Fruit works of art

The continuing art project by photographer Roger Rowley, of Moscow, Idaho, began as he tried creative ways he get his kids to eat fruit for breakfast.

"I'd put it on the breakfast table, and it would get eaten or not eaten," he told CBS News' Martha Teichner. "And then, [I] began to just be more conscious about arranging it and going, 'Well, let's make this look nice and see if, you know, maybe then the kids'll eat it more if they see this thing that looks aesthetically interesting.' It was maybe at least a year before I ever took a photograph."

By then, Rowley could see the whole project in his mind -- hundreds of fruit plates.

His images are featured on his website, fruitplate.org.

Exhibit

Roger Rowley's photographs were recently displayed at the University of Idaho's Prichard Art Gallery.

Fruit Project

The seasons, the weather, leave their signature on his work.

Teichner said, "You didn't go through any kind of agony of making art."

"Oh, no, no, it's very intuitive," Rowley replied. "I mean, you start with the natural forms, whether it's an apple or a pear or apricot, and so you have these natural building blocks.

Fruit Project

A breakfast creation by Roger Rowley.

Fruit Project

The rule he set for himself: nothing too fancy. "I wasn't trying to pick the perfect fruit," said Rowley. "I wasn't trying to get the exact, most beautiful example of something. So it was trying to be true to what it is you buy in the store or at the farmers market."

An Artist's Materials

But the Saturday market in Moscow, Idaho, is loaded with some of the most luscious fruit imaginable.

Teichner asked, "Do you ever look at the shapes and the colors of the things that are available in terms of, 'This is my paint and these are my pigments'?"

"Yeah," Rowley replied. "I certainly am [thinking], 'Oh, the orange of an apricot would look amazing against the blue of a blueberry.'"

Exhibit

Rowley said he envisioned the exhibition to be an "overwhelming " visual experience, like a giant kaleidoscope.

Fruit Project

A breakfast creation by Roger Rowley.

Smile!

Roger Rowley capturing a fruit plate outside his kitchen door.

Fruit Project

Up close, each one has an odd detail to reveal, or a story to tell, such as the photo with a strange black blob at the top.

Rowley explained: "My cat loves melon. It just happened to get right up there right when I had the camera ready. And so, 'Fine, Bebe, here you go,' snap!"