Photography

Goddess Within Series

My new work, Goddess WITHIN, has a title, which is a play on words. Throughout history. the Goddess’s power has been slowly eroded by men. Her role as creator continued to be diminished, becoming restricted and subservient. Her being became vilified in order to CONTAIN her. Yet her power remains strong within those who look to her for empowerment. Legends and myths, fictions and histories live within our hopes and dreams. There is a Goddess WITHIN all of us. The tales of good and evil; from the benevolent Goddess who sacrifices all for her family, to the angry Goddess, as a women scorned, inspire me. Starting with my collection of oddities, I add symbolism, Goddess, a bit of fiction and legend and finish with a dash of the natural world to create a twisted look into the dark of our hidden Goddess Within.

Mythical Gardens Series

Mythical Gardens Series
Photographing historic architecture and gardens is a way for me to explore history through capturing what remains from previous eras. My ongoing portfolio, Mythical Gardens, concentrates on the sculptures found in ancient and Renaissance gardens combined with classically arranged foliage. Photographing with a toy Holga camera enables me to capture soft, dreamy vignette images reminiscent of historic photographic methods, thus evoking the misty quality of memories. As the figures emerge from darkness, my vision brings them to life.

When I frame an image, I edit the landscape through my camera to build a protective wall around my discovery, thus holding it pure and independent from the rest of the world. I have chosen to print these images using an historic non-silver printmaking process, gum bichromate printing, to create a more intimate quality and emphasize the layers of history as well as mystery.

Enduring Stones Series

Enduring Stones Series
I am compelled to capture images of historic and abandoned places. Architecture tells stories about our culture throughout history. They are the remnants of our beliefs, describing how we live and change throughout history. Time and the elements will continue to transform them, as it transforms us. There is a sense of loss, that compels me to romanticize these remains and make them appear more dreamlike than the stark reality of their almost certain demise.

When I make an image, I want to create a strong message. I strive to create an emotional awareness in the viewer that encourages them to take notice of the loss that surrounds their everyday existence.

Mixed Media

Mining Memories

Because memories haunt us as visual images and photography has been called the “mirror with a memory,” I am exploring memories through my photographic images. By photographing my childhood toys and collections, I am documenting my memories. The events I recall from my youth begin to take on new life and interpretation as the memories distort and fade over time. Yet they still remain in a state of flux. By using symbolism mixed with dark humor to convey the simple stories of growing up in 1960s suburban America, I create narratives revealing the twisted view from memories altered from time’s passage.

In The Mining Memories Series, environments, which move and change while still retaining the details of the events and memories that inspired them, echo the initial imagery. I invite people to step into each space and experience the fleeting and somewhat disorganized realm of memories to discover and recover a little gem from their own histories.

Archived Work

Contact Information

219 Penn Street
Burlington, NJ 08016
e-mail:
web: www.sandracdavis.com
www.alternativephotography.com
www.SandraCDavis.etsy.com
Please contact artist for purchases, commissions, etc.

Artist Bio

Sandra C. Davis was born in 1960 and grew up outside of Philadelphia, PA. In the early 1980s, she discovered gathering images through the camera lens. After a twenty-year career as a graphic designer, she decided to reenergize her fine art passion, and began studying non-silver printmaking processes. This step led to a major career change. Sandra now teaches alternative processes and photography.

Sandra’s haunting imagery involves capturing remembered moments from the past. Working in several bodies of work, she explores history by photographing what remains from previous eras. Through the unique way she captures these places, and by printing the images in various alternative processes, she makes them her own vision while creating an illusory veil of dreaminess.

Education

2008
The University of the Arts, Philadelphia, PA,
MFA, Book Arts/Printmaking

1982
Moore College of Art, Philadelphia, PA
BFA, Illustration

Professional Experience

2001 – present
Faculty, The University of the Arts, Philadelphia, PA

2010 – 2011
Faculty, Tyler School of Art, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA

2007 – 2009
Faculty, Rowan University, Glassboro, NJ

2003 – present
Faculty, Mercer County Community College, Trenton, NJ

2003 – present
Workshop Instructor, Peters Valley Craft Center, Layton, NJ

Awards and Honors

2007
Best of Show Award, 15th Annual Juried Photographic Exhibition, Phillips Mill, New Hope, PA

2004
Second Place Award, 12th Annual Juried Photographic Exhibition, Phillips Mill, New Hope, PA

2003
Venture Grant Recipient, The University of the Arts, Philadelphia, PA

Lectures and Talks

2009
Visiting Artist Presentation and Gum Bichromate Process, SUNY Orange College, Middletown, NY

2008
Visiting Artist Presentation, Museum of Photographic Arts, San Diego, CA

The Gum Bichromate Process, Art Way Gallery, Plainsboro, NJ

2006
Focus on Sculpture Photographic Exhibition Juror’s Talk, Grounds for Sculpture, Hamilton, NJ

2005
Alternative Processes, The Churchville Photography Club, Newtown, PA

Affiliations

Center for Emerging Visual Artists, Philadelphia, PA

The Print Center, Philadelphia, PA

Society for Photographic Education, Oxford, OH

The Philadelphia Center for the Book, Philadelphia, PA

Bibliography

2004
“Art, New reflections on nature”, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia, PA

2002
“Photography Seen – France in Mt. Airy”, Art Matters, Fort Washington, PA

“Photography – Drive-In Dreams”, Princeton Packet, Princeton, NJ

2001
“Artist in Focus” New Hope Gazette, New Hope, PA

2000
“A Celebration of Ireland”, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia, PA

“Images of Ireland”, Montgomery Newspapers, Fort Washington, PA

“The Texture of Time”, Princeton Packet, Princeton, NJ

Publications

2011
Barr, George Why Photographs Work, Rocky Nook, Calgary, Canada

2009
Art To Be Read, University of the Arts MFA Book Arts/Printmaking Alumni Exhibition

2008
James, Christopher The Book of Alternative Processes, 2nd ed., Delmar Cengage Learning

Van Keuren, Sarah A Non-Silver Manual, 3rd ed.

2005
“The Fine Art of Gum Bichromate Printing”, Professional Women Photographers Magazine

2004
“Regional Focus Series: Philadelphia”, Black and White Magazine

Collections

Museum of Photographic Arts, (MoPA) Dubois Library, San Diego, CA

Van Pelt-Deitrich Library, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA

Free Library of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA

The Athenæum of Philadelphia, PA

The Print Center, Philadelphia, PA

Center for Emerging Visual Artists, Philadelphia, PA

Selected Exhibitions

Solo

2009
Mythical Gardens, Orange Hall Gallery, SUNY Orange College, Middletown, NY

2008
Mining Memories, Rosenwald-Wolf Gallery, The University of the Arts, Philadelphia, PA

2006
Mythical Gardens, Southern Vermont Arts Center, Manchester, VT

2005
Illumine, Photographs of Historic France, Gallery Saint Martin, Philadelphia, PA

Mythical Gardens, Walton Gallery, The George School, Newtown, PA

2004
Mythical Gardens, Felicity R. “Bebe” Benoliel Gallery, Center for Emerging Visual Artists, Philadelphia, PA

2003
Mythical Gardens, Artists’ Gallery, Lambertville, NJ

Enduring Stones, Gallery 1401, University of the Arts, Philadelphia, PA

Two-Person

2004
Garden Perspectives, Artists’ Gallery, Lambertville, NJ

2002
Vanishing Points, Artists’ Gallery, Lambertville, NJ

Group

2010
Contemporary Alternative Process Photography, Watchung Arts Center, Watchung, NJ

2009
Once Upon A Time, Four-person Show, Dalet Gallery, Philadelphia, PA

2008
Alternative Photography Exhibit, Art Way Gallery, Plainsboro, NJ
Invitational

2007
Sun Pictures to Megapixels, Williamsburg Art & Historical Center, New York, NY
Invitational

2006
Transforming the Book, University of Pennsylvania Library, Philadelphia, PA

2005
Valentines Day Show, Panopticon Gallery, Boston, MA

Embracing the Arts, Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts, Wilmington, DE

2003
Spring Photography Exhibit, Philadelphia International Airport, Philadelphia, PA

2001
Art Matters 2001, Woodmere Art Museum, Philadelphia, PA
Invitational

2000
Six + Six, Philadelphia Sketch Club, Philadelphia, PA
Invitational

Alternative Processes Exhibition, Atelier Alternative Gallery, Hoboken, NJ
Invitational

Other

2011
POST: Philadelphia Open Studio Tour, Philadelphia, PA