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Hand-Delivered Ambitions: The Art of Submitting Resumes in Person

Dec 3, 2023 By Admin in Art World News

Weighing Career Goals, Employee Benefits, and Company Culture Before You Ink That Contract.

So, you’ve got a new job offer in hand. Congratulations! But before you pop the champagne, there are a few key questions you should ask yourself to determine if this new opportunity truly aligns with your professional and personal goals. The transition to a new job can be life-changing, and, as some experts suggest, it’s a decision that should be approached with the same gravity as other major life decisions. So, what are the three golden questions to consider before signing on the dotted line?

The first question to ask is whether this job aligns with your career goals. As Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook, advises in her book “Lean In,” career trajectories are more like jungle gyms than ladders. Sometimes, moving laterally or even taking a step back can propel you two steps forward in the future. Does this job offer that kind of long-term potential? Consider not just the role but also the industry, the company’s position in the market, and the opportunities for future advancement. Without a path for personal and professional growth, you might find yourself stagnating, and that’s a situation no ambitious professional wants to be in.

Employee benefits are not merely icing on the cake; for many, they are as crucial as the salary itself. How competitive is the offer when compared to industry standards? Do you get additional perks like flexible working hours, a robust healthcare package, or paid holidays? Google, for instance, has set an industry standard by offering benefits that go beyond the norm, including extended parental leave and even free meals at the workplace. Assessing the full scope of benefits can give you a better understanding of how the company values its employees.

Another critical factor is the company culture. This goes beyond just ‘feeling good’ at the office. It’s about whether the company’s values resonate with your own. Employees at Salesforce, for example, often highlight the company’s culture of ‘Ohana,’ which emphasizes family, as a major reason they love working there. Browse through employee reviews on platforms like Glassdoor to get an unfiltered view of the work environment. Does it match your work style, and can you envision yourself thriving in it?

Last but certainly not least, consider your work-life balance. Does the job offer you the flexibility to maintain a healthy equilibrium between your work responsibilities and personal life? Work-life balance is increasingly becoming a priority for job seekers, a trend that companies are starting to recognize and adapt to.

When deciding whether to accept a job offer, it’s essential to take a holistic view. The salary is important, but it’s just one piece of a complex puzzle. Your decision should be an informed one that considers career progression, employee benefits, and the company’s culture. A career move is a significant life step, and it should be based on more than just gut feeling.

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Why do photographs of beautiful scenery never do it justice?

Dec 3, 2023 By Admin in Photography

I’ve just been looking at my photos from a recent trip to the Grand Canyon and I’m thoroughly unimpressed. Why do photographs of beautiful scenery never do it justice? Alex Robinson, Suffolk

Post your answers (and new questions) below or send them to nq@theguardian.com. A selection will be published next Sunday.

Timmins mother and daughter sharing culture through art and learning

Dec 3, 2023 By Admin in Native

Justice Sutherland wants her children to know where they come from.

“Just bringing back tradition to our family has been amazing,” she said.

The local artist has been reconnecting to her Indigenous roots in Moose Factory since becoming a mother. She’s learning from a great source — her mother, Amanda Sutherland.

Amanda’s father, who was a Fort Albany First Nation member, died when she was young, and she lost a lot of her cultural connections.

“Bringing in the culture to us is very important since we weren’t raised in it. I didn’t raise my kids in it,” said Amanda. “It wasn’t until I started working at Northern College and learning from community members, elders in the community.”

Amanda is an Indigenous services administration assistant at Northern College.

“Everybody has been so good at teaching me, at teaching Justice,” she said.

Justice agrees and adds that the community has been incredibly helpful in their journey.

She’s using art to explore her cultural ties and has painted murals at Northern College and Sparks Pizza. It’s a way to connect to her own community and family, and anyone else who wants to enjoy her work.

“The one thing I always could connect to is art and it’s something that translates in every culture, in every language. It connects to everyone in a different way,” she said.

Having spent time in western Canada, those traditions shaped some of their views.

Becoming a mother has motivated justice to explore her local roots and bring more tradition and culture into her home.

“It wasn’t until I had my own kids and she started doing her teachings and stuff like that and getting connected to the culture here in Timmins that I was able to realize that I wanted to bring that down to my kids as soon as I had them,” said Justice.

Her time in Kelowna has influenced her art and she learning more about the local styles.

“It’s weird because I’m always talking about Indigenous culture and I realize I have to bring this side in instead of always bringing what I was raised around,” said Justice. “Because that’s the whole point. I’m trying to reconnect to the Native lines here and bring more of an arts and culture representation from our area.”

Language has been a challenge in reconnecting with family.

“Justice was four years old, and I had not connected to my dad’s side of the family yet, and I went up north to meet my kokum (grandmother) for the first time, and it was very emotional,” said Amanda.

“I couldn’t talk to her though because I didn’t know how to speak Cree, and she only knew how to speak Cree, which is sad because it’s a language that’s being lost, and I wish I had that language so that I could teach it to my kids.”

Amanda said passing on what she’s learned is a healing experience.

“Whatever I am taught, I then go, and I teach students, I teach staff, I teach whoever wants to learn what I know,” she said.

The shift in how Indigeneity and culture are perceived in Canada has impacted Amanda’s growth and education.

“When I was being raised, being Indigenous was something you hid,” she said. “I was glad to hide it at the time, but as I got older, I realized that I was missing out on so much, and learning all of that and bringing it in has helped me grow not just as a person but as a parent, a grandmother, a friend, a colleague, it gets into everything that I do now.”

Justice’s goal in her art and her family is to amplify the feeling of home.

“It’s nice to continue to bring down our teachings and traditions down through our family,” she said.

I’m a forgotten Patrick Mahomes teammate and pursued dream of becoming artist

Dec 3, 2023 By Admin in Printmaking

MALIK Jenkins helped Patrick Mahomes get his quarterback skills down to a fine art at Texas Tech. Now the former college football star is pursuing his childhood dream of becoming an artist in …

A designer’s guide to artisanal shopping in Vienna

Dec 3, 2023 By Admin in Art World News

By Eva SandovalFeatures correspondent

Waldhaeusl/McPhoto/Alamy

A designer’s guide to Vienna shopping (Credit: Waldhaeusl/McPhoto/Alamy)

Proudly “untrendy” designer Myung-Il Song tells you how to bypass the chain stores and shop for authentically Viennese handcrafted wares, from clothing and art to holiday gifts.

Navigating Vienna’s 23 grätzels (districts) can be overwhelming, especially when they’re so diverse – encompassing medieval alleys, magnificent monuments and quaint village squares. So when it comes to shopping, many visitors tend to stick to the beautifully walkable historic centre, Innenstadt, which is home to the Hofburg Imperial Palace, Vienna State Opera House and a dizzying glut of luxury chain stores.

But renowned Korean-Viennese designer Myung-Il Song, owner of Vienna’s seminal boutique Atelier Song, encourages visitors to head to Vienna’s “special” places for bespoke and unique products, from clothing to homewares to contemporary art. “I’m not chasing after trends,” said the famously individualistic style icon. Here are Song’s insider picks for Vienna’s best historical shops and exciting artisanal newcomers.

Dietmar Rauscher/Alamy

Kniže has been a mainstay in Vienna’s clothes and accessory shopping scene for nearly 200 years (Credit: Dietmar Rauscher/Alamy)

1. Best for classic men and women’s fashion: Innenstadt (1st district)

Upscale Innenstadt, like the city centres of many European capitals, is inundated with popular chain clothing stores. “Like shopping in an airport,” quipped Song.

The SpeciaList

Myung-Il Song, a graduate art student from Korea, came to Vienna in 1984, where she studied graphic design at Vienna’s Academy of Fine Arts before opening her eponymous boutique in 1998. She is also the co-author of I’ll Wear it Until I’m Dead, a retrospective of her fashion archive.

But for artisanal, classic Viennese fashion, Song likes Rudolf Scheer & Söhne, a generational shoemaker that has been making handcrafted bespoke shoes since 1816. “They used to make them for all the Hollywood stars,” said Song. “They still have the stars’ shoe forms. It’s a really traditional old place [where the shoes are] 100% handmade for your feet.”

Song also recommends the historic shop Kniže & Comp for one-stop men and women’s fashion and accessory shopping. “It’s very old, beautiful, classical,” said Song. “Also, the shop is interesting. Go inside and look because it’s [designed by renowned Austrian architect] Adolf Loos.“

As well as luxury clothing and accessories, Kniže sells fragrance and soaps. “[Whenever I go to] Paris Fashion Week, the fashion people in Paris always ask me, ‘Could you bring me Kniže perfume?’,” said Song. “Elegant, elegant stuff.”

SONG

Myung-Il Song’s seminal fashion, accessory, and décor boutique is right at home in the quirky Leopoldstadt District (Credit: SONG)

2. Best for artisanal luxury clothing and unique gifts: Leopoldstadt (2nd district)

“You know what I’m going to say,” said Song, jokingly. But her seminal “artisanal luxury” boutique Atelier Song has held a serious grip on Vienna’s design scene for 25 years, particularly since it moved to the city’s former Jewish quarter, Leopoldstadt in 2006. “When I came here, nothing was going on,” said Song. After a number of hotels, restaurants and coffee houses opened in the area, “it naturally organically developed… in Vienna they say it’s ‘hipstery’. It’s a quite lively street now.”

But Atelier Song is still the neighbourhood’s only boutique, and it’s perhaps the edgiest in the entire city. Song sells her own designs as well as items from avantgarde designers “on the borderline between art and fashion”; each item exclusively available at her shop. “We have so many things,” she said. “Glassware, perfume, beautiful candles, handmade gloves, cashmere throws, ceramics… I feel like I’m showing my private taste. It’s an extension of my private space.”

That taste is aggressively anti-trend yet luxe, like designs by British shoe and clothing designer Paul Harnden. “He handmakes [everything],” said Song. “Everything is woven for him using the old machines. And that’s why his pieces are expensive, durable and timeless.”

David Ryan/Alamy

This 200 year-old artisanal Austrian crystal glassmaker collaborates with contemporary artists to create one-of-a-kind pieces (Credit: David Ryan/Alamy)

3. Best for homewares: Innenstadt (1st district)

Austria is world-famous for its crystal glassware, like the dazzling offerings from J & J Lobmeyr on Innenstadt’s Kärntner Strasse. “This is very Viennese,” said Song, who has collaborated with the glassmaker to produce Champagne glasses. “If you go inside, there are amazing collections of the glasses they make. It’s almost like a museum. There are so many famous architects and designers who have collaborated with them.” Founded in Vienna in 1823, Lobmeyr produces chandeliers, stemware and decorative pieces – all mouthblown and cut, engraved and polished by hand.

For artisanal linens, Song recommends Zur Schwäbischen Jungfrau on the Graben shopping street. “They are famous for tablecloths,” said Song. “Bed sheets and that kind of thing. [It’s a] very old-fashioned shop, using the best of the best quality.”

RENATO VALTERZA/Alamy

Song is active in Vienna’s art scene, including its hip, young art galleries (Credit: RENATO VALTERZA/Alamy)

4. Best for contemporary art: Neubau, Landstrasse and Mariahilf (7th, 3rd, and 6th districts)

Home to Vienna Secession and Art Nouveau architecture, Vienna is practically synonymous with high art. Song – who has an art degree and studied graphic design at Vienna’s Academy of Fine Arts – is very active in the city’s rich art scene. She loves visiting the Kunsthistorisches Museum and the MQ Libelle event space on the Leopold Museum rooftop. “Tourists don’t know about [MQ Libelle]” said Song. “There is the most beautiful view in Vienna. You can see all the buildings and then there is a beautiful bar. If I go up there, I feel like I’m on holiday.”

She advises then going down to the Leopold Museum for the contemporary art shows. “There are many complexes inside… you can spend the whole day there. [Inside] there’s Café Leopold, a very nice modern restaurant designed by a Chinese Austrian artist named Jun Yang,” said Song, who is also an architecture enthusiast. “And then of course there’s Loos [American] Bar designed by Adolf Loos.”

Song’s go-to galleries for those wishing to purchase art are the Hubert Winter in Neubau, Vin Vin in Landstrasse and Commune Gallery in Mariahilf. “And then there is also a gallery called Gianni Manhattan [Landstrasse],” said Song. “All these young galleries are quite nice. They present the younger artists. They’re not like, you know, already famous. They find this top talent who they want to work in the field.”

Hackenberg-Photo-Cologne/Alamy

Of Vienna’s many beautiful Christmas markets, the Spittelberg Christmas Market is small and intimate with curated goods (Credit: Hackenberg-Photo-Cologne/Alamy)

5. Best for street markets: Wieden and Neubau (4th and 7th districts)

Vienna is also known for its bustling street markets, where you can find everything from fresh produce to clothing to vintage silver. Song feels that many of them have become commercial – “and expensive” – but Naschmarkt in Wieden, Vienna’s 4th district, retains its traditional charm. This colourful people watcher’s paradise originally sold just fruit and vegetables but is now home to all manners of artisanal craft and food vendors. “You have to go early,” Song advised. “Seven-thirty, eight o’clock in the morning.”

Vienna is particularly famous for its weihnachtsmarkt (Christmas markets) that transform the city’s squares into fairy-lighted wonderlands where wooden kiosks sell artisanal wares and treats like glühwein (mulled wine) and kartoffelpuffer (potato pancakes). “You drink punch on the street,” said Song. “You meet friends.” Vienna’s most famous weihnachtsmarkt include Viennese Dream Christmas Market in front of the City Hall and the Christmas Village at Belvedere Palace. Song’s favourite is the Spittelberg Christmas Market in the Neubau 7th district, behind Museumsquartier. “This is a very nice street,” said Song, of the Spittelberg neighbourhood’s cobblestoned lanes. “[The market] is smaller scale. It’s really nice.”

Thomas Kronsteiner / Getty

A few of Song’s favourite artisanal picks, like Altmann & Kühne, are on Vienna’s tony Graben shopping street (Credit: Thomas Kronsteiner / Getty)

6. Best for sweet treats: Innenstadt (1st district)

No visit to Vienna is complete without a thorough sampling of its decadent artisanal baked goods and chocolates. “There’s a very good [bakery] here,” said Song. “Joseph Brot. He’s hardworking, very soulful and very modern thinking.” This popular bakery and patisserie has several locations throughout Vienna and uses 100% organic ingredients from Austrian farms in its products, like the organic perennial rye bread with summer apples, or their stunningly crafted pastries. “He has the best of the best milk products and best jams and olive oils,” said Song. “You can buy really high-quality stuff and the sourdough bread is amazing. Honest, honest bread.”

For chocolates, Song heads straight to Altmann & Kühne on Graben. “It’s beautiful,” she said of the historic chocolatier. “It’s an original Viennese manufacturer, everything handmade.” The shop is also famous for its iconic chocolate boxes, especially at Christmastime when they produce a variety of limited-edition wrappings. “After you eat the chocolate, you can use the box for your jewellery. This is always the present I give friends. Everybody loves it,” said Song. “[The shop] is tiny. I’m always afraid that this kind of space will be destroyed [and] replaced by a big store. I hope they stay.”

BBC Travel’s The SpeciaList is a series of guides to popular and emerging destinations around the world, as seen through the eyes of local experts and tastemakers.

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The Didarganj Figurine: A Yakshi or a Ganika?

Dec 3, 2023 By Admin in Sculpture

Could we be wrong about the identity of this celebrated stone sculpture from ancient India?

Western Minnesota photographer captures image for 2024 state park permit sticker

Dec 3, 2023 By Admin in Photography

ORTONVILLE

— It’s one of western Minnesota’s most popular destinations for anglers, the birthplace of the

Minnesota River

, and it is appreciated by many for the beauty of its prairie and woodlands nestled along the waters of Big Stone Lake.

Big Stone Lake State Park

will be known by many more this coming year, as it is the park chosen to be featured on the annual state park permit sticker available at the start of 2024.

Fittingly, the image that will celebrate the park was captured by a passionate nature photographer who knows this park intimately. Since moving to a home in rural

Big Stone County

just a few miles from the park in 2013, photographer John White has been visiting the park two and three times a week, camera in hand.

He had only an instant to capture the image of a variegated meadowhawk dragonfly atop the seeded head of bluestem prairie grass that is now the featured image for the new sticker.

It was taken at day’s end, and White said he was taking advantage of the ambient light found at sunset. “I was ambling through and taking pictures of other stuff when I happened to see right in front of me on a piece of big bluestem where a dragonfly had landed,” said White.

When he doesn't have a camera in his hands, John White has a fly rod or as in this case, a stringer of fish. — When he doesn’t have a camera in his hands, John White has a fly rod, or as in this case, a stringer of fish.

Retired from a 55-year career as a photojournalist, White said he was still “trained” as one.

“When you see something happen in front of you, you automatically react. That’s what I did for that,” he explained.

The image spoke to the very essence of the prairie, according to White. The bluestem grass and the ambient mix of purple and red coloring in the sky all said “prairie.” So did the chosen dragonfly. Variegated meadowhawks favor prairie areas and rely on clean water for their early life development.

It was one of several images he submitted to the

Minnesota Department of Natural Resources

in St. Paul for consideration as the image for this year’s sticker. Terri Dinesen, manager for the

Big Stone Lake

and

Lac qui Parle

state parks, said she had been asked by staff in the department’s St. Paul office if she knew of anyone with photographs that could speak to the beauty of the Big Stone park.

“Who better to have photos than John,” she said was her immediate thought.

Photos he has: He has been a featured artist in the

Upper Minnesota River Valley Arts Crawl

, or Meander, since 2014 and known for his nature photographs, which he also features in his online blog,

Listening Stones Farm

White

, who recently turned 80, has enjoyed nature photography throughout his life. His journalism career included stints at major daily newspapers in Colorado, Wisconsin and Iowa, which allowed him to explore the beauty of wild lands from the Rocky Mountains to the Mississippi River blufflands.

Capturing images of the western Minnesota prairie — or what remains of it — has been his passion ever since 1997. Before retiring in 2012, White served for 20 years as the editor of the

Clara City Herald

in Chippewa County. As the 1997 flood raged along the Minnesota River, John Donner, a pilot and fire chief in Clara City at the time, invited White to join him for a flight over the flooded landscape.

The new state park sticker celebrating Big Stone Lake State Park will be available at the start of the new year. The image was captured by John White. — The new Minnesota state park sticker celebrating Big Stone Lake State Park will be available at the start of the new year. The image was captured by John White.

White said he looked down from the plane and saw what looked like lakes all over the place. Asked what he was looking at, his host told him the flood had temporarily brought back all of the wetlands that once covered the landscape, but have been drained for agriculture.

He realized that with something like 99 percent of our wetlands drained and a like percentage of the prairie plowed, the prairie pothole landscape has become “an extinct environment.”

Now that he is retired, he has focused his attention on capturing photographs of the prairie and wetlands that remain.

It takes him to many locations, but the Big Stone Lake State Park is among his favorites. It reminds him of his other favorite state park, the

Upper Sioux Agency State Park

. He appreciates the beauty found in the joining of river woodlands, and river bluff and prairie lands.

He said he is honored to provide a photograph that helps make others aware of the beauty found at the Big Stone Lake State Park. “(I’m) so happy that it’s getting this recognition because it’s a neat state park,” he said.

This is among the photos John White submitted for consideration for the Big Stone Lake State Park permit image. This view of Big Stone Lake from the state park features the ambient colors found over the western Minnesota landscape at sunset.

By
Tom Cherveny

Tom Cherveny is a regional and outdoors reporter for the West Central Tribune.
He has been a reporter with the West Central Tribune since 1993.

Cherveny can be reached via email at tcherveny@wctrib.com or by phone at 320-214-4335.

Lack of photography coverage at women’s sporting events shows imbalance

Dec 3, 2023 By Admin in Photography

Ann Houlahan

Dec. 3, 2023 6:00 am

I was scanning the sports section of the Gazette on Monday, Nov. 27, to get the results of Iowa Hawkeye women in tournament game the previous night. It was in sideline. No photo. Actually there were 13 photos in the sports section and not one of women athletes. Huge splashes for Iowa football, Iowa wrestling and high school basketball. On Saturday there were 15 photos, all male except on page 6, a high school bowler, and page 5, a high school girls’ basketball photo.

Are there no photographers at women’s events? How are we ever going to even the playing field if we rarely get the photo ops?

Ann Houlahan

Coralville

Opinion content represents the viewpoint of the author or The Gazette editorial board. You can join the conversation by submitting a letter to the editor or guest column or by suggesting a topic for an editorial to editorial@thegazette.com

Art Basel Miami Beach 2023: Spectacular Sculptures

Dec 3, 2023 By Admin in Sculpture

Three-dimensional works by Kohei Nawa, Lynda Benglis, and Thomas Schütte are among the highlights of this year’s fair.

Jaina Cipriano is the Best Thing Since Gregory Crewdson

Dec 3, 2023 By Admin in Photography

I grew up in a fundamentalist Christian cult and was kept separate from the world (both physically and emotionally),” is how photographer Jaina Cipriano starts her interview with the Phoblographer. Truly, this will help define a lot of things with her. “Looking through the viewfinder was a way to embrace that separation and make it work for me. Through human to lens connection, I was able to begin reintegrating myself in the world.” For Jaina, the camera became a powerful tool and instilled in her a sense of purpose.

All images by Jaina Cipriano. Used with permission. Please follow her work on Instagram and at her website.

“I am mapping the darkness of my psyche, illuminating new areas and eliminating fear.”

Jaina Cipriano

How Jaina Cipriano Got Into Photography

Jaina recalls shooting photographs since she was old enough to hold a camera. As a young child, she would steal her parents’ Polaroid film. Then, when she got into her 20s, she thought she would get into documentary photography. “I believed that in order to be a real photographer, I was not allowed to interact beyond the viewfinder,” she tells us. “That changed when I felt I ran out of things to photograph – I began staging parties to document, and I fell in love with the process of creating physical worlds.” That skillset transitioned into working in film and building movie sets.

Her work takes influence from Gregory Crewdson, Justine Gurland, Ryan McGinley, Dave LaChapelle, Cindy Sherman, and Nan Goldin. Each of them approaches photography differently, but they all strive for emotional intensity and fabricated spaces that thrill Jaina. “I am inspired when an image feels realer than reality – as if we’re looking through someone, into their own emotional landscape,” she tells us. “Creating art in this way connects people, reminds them they are never alone in the intensity of their emotions. That is something I needed when I was younger – and often still do.” She continues on about the idea of world-building in her photographs.

It is a way of changing my internal narrative. When things are not going the way I want them to in my real life, I can use photography as a little bit of psychomagic. It is a safe space for me to open up, be present and trust the process. It is practicing a life philosophy on a macro level, almost, a trial run if I feel too fragile to apply it to my real life.

When I am doing a self portrait, for example, I follow my instincts, often ending up messy and exhausted. But that is the transformation – I feel different than I did when I started. It does not end there though, the image must be shared. The audience is important – once I am witnessed, the transformation is solidified. It is a way towards change.

Jaina Cipriano

To shoot her photographs these days, Jaina uses a Nikon D850 and a 24-70mm lens. While she’s got a handful of prime lenses, she tells the Phoblographer that she never uses them. Jaina even adds diffusion filters and Aputure’s LED lights. “Artificial light is my love,” she tells us. “Light tells most of the story in a photo – and I enjoy being able to control it as much as possible. I want my work to feel theatrical, powerful, almost threatening.” In plain terms, Jaina finds that tough to do with natural lighting.

When we lay our eyes on her photographs, it all seems to come together. She chooses simplicity with her camera gear and instead works to get the shot through set building and all. What’s even more amazing, Jaina originally pitched us with the idea that she doesn’t use Photoshop as part of our long-standing No Photoshop series. Indeed, Jaina doesn’t use Photoshop but does minor Lightroom editing to add drama. She sometimes even builds the walls by hand. By all means, she isn’t killing it — whatever it is drops dead in front of her.

Defining Her Creative Vision

Of course, considering her background, we’re sure that it has something to do with her work. As the editor-in-chief of this website, a story that I often share is that I built Phoblographer to escape an incredibly toxic household. That was over a decade ago — but I’m still uncovering my mother’s curse in various ways. Though it isn’t on the same level as Jaina, we can all relate to the need to escape.

In Jaina’s case, she grew up in a family with a silent mental illness that was cocooned inside of a cult. These left her feeling unreal. “And the solid parts of myself that I have easy access to are painful – obsessive thoughts, global anxiety, and phobias,” she shares with us. But by creating these images, she is put into new pockets of her mind so she can get in touch with who she is without being influenced by her past.

“I am exploring the emotional toll of religious and romantic entrapment,” says Jaina about her work. The cult kept her in what she describes as a vacuum without human interaction. Because of this, she played pretend a lot. “My worlds communicate with our neglected inner child and are informed by explosive colors, elements of elevated play and the push/pull of light and dark.” She channels this energy into filmmaking — some of which have won awards. All of them tackle the idea of healing.

I am following my instincts and listening to quiet voices inside of me.

Jaina Cipriano

With a deep love for creative problem solving, this self-taught photographer sort of blends the idea of documentary and creating. “I take an immersive approach to working with models, working like a documentary photographer as her subject is let loose in a strange space designed just for them,” she shares with us. “Working with me is often described as cathartic and playful.” In this way, she blends both worlds together.

More specifically, she doesn’t step onto a shoot with a preconceived notion. Instead, she’s present — and Jaina likes to explore how these sets affect her and her models.

The photographs in this article are from a series called “Domestic Terror/Bliss. Jaina describes them as “an exploration of the lost self utilizing set design and self-portraiture.” More importantly, she describes it as a way to communicate with a part of herself that doesn’t know how to speak up. Part of that comes from her upbringing — and how she channels it is the fruit that we all delight in when we see her work, including Jaina. As Jauna evolves as a person and an artist, we’re curious to see how her work changes too.