Sisters photographer exhibits at Sisters Library

Lynn Woodward's current photographic display, titled "Rusting Nostalgic," in the computer room at the Sisters Library is an exhibit that warrants both time and thought to fully engage with each photograph and the questions it raises.

Lynn has a keen eye, probing curiosity and deep empathy that come through in her work. Rusting Nostalgic prompts the observer to ask, "What lives on, what rusts away, in front of the camera and in our memories and hearts?"

The photographs represent many different locations shot over a wide span of years. Lynn sees her photos as a link to the past, the synapse between memory and connection. The exhibit goes through the end of December.

Portraiture is her favorite genre of photography and she enjoys creating the image together with her subject. She hopes to connect people to what they love inside themselves. Lynn views photography as being equally about the process and the product. Most of her photos are shot using digital equipment.

Lynn is often seen around town with her camera capturing portraits and events for The Nugget, the Sisters Folk Festival, and the annual Sisters Oregon Guide. Her editorial and news coverage photos have appeared in the Bend Bulletin as well as a number of national magazines. Woodward is also a member of the local folk music group The Anvil Blasters. Additionally, she has a Web design business where her goal is to intuitively create visuals that match the customer's intent for their business.

This past summer Lynn participated in Dayshoot 30, a one-day effort by hundreds of photographers across the state to capture a day in the life of Oregonians. This was the 30th anniversary of the original Project Dayshoot in 1983. One of the images in the library show, taken that day from a small plane, captures a dilapidated homestead with its small water-pump windmill, set against a background filled with shiny modern-day wind turbines. With that photo Lynn asks the question, "What lives on and what fades away and why?"

Another of her photos represents honoring and keeping alive beneficial traditions. Woodward's own history is as diverse and interesting as her photos. Growing up in Maryland and Georgia, the daughter and sister of professional photographers, Lynn chose to come west for college, receiving a bachelor's in biology from Colorado College. Following school she was a guide in New Mexico for 12 years, packed mules in Yosemite and the High Sierras, and worked a variety of jobs from teaching rock climbing to framing art to working in a deli and a vet's office. She also hung her hat in Massachusetts, California and Montana for a time.

Her many moves and trips with only a backpack and/or duffel bag prompted Lynn to question how much and what we really need to live. She likes to live simply, believing the materialism of our culture is causing people to look at their world with a jaded eye. She is hopeful as she sees some turning away from materialism and toward the earth and relationships.

In 2000, Lynn moved to a small cabin on the Deschutes River east of Sisters. In 2005 she was literally swept off her feet by Pete Rathbun, operations manager and technical guru for the Sisters Folk Festival. Lynn's mother, Ann Kendall, also now resides in Sisters.

Looking down the road, Lynn is contemplating a photography project that will focus on small and large-scale patterns, like the lines of rivers and the lines on an individual hand. To see more of Lynn's work visit her website, http://www.WoodwardCreative.com.

One of the shows where Lynn's work has hung is the annual Friends of the Sisters Library Art Exhibit, which will be held this winter from January 8 through February 26. Art submission day is Monday, January 6, 2014. Artists wishing to participate are encouraged to pick up registration materials and details at the library.