The Anthropology of Turquoise - Ellen Meloy

In this invigorating mix of natural history and adventure, artist-naturalist Ellen
Meloy uses turquoise-the color and the gem-to probe deeper into our profound human
attachment to landscape.

From the Sierra Nevada, the Mojave Desert, the Yucatan
Peninsula, and the Bahamas to her home ground on the high plateaus and deep canyons
of the Southwest, we journey with Meloy through vistas of both great beauty and great
desecration.
Her keen vision makes us look anew at ancestral mountains, turquoise
seas, and even motel swimming pools.
She introduces us to Navajo "velvet grandmothers"
whose attire and aesthetics absorb the vivid palette of their homeland, as well as
to Persians who consider turquoise the life-saving equivalent of a bullet-proof vest.
Throughout, Meloy invites us to appreciate along with her the endless surprises
in all of life and celebrates the seduction to be found in our visual surroundings.