H2O exists in three states: liquid, gas (or vapor), and ice. The difference is created by how tightly packed the molecules are when heat or cold is applied. In 2006 I took these photographs of the sea ice near McMurdo Station in Antarctica. This ice, about eight feet of frozen sea, sits on top of the sea water which rides between the ice and the earth. I walked on the ice as if it were solid ground that day. Now, this ice is long-melted and has exchanged itself back into water or vapor. No longer a solid, it is now clouds or ocean. Isn’t it amazing? The fact that I stood on that specific ice and now we can view the pictures; evidence of my walk but portals for us to see water in all three of its potential states.

My book, Outer Space is Closer Than Antarctica weaves together three things at once: A memoir, an atlas, and an almanac. Crisscrossing between illustrations and stories my hope is that the book will lure folks into science knowledge by sharing the awe I experience while learning about life and Antarctica. Like the photos of ice which also look like ocean or clouds, the book reveals my multifaceted observations of love and earth science.

Exhibition of 15 photographs of Antarctic Sea Ice printed on fabric. Installed on handpainted gallery wall at Happy Anyway in Portland, Oregon. July 2 – August 16, 2026.

Passages from my book Outer Space is Closer Than Antarctica are hand drawn with POSCA paint pens throughout. Each portal of ice varies in sizes from 3.25 inches up to 14 inches.