Deb Stoner, Still Life Garden Photographs

June 1 through July 31, 2019

Lan Su Chinese Gardens
239 NW Everett St
Portland, OR 97209
503.228.8131
Open every day 10am-7pm
 
Lan Su Members Free, otherwise entrance fee is $12.95 Adults;
$11.95 Seniors; $9.95 Students; Children five and under are free

And here’s a tip: if you live in Clackamas or Washington County, and have a library card, investigate their Cultural Pass program, good for entrance at many places including Lan Su Gardens. (Multnomah County has this program as well, but their summer passes are already used at this point.) Thank you to our fantastic tri-county library system!

https://lansugarden.org/things-to-do/art-exhibition

Deb Stoner’s work in still life photography involves making complex visual constructs using the flora and small fauna of specific places. She is drawn to imperfections in the natural world and seeks tiny ephemeral events to choreograph in real time. Composed on a flatbed scanner, the work becomes a rich and beautiful visual narrative as Deb examines highly magnified details of natural forms.

Here’s what Deb says this exhibit is about:

“Working from flowers from places like Lan Su Garden is such a joy. The lotus blossom photograph came about after I asked about being able to cut a stem to work with. Mandy, the gardener in charge, invited me to Lan Su Garden’s greenhouse where there were several still blooming. She said that I’d have to work quickly as the petals on the blossom would fall off soon after being cut. The additional challenge with a flower as large and heavy as the lotus is working against gravity as it lays on the scanner glass while I work. There are no secrets really, just a careful arranging of the beautiful flora, working quickly to capture it before the whole thing falls apart, or more accurately, before it loses turgor and collapses onto the scanner glass. During November during Lan Su’s chrysanthemum festival “Mumvember”, I arrived at the greenhouse to see hundreds of chrysanthemums all in pots, arranged by variety, but to me, arranged by color and shape. Overwhelmed, I asked Mandy to cut me a dozen or so small flowers in various stages of bloom that I then took home to photograph. Beautiful! Many thanks to the generosity of Lan Su Garden as they shared their flowers, or as I like to think of them, art materials.”

On Friday July 12, 2-4pm, Deb will be demonstrating her scanner technique in a drop by session in the Scholar’s Study, surrounded by her large scale still life photographs. Entrance is included with admission.
https://lansugarden.org/things-to-do/events/art-demonstration2/

https://www.debstoner.com/

Deb Stoner holds an MFA in Applied Design from San Diego State University, a BS in Geology from UC Davis, and a decades long teaching career at Oregon College of Art and Craft. Recently she presented lectures on photography to the Yuma Symposium, the Portland Art Museum, the SPE NW Regional Conference; had solo photography shows in 2019, 2017, 2016 and 2015; numerous group shows; work in the permanent public art collections at University of Oregon, OHSU, PCC, and Portland International Airport; is the recipient of grants, an Oregon Arts Fellowship, and a recent residency; and sells work to enthusiastic collectors.