Working in the Mojave National Preserve has its challenges . Not only is the terrain unforgiving to those who are unprepared , the weather can throw artists hoping for clouds into a tailspin . “ My motor home and I spent a total of 5 weeks in the Preserve . The last trip was for three consecutive weeks . My original intent as Artist in Residence was to capture the thriving life of the Preserve and its relationship with the weather during the monsoon season . During the first 8 days there was nothing but blue skies so I began to explore new ideas .”
“... I was forced to sit back , relax and inhale the desert as a whole and truly absorb my surroundings .”
As an artist , Christine has always pushed herself to create work that has an emotional impact . “ I hiked a lot during this time period in an effort to find a new voice . Unlike other national parks , you can ’ t point at any one element of Mojave National Preserve and say that is the iconic rock or mountain . If I were in Yosemite , I could have studied Half Dome for three weeks . So , I was forced to sit back , relax and inhale the desert as a whole and truly absorb my surroundings . The feeling this created became a practice and in that solitude I found strength .”
Granitic Rock
The clouds did finally arrive and it was then that Christine found herself in the Mid-Hills area of the Preserve . On June 22 , 2005 , lightning strikes ignited seven fires that burned over 70,000 acres leaving behind a scorched landscape . Eleven years later the blackened remains of piñon pines and juniper trees reach for the heavens above the skiffs of grass and small sagebrush of the desert floor .
It is here that Hauber , was able to refocus her residency . Mesmerized by the black tree trunks she said , “ These trees are remnants but the fact that they were able to survive in this harsh environment is a testament to the replenishing energy I feel whenever I ’ m alone in the desert . They really spoke to me . Their solitary strength is a metaphoric symbol of my experience in the Mojave .”
6 THE DESERT LIGHT | Jan / Feb 2017