statement

In the springtime, sometimes the least noticeable things can be a humbling force of nature. Since my move to Ohio from the more sinus friendly climate of the California coast, I noticed that in late March and early April my nose would itch, my eyes water, and incessant sneezing would commence. I began to collect parts of trees that had fallen to the ground or were hanging from branches within reach of my outstretched hands. Instead of my eyes, my sinuses were suggesting a future photographic project.

Like the naturalists of the 19th century who used photography to record their botanical specimens, I use the parts of trees I collect on walks (or lately find in the produce section of a supermarket), scanning them into the computer to make a negative and printing them in the historical Van Dyke Brown process. Using Kozo Unryu Japanese paper, the intensity of the brown color and the interaction of the swirling paper fibers provide the unexpected to an image so grounded in the scientific. The final image alludes to the dreamy, somnambulant state of observation I find myself in early April under the influence of pollen and antihistamines.

bio

born: 1965, Philadelphia

education

The Ohio State University, MFA (Photography), 2002
University of California, San Diego, B.S. (Biochemistry), 1993

selected awards/honors

Individual Excellence Award, Ohio Arts Council, 2009
Individual Artist Fellowship, Ohio Arts Council, 2003
Individual Artist Fellowship, Montgomery County Arts and Culture District (Culture Works), 2008
First Place, The Krappy Kamera Show, Soho Photo, NYC, 2002

selected publications

Manifest Volume Sixty-Two, Botanical, Cincinnati, OH, p. 25 (?), 2012
Anthotypes, Malin Fabbi (author), Alternative Photography Press, Sweden, pgs. 28, 74, 83, 85, 2012
The Book of Alternative Photographic Processes 2nd Edition, Christopher James (Author), Delmar Cengage Learning, p. 151, 2008
The Art of the Photoarchive: 170 Years of Photography and  Heritage, Roger Kockaerts and Johann Swinnen (Authors), University Press Antwerp, p. 291, 2009

selected solo or two-person exhibits

New Works in Vandyke Brown, Orange Coast College, Costa Mesa, CA, 2011
Forces of Nature, Irene Carlson Gallery, University of La Verne, La Verne, CA, 2010
Susan Byrnes / Francis Schanberger, Rosewood Gallery, Kettering, OH, 2010
The Return of Dr. Frangst, Gallerie pH7, Brussels, Belgium, 2005

selected group shows

Botanical, Manifest Gallery, Cincinnati, OH, 2012
The Naturalists: Works by Erin Holscher-Almazan, Diane Stemper, and Francis Schanberger, Ohio Art League Gallery, Columbus, OH, 2011
Here's Looking at You: Portraits in Ohio, Verne Riffe Gallery, Columbus, OH, 2011
Authenticity of Memory, Houston Center for Photography, Houston, TX, 2005