Photographs in certain light
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I got my first camera at five and took weird little pictures of my parents, garden, friends, and stuffed animals - much the same work I do today, only I no longer use a camera with flash cubes. I photograph what I find beautiful in the world around me - simple, homey, quiet scenes. Lately I've begun to see ties between my work and my favorite writing, and think my reading has influenced what I create visually. Photography and literature seem to conjure up imaginary worlds in the same way. Flannery O'Connor wrote about the "moment of grace" - the moment in a life when one acts with pure humanity, honesty, and compassion. I like to think I'm working towards this in my photographs - that my images, as tiny moments, express a sense of grace. The poets William Stafford, Mary Oliver, and Naomi Shihab Nye, and the writers Flannery O'Connor, Annie Proulx, and Cormac McCarthy are all favorites. My photographs feel like home to me - they're a comfortable vision of the gentle, lovely world I am happiest in.
In my professional life, I am the Program Director of Newspace Center for Photography, a nonprofit school, community darkroom, studio, and gallery in Portland, OR. I teach photography at Newspace as well, and lead Portlanders on wacky photo field trips. I also curate and jury exhibitions both in Portland and nationally. You can find my work in the collection at the Museum of Contemporary Photography and in many private collections. Outside of photography, I am a half-marathon running mentor for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's fantastic Team in Training program. My degree is from Reed College.
Seoul, Korea 1983