Karen Suderman, statement

Holding onto Juneau

It’s been more than a year now since my husband and I arrived in Juneau. As a constant observer of details in nature, I feel taken back by the grandeur of it all. How could I ever take it all in, or with me?

You can’t hold onto the vast landscape, keep the snow or capture the wildlife with any one view.  But you can experience it all in instants.  That is all it will lend you, because in its permanence it changes constantly.

One step after another, you will never see the same horizon. You can’t recreate the force of a glacier that focuses so much energy on being compact, the soft relief that winter can bring after the rain, the innate respect of things larger than yourself, or the glory in a person’s kindness here.

You can only partake in its fullness for a moment, and then hold on to who you are because of it.

This collection is who I am, holding onto Juneau.