>> INTRODUCTION << We unveil limited release art drops on the first of each month via our newsletter. Joining our mailing list provides access to what are typically only 7-day releases, as well as insights into our process and inspiration as we get our collective up and running in the Berkshires, Massachusetts. Although our most recent art drop (#26) closed on July 7th I thought I'd share it here so that those of you who are interested have some context when the next one comes around on August 1st.

Art Drop #26: Less is More 7/1/2025

Somehow we have completed a year in our new home in western Massachusetts. Being here through four seasons we thought we’d seen all the major milestones in our meadow. As a wild area, it’s always going to evolve – seeds on the wind or from the digestive tract of a bird or mammal will find a way to present something new – but one surprise we had not anticipated was seeing milkweed in bloom.

Last year, arriving when we did, the milkweed was just a green plant amongst a sea of other green plants. In the fall, the milkweed dried up and looked like some kind of weird land-based crustacean breeding ground. I see shrimp, don’t you?

But being here through spring and early summer has allowed us to see how the meadow wakes up and absolutely revels under repeated lashings of both rain and sun. In front of our eyes these lush and succulent milkweed plants have developed on the fringes of the meadow and they are now flowering. Just two weeks ago the milkweed looked like this:

Now it looks like this:

Inevitably I felt the pull to document this peerless pollinator plant in its prime, but photographs like those above weren’t hitting the mark for me.

Sometimes less is more. It was time to break out the diffusion box.

The Diffusion Box Originally constructed late last summer for Art Drop #17, the diffusion box was essentially the sum of construction materials + inspiration. You can read all about it in Art Drop #17: Meadow's End if you like. Since then, it was disassembled – we urgently needed a box to form a makeshift “living room” for the school rabbit when she came to visit, and from our 7-year old’s perspective rabbits take priority over art. So it needed some repairs, but those were easy enough. We attached Aunty Dil’s blanket once again and took it out.

Art Drop #26 Using the diffusion box is an evolving process of trial and error. The parameters at play are the light (does the subject need to be backlit or not, in full sun or shade), the distance from the plastic to the subject, and the structure and height of the plant. Physical discomfort plays a role too. It’s hot inside the box and annoying insects love to venture inside and crawl around on my composition. For Diana in her assistant role of supporting the box exactly where I need it and preventing light leaks, she contends with deer flies and baking sunlight. It’s not a fun time, but we enjoy collaborating out in the meadow.

There’s a sweet spot to be found when making photographs with the diffusion box, and I think for this piece below all the myriad of factors came together in a harmonious way.

Diffused Milkweed West Stockbridge, MA, USA by Tom Bland

We had prints of this photograph available for 7 days up to July 7, 2025 and no further production of this work is planned for at least a year. If you're interested in seeing more of our previous art drops you will find them on our website below our permanent collection here.

Until the next time, thanks for reading! -Tom