Synkroniciti is excited to reveal our new cover for the “Patterns” issue. This was another popular theme with visual artists, with visual art submissions again running between 20% and 25% of the total submission pool. This makes for a terrific, visually stunning issue, as well as some seeds which will appear in new themes.
The cover art finalists were:
The winner of the cover contest is Circular Stairs by visual artist Julia L. Offen. This is a black and white digital image extracted from color photography of Julia’s nieces taken during a visit to the William Jefferson Clinton Building (which currently houses the Environmental Protection Agency) in Washington, D.C. by her sister-in-law, the photographer Chie Sakakibara (shared with full permission). Julia cropped and shaped the image to focus on the marvelous spiral staircase. Our eyes slide down the banisters and up the chain suspending the lighting in the space and vice versa, creating a powerful and fluid sense of motion. The shape echoes the golden spiral, in this case modified and quirked just slightly, creating a playful counter motion that seems to bank and turn as the eye skitters over steps. The lighting and the floor decoration echo a star motif and the angle of the shot makes the stairs resemble the shape of an eye. Repetition and the power of pattern to move us into new perspectives and places are highlighted, as we focus on the mathematical and visual beauty of this useful and evocative space which symbolizes that which can be found within this extraordinary issue.
It is a mesmerizing image and we are thrilled to have Circular Stairs as the face of “Patterns,” which debuts December 15, 2025. We are currently sending out the rest of our contracts and rejections. The issue will be available for pre-order soon at Purchase Individual Issues – synkroniciti.
Julia L Offen is a writer, anthropologist, editor, and fine art photographer living in beautiful coastal California after decades spent trotting across North America and Europe. Horses were often involved. Her creative prose has been published in both literary and academic journals, but this is the first time she’s ever submitted her digital art anywhere. Before she became an academic (and then shook off that mantle), she earned an M.F.A. from the University of California, Irvine. She spent two years with her dog living and working with traveling circuses in Europe, which may perhaps raise more questions than it answers.