Welcome to Wonderland and Quite Normal at DaVinci

Between 2000 and 2013, I had the privilege of photographing at an amazing place here in Portland: DaVinci Arts Middle School.  I began photographing there while working on my senior thesis project at Pacific NW College of Art.  I enjoyed it so much that I kept coming back, speaking in photography classes, teaching workshops, and creating new work of my own.  The students have always been inspiring to me.  While many people would write off adolescents, I find them funny, goofy, thoughtful, brilliant.This summer I photographed the wedding of a former DaVinci student, and in doing so reconnected with some of the students, and the school itself.  When they invited me to show my work in the school's art gallery, I jumped at the chance.For two months, a sampling of my work from 13 years of photographing there will be shown in their art gallery.  I'm also working with the administration to give a talk in their assembly, not only speaking about art and artmaking, but also about how this work reflects and can influence their core values as a school community.  (How many schools do you that know would do that?)

You can see some of this work in its entirety here on the website: Welcome to Wonderland and Quite Normal.