Claudia J. Howell

Artist's Statement

I was initially attracted by the iridescence and saturation of colors left on the street by cars and trucks. The variety in hue and shape created by this mix of petrochemicals and rainwater is incredible. I later learned that urban runoff is the leading cause of water quality problems in the U.S.  In the rainy Northwest, oil slicks are ubiquitous.

One might say the streets are saturated with them. As the effluence drains into the sewer, it saturates the surrounding water and contaminates all it touches. “Gutter Galaxies” is about both the oil slicks’ physical appearance and the hazard to water they create.

Gutter Galaxies

Beauty lies in unlikely places.
Puddles of water, polluted by gasoline and oil, glow in toxic splendor.
We pass them every day, barely noticing.
Merely obstacles to crossing the street.
Shiny splats on the pavement.
Striated rivulets flow through fallen leaves.
Seductive patterns and saturated colors mask an environmental hazard.
Rain washes it down the sewers and eventually into the sea.