Artist Statement Wilderness, to me, is a spiritual necessity. When my son was killed by a drunken driver, it was to the wilderness that I fled in hopes of regaining my serenity and equilibrium. The mysterious spiritual experience of being close to nature helped restore my soul. It was during that time I discovered the intimate beauty of the environment. My experience reinforced my sense of dedication to use my art form, photography, to show people that there is a unity between all undisturbed natural places, whether a peak of a renowned mountain range or a stream-bed in an urban watershed. My hope is to educate…to let people know our land is a special place and to inspire others to work together to save nature’s places of spiritual sanctuary for future generations. Clyde Butcher