Andrew Neder

Northern Nevada has been my home since the late winter of 2018, quickly inhabiting a piece of my heart. Watching the sunrise and sunsets has always brought me peace and the sky here has always struck me with how vast it feels compared to the moody East Coast skies framed by trees and usually blanketed in clouds; I grew up less than 500 feet above sea level, so the range of elevations here is nothing I had ever fathomed, let alone finding myself accustomed to sunny months and infrequent precipitation. The first tattoo I got at 18 is a sunrise over the mountains framed with two sagebrush branches and while I am now 22, I still resonate with the image of such serenity present twice a day that we are beholden to. The high desert is such a unique and incredible place – I'm reminded of its beauty and importance to its inhabitants throughout its history as the world turns and seasons change, and our responsibility to care for the land and our neighbors, both fauna and flora alike. The mosaic was designed to memorialize one of my favorite ways to view Reno and Sparks – from up high, in full view of the transitions from valley and basin up into hills as the land ascends further still into frigid mountain peaks, the sun crawling down to sleep behind the Sierra Nevada range as it casts its evening light and shadow show.