objects, plants, etc are laid directly onto the prepared surface, then exposed and washed as usual.
I enjoy the experimental nature of the cyanotype process. The possibilities are endless, the outcome always a combination of my vision mixed with elements of surprise. It’s impossible to produce the same result twice, making each of them a one-of-a-kind original.
Pigment Print
This term refers to the type of ink used, and means the print was made digitally on a fine art printer in my studio. Pigment inks are ideal for excellent quality, lasting art prints. I chose to this method of printing for images with more subtle detail that may have been in cyanotype printing due to it’s tendency toward greater contrast.
For these images, I first prepared the image in my computer, from either scanned film or digital photos. Then, I printed them directly from the computer onto heavy acid free cotton papers. These prints are reproducable, except where hand embellishment was applied.
Note: Many of the prints on display have some hand embellishment in combinations of the following; pastel, pencil, wax, metallics, watercolor.
Below: Stages of the cyanotype process. The example shows a “photogram in progress. Left; beginning exposure. Middle; ready to develop. Right; developed print.
*To see more of the individual artworks from the exhibit, please revisit my website at the end of September.