Visit Annular

North Quadrant, Annular S.O. Satellite imagery courtesy NSADP

Annular is a vast region. Its streets and highways, once crop circles, have been refurbished as thoroughbred race tracks, auto and motor bike speedways, and other amusements. Global climate change reduced annual rainfall to a trickle and energy tycoons purchased the distressed area at a discount. Reconfigured and updated, the circles are now career paths for Annular's residents. We attended the annual round table discussion conducted by Annular's Board of Overseers in which the history of the crop circles is revisited and deemed logical. 
(Excerpted from Travels With My Aunt)

Footpaths near Gerald

Close to the center of Gerald, footpaths leading to a monastic retreat are lined with plantings, in-ground and potted. Residents believe that presaging accidents cautions travelers to be more aware. Thus they are less likely to engage in behaviors that could end in fatal collisions. To date, the coincidence of travelers has yet to occur; nonetheless, Gerald's population relentlessly campaigns against the use of smart phones, portable televisions, barbecue grills and huggable pets while transiting the footpaths within their voting districts. Gerald's representatives in the state legislature abide their constituents wishes.
(Excerpted from Travels With My Aunt)

A Conference of.....

Untitled 2012, Ed Touchette, 9 x 12 walnut ink, acrylic/ 140lb. CP

West of Carol, we stopped for the night. A large crowd attracted our attention and we followed them to the village common where noted novelists, a journalist, a teleprompter personality,  a physicist, and sports fans had gathered to debate the beginnings of the universe prior to the invention of gods and/ or other religious bents. They'd agreed to senate rules; anyone leaving prior to the end of the discussion, and this included bathroom breaks before, during, and after filibusters and other oratorical devices, risked disqualification for reasons understood only by two of the novelists, the physicist, and one of the sports fans. Nonetheless, all of the panelists agreed to this and all other rules: the exclusion of references to foreign nationals; present and past presidents and their immediate advisors; and allusions to space time.
(excerpted from Travels With My Aunt)

Within the Temple

Bone, 2013, Ed Touchette, walnut ink, acrylic/ 140lb. CP

 

Arriving at Temple Ardor just as the sun set on the day after the solstice, we ignored signs announcing a missed opportunity and entered. Along the wooden arches, centuries of collected memories set to flight by our movements, leapt and whirled through light beams streaming down from the clerestories prompting us to question any further advances into the space. Curiosity reigned . We continued.
(excerpted from Travels With My Aunt)