BY KAREN BOSSICK

When the coronavirus pandemic forced Wood River Valley residents to shelter in place in March, Anne Jeffery holed up for weeks in her Bellevue home, escaping only to her garden.

There, as the sprouts began to grow towards the warming sun, she threw herself into the work of turning a corner of her yard into a garden that would attract pollinators.

A photographer and artist by trade, she took note of the critters she saw and the different shades of green in the plants in which she was working. And soon she took what she was seeing and feeling back inside where she created a digital photographic montage called “Escape to the Garden.”

That “Escape to the Garden,” a many-layered photomontage created by extracting elements from her original photographs and digitally weaving them into a composition, apparently resonated with others as they emerged from their own pandemic lockdowns.

The montage won second place overall in the juried “Every Color Has a Story—A Virtual Show”  sponsored by the Flager County Art League in Palm Coast, Fla. Nearly 200 pieces touting how color can evoke different emotions and feelings were submitted to the show, and the judges had a difficult time selecting the final 50 to be displayed in the Juried Exhibitors Gallery.

The montage also won second place in the Cary Photographic Artists 13^th Annual Open Juried Exhibit in North Carolina. That competition involved 404 images from 137 photographic artists in 33 states.

Both recognitions came with cash awards, which Jeffery is looking forward to plowing back into her pollinator garden this spring.

“The first thing that grabbed my attention in this piece was that it is a spherical photograph,” said one of the jurors in the Flagler show. “This format lends itself to creating the delicate magical environment captured within its boundaries. The multiple layering of butterflies, water bubbles and botanicals are stunningly delicate and beautifully rendered.”

These weren’t Jeffery’s only artistic successes during the Year of the Pandemic.

She exhibited her digital photographic montage “Fern Grotto” in the Loveland, Colo., Lincoln Gallery’s National Fine Arts Show. And her “Flight of Fantasy” took its place in The Northwind Arts Center’s “Small Expressions” December exhibit in Port Townsend, Wash.

“Only problem, no wine,” said Jeffery “I couldn’t go to the opening receptions because of the pandemic.”

Jeffery’s work wasn’t confined to the United States.

Jeffery’s photographic work was chosen in 2016 for the 4^th Biennial of Fine Art & Documentary Photography in Berlin, Germany, which featured 1,230 photos by 446 contemporary artists from 41 countries.

This year, a couple of her pieces was selected for the Worldwide Photography Gala Awards at the FotoNostrum Gallery in Barcelona, Spain. A total of 805 photographers from 67 countries submitted 6,240 photographs for consideration of the pre-selection team.

FotoNostrum is a global gathering around photography designed to increase society’s understanding and appreciation of photography and its role in contemporary culture.

Jeffery studied at Brooks Institute of Photography and under master photographers Al Weber, Philip Hyde, George De Wolfe, Maggie Taylor and Ysabel LeMay.

She also served as an assistant for Ansel Adams at his Yosemite workshop.