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Welcome. Thank you for taking the time to peruse my photographs. Please note that I am in the process of adding alt text descriptions directly under each photo for accessibility but this process will take some time. Please start with the Landscapes and Twisted Trees galleries.
Waterfall in the shade. Lines appear as a grid in the water. The colors are cool blue and black.
A photo at a geothermal lake with steam rising. There is sunlight hitting a tree at a diagonal angle that cuts through the steam. There is some white foam in the water.
A full moon partially covered by clouds that make a reddish brown halo above the moon. The rest of the photo is black.
A photo from a lakeshore with mountains in the distance. The Milky Way is visible vertically above the mountains. There is a shooting star or satellite and the sky is full of stars. There is a pink glow in the left far distance above the mountains.
A still lake with silhouetted short tufa formations in it. There are snow covered hills in the distance. The colors are ice blue, green, and pink. The sky is cloudy.
Silhouetted tufa formations at night. The Milky Way appears horizontally and curves above the tufa
View from a lakeshore looking towards trees and a mountain. There are many stars in the sky and some lights on the mountain which may be from lights that climbers are carrying.
Closeup detail of ice. It is mostly blue with swirls in the ice and spikes on the left side. The far left edge is dark blue or black.
Closeup of bubbles in ice. The colors are blue and black.
Photo of a burned twisted tree in a fields of grass in beige, browns, and reds. There is a band of reddish brown plants on the horizon and the sky is dark blue and cloudy.
A pinhole photo of pink and brown canyons in the near and middle distance with a gray cloudy sky.
A photo of a slot canyon with orange brown on the left side and reddish brown on the right. They appear to be like curtains made of stone.
An orange slot canyon with diagonal streaks across the rock. The right third is a brighter orange with sun shining on it.
A sepia toned image from a beach at night. The sand and water form almost a yin yang shape. The sky is cloudy with sun shining through the clouds. In the far right is a rounded hill in the distance.
A purple toned photo of a horse skeleton below a large castle-shaped tufa formation. The sky is cloudy.
A lone tree standing on a hill covered in snow on the right side of the frame. The tree has no snow on it. The sky is cloudy with a hint of blue coming through.
A black and white photo of snow covered mountains with clouds below the peaks. The full moon is above the peaks on the right side.
Black and white photo of a tall rectangular rock formation with a tiny hot air balloon to the right and hills in the distance.
A black and white photo of a lake with tall trees at the edges. In the middle distance is a single tree illuminated by morning light shining through fog. There are tall trees and Half Dome in the distance.
I have a love for trees, especially ones that are twisted or burnt. In this gallery, the larger trees are ancient Bristlecone pines, which are some of the oldest living being on Earth. The smaller ones are various trees and shrubs from across the Eastern Sierra.
Black and white photo of tall spires of a Bristlecone pine tree that spiral up to the sky.
Black and white photo of a wide Bristlecone pine tree with a yonic hole at the center. One twisted branch reaches off to the left edge of the photo. Most of the tree is in shade. There are small bushes in the near distance behind the main tree.
Black and white photo of two small Bristlecone pine trees on a hill. The closest one is twisted to the left. I imagine the trees are running in opposite directions from something.
Black and white photo of a burned tree in profile that is arching on the right side of the frame. Its many burned branches raise behind it towards the sky towards the left of the frame. The tree stands in a field of wildflowers and weeds in mostly empty field on a very cloudy day.
A photo of a small burned tree that has one main branch reaching up and slightly curving towards the sky on a sunny day. It stands in a mostly barren field. The Eastern Sierra mountains are in the far distance.
Black and white photo of a slightly burned tree that leans to the left of the frame. It has small burned branches reaching to the right of the frame. There are very small trees surrounding it in a mostly barren field. The sky is mostly clear with a few clouds and con trails. Negit Island in Mono Lake and the Eastern Sierra mountains are in the distance behind the tree.
It took going to Death Valley in the middle of a pandemic for me to become comfortable with self-portraits.
My love of Iceland started many years ago when I did a two-day stopover in Reykjavik in winter. It's a magical time with limited hours of daylight. I have been back several times since. The horses and waterfalls keep calling to me.
I find inspiration in medieval reenactment as part of the Society for Creative Anachronism.
The Five Elements are: Water, Wood, Fire, Earth, and Metal. Each corresponds to one of the five Chinese seasons. To read more about the "Living with the Five Elements" please the see the interview with me by Jen Strongin in Alameda Magazine.
The special 10th anniversary edition of the deck is sold out.
You can order individual copies via The Game Crafter.
Please note the decks do not come with boxes or bags when you get them via The Game Crafter. I recommend a drawstring bag.
Photographs by Denise Cicuto
Graphic Design for the 10th anniversary edition by Calyxa Omphalos
The Kuan Yin oracle deck is based on an ancient system of divination dedicated to and inspired by the Bodhisattva of Compassion. This photographic version combines my photographs and the poems as translated by Stephen Karcher in The Kuan Yin Oracle: The Voice of the Goddess of Compassion. (For further information on each poem, please see his book.)
There are 100 cards for 100 poems (plus a small folio with information and instructions). You can shuffle the cards, think of a question, then choose a card (or cards). The lines at the bottom correspond to bigrams for each season, and there is a moon phase associated with each poem as well.
The 10th anniversary edition of the deck will be a fundraiser for the Mono Lake Committee, who have been stewards for the preservation and restoration of the Mono Basin ecosystem since 1978. I took several of the photos that appear in this deck at Mono Lake. It is one of my favorite places on Earth.
Note: the cards do have rounded edges but the black frame is just to separate the cards from the rest of the white background on the webpage.
Thank you for supporting my art, my devotion to Kuan Yin, and the Mono Lake Committee.
The price of the deck is $45 each plus shipping.
[Image ID: A photo of a Kuan Yin Statue in a garden. She is standing on slabs of rocks. End description.]
[Image ID: A photo of a Kuan Yin Statue on grass. The poem reads “Though you have been given a lucky fate, The time is not yet ripe for you, Kuan Yin wants to say; if you are loyal and true, this fate will soon be yours.” There is a number 1, a green bigram for Spring and a Waxing moon. End description.]
[Image ID: A photo of a temple at sunrise with mists and fog around it. The poem reads “You are showered with heavenly gifts and live in an earthly paradise, whether you realize it or not.” There is the number 42, a red bigram for summer, and a full moon. End description.]
[Image ID: A black and white photo of a deer looking straight into the camera. The poem reads “It is strange to achieve something in the middle of a battle. As if by magic, an arrow hits a running deer. And what seemed like bad luck turns to good. Whatever you plan will be successful.” There is a number 11, a silver bigram for autumn, and a waning moon. End description.]
[Image ID: A color photo of a moon partially covered in clouds in a dark sky. The poem reads “Majestic and graceful, the moon rises in the west. Something hides it, it is still there, crescent or full, waxing or waning. A cloud covers the moon now and your situation looks dim. The clouds will soon disperse and the friendly light shine.” There is a number 28, a blue bigram for winter, and a new moon. End description.]
