Ash Brewer
Ash at East End Beach, collaborative portrait.
A black-and-white portrait shows a person lying on their back across weathered shoreline rocks, eyes closed with one arm behind their head and the other holding a cable release. Wearing a floral short-sleeved dress, they lie barefoot under bright sunlight with legs extended right.
1. heartsease
A parent and child’s hands reach toward a cluster of purple, white and yellow pansies in bright sunlight. Framed closely from above, there is an emphasis on the contrast between skin, petals, and deep shadows.
2. dappled
A blonde non-binary child lies in grass with their eyes closed and their hands resting in their hair. Dappled sunlight falls across their face and clothing, creating alternating patterns of light and dark. They are wearing overalls and a leopard print sports top.
3. coup d'œil
A blonde non-binary child peers through dense green foliage, with one eye sharply visible between leaves. The surrounding vegetation is soft in focus, drawing attention to their mostly obscured face.
4. treasure
A non-binary parent and non-binary child lie close together on grass. The child’s arms are wrapped around their parent, whose eyes are closed, and they peer up at them lovingly.
5. worn
Up close - a non-binary child’s hand rests gently in their parent’s. The child’s hand is scabbed and sunworn, with peeling cuticles and bitten fingernails. The parent’s hand is creased and pale. There is a gentleness in the touch.
6. reach
Sunlight pours through the branches of a large tree, bursting against a muted blue sky.
7. create
A blonde non-binary child stands at a table covered with coffee-making supplies. Warm outdoor light illuminates their face and hands while they focus on making their oat milk iced chai. Their long hair obscures their focused face.
8. market
A blonde non-binary child stands at a table covered with coffee-making supplies. Warm outdoor light illuminates their face and hands while they focus on making their oat milk iced chai. Their long hair obscures their focused face.
9. enfold
A blonde non-binary child stands barefoot in yellow shorts on a large rock at the water's edge with their tanned arms outstretched, standing before a forested shoreline and beneath an open sky.
10. glint
A blonde non-binary child stands on a rocky shoreline beside a calm inlet. They have summer-tanned skin and are wearing yellow shorts. Their figure is small against an expanse of glittering water and summer sky.
11. periwinkle
Up close - the hands of a child hold a small dark snail; a periwinkle hiding in its shell.
12. refuge
A harbor filled with moored vessels, sailboats and dinghies, stretches across a quiet waterfront. The water is still, the afternoon sky soft and muted.
13. lace
A blonde non-binary child sits facing the water, their long blonde hair trailing down their tan back, adorned with sprays of Queen Anne’s Lace. Photographed from behind, the image centers them against the blue expanse of the inlet and the forested shoreline ahead.
14. point
A blonde non-binary child stands in yellow shorts at the end of a boat ramp extending into calm water where several swimmers gather nearby. The dock leads the eye through the frame toward the open bay beyond.
15. step
A blonde non-binary child walks into shallow water down a wooden staircase descending from the rocky shoreline. Their long hair trails down their tan back; they are wearing yellow shorts.
16. grow
A small and worn greenhouse stands alone in a grassy clearing bordered by dense trees. The late afternoon light is soft and the air appears hazy and thick, perfectly capturing a Maine late summer afternoon.
17. bryophyte
Worn and porous animal bones rest on a wooden bench, green moss and lichen beginning to overtake them. The afternoon light casts shadows and soft focus on the detritus of the forest floor and the wooded landscape beyond.
18. return
A pale moon hangs above a suburban rooftop, utility poles and power lines at dusk. The blues, blacks and geometric shapes are relieved by the moon’s bright presence beyond.