Barb Morrison Portrait by Kelly Starbuck in THE NEW YORK TIMES

News |

May 21, 2015

Barb Morrison Portrait by Kelly Starbuck in THE NEW YORK TIMES

THE NEW YORK TIMES: The Opinion Pages

Transgender Today

barb morrison
record producer from Frenchtown, N.J.

one of my earliest memories was pre kindergarten around the second or third day of school. i had successfully slid under the radar so i could play cool stuff like trucks and monsters with the boys. the girls were playing kitchen and dolls. no thanks.

after banging a dump truck into one of the boys knees he stood up, pointed at me and, to my horror, yelled “YOU CAN’T PLAY WITH US ! YOU’RE A GIRL !”

his voice seemed to echo from the depths of the grand canyon and into the universe broadcasting to all 7 billion pairs of ears on the planet. i volunteered to stand in the corner, not because a teacher told me to, but because of my own shame about what trans people call “being read”. after what seemed like a lifetime my teacher spotted me and gently convinced me to sit at the art table with the other outcasts. i drew a picture of a bird in a cage and glued on pieces of yarn as the bars of the cage.

as a teen the best choice was androgyny through punk rock and goth. after all, it was the 80s. that’s what we did.

i was best understood without words, but with sounds. i became a lifelong musician.

in my early 20s i tried to be a lesbian but it never felt right because i didn’t truly identify as female. i didn’t feel like transitioning was the way to go either since i didn’t fully feel male.

i started to understand that my gender was fluid, the same way music was. not buying into the binary was such a relief.

i’ve been a record producer for the last 15 years and i’m so honored when i get to help trans people tell their stories through music. these stories can be a matter of life and death to certain listeners.

i’m watching the world change towards trans people. i’m grateful to be old enough to know the struggle and young enough to experience the breakthroughs the community has made.

i’m happily married to a beautiful person who really understands me and at the end of the day isn’t that all anyone wants ? : to be deeply understood ? to have someone “get you” ? i don’t think that’s even a transgender thing. i think that’s just a human thing.

This story originally featured in THE NEW YORK TIMES on May 20th, 2015 as a part of the ongoing series Transgender Lives: Your Stories — As part of a series of editorials about transgender experiences, we are featuring personal stories that reflect the strength, diversity and challenges of the community.

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KELLY STARBUCK Photography
Wilmington, NC 28401
http://s966950369.onlinehome.us
910 367 5720

Photographer, Owner, Curator: Kelly Starbuck

Editorial, News |

March 25, 2015

| Kelly Starbuck

Heroes in Heels, photos by Kelly Starbuck in Lumina News

Photographed in February when the weather was at it’s coldest this winter – these Heroes were troopers to get out outside AND to put on glittery, teal heels to raise money for Coastal Horizon’s Rape Crisis Center. It was a wonderful experience meeting and photographing four of the twelve heroes: Matt Monroe, Chip Munna, Lance Oehrlein and Hal Campbell!

Harry Taylor, current exhibiting photographer at SALT Studio Photography and Brownie Harris also created portraits of Heroes in Heels.

To the Heroes, Coastal Horizons and everyone who contributed their time and donations – THANKS for supporting a worthwhile cause!

:)Kelly

Supplied photo by Kelly Starbuck of SALT Studio Photography, www.SaltStudioNC.com

Hobbling in heels

By Miriah Hamrick on March 18, 2015 – 5:29 pm Lifestyles

Wrightsville Beach Police Department Investigator Matt Monroe’s coworkers could not pass up the opportunity for a photo shoot when Monroe sported a pair of sparkly teal heels at the Wrightsville Beach Public Safety Building one cold winter day. Monroe is waiting for the day when the photos they snapped with their cell phones resurface.

“I knew that I would receive a bit of people laughing and taking pictures on the side, and that’s fine,” Monroe said. “I’m sure it will come up again in the future.”

Monroe is one of a dozen local men who donned teal heels, the color of sexual assault awareness, for a photo shoot with one of four local photographers. After the pictures were posted online March 9, the men began spreading the word through social media, asking family, friends, and friends of friends to cast a vote, at a minimum cost of $10, in his name for the 2015 Heroes in Heels campaign, organized by the Rape Crisis Center (RCC) of Coastal Horizons Center.

Like his coworkers, Monroe said he laughed a little when the idea was first pitched to him, but he instantly knew he would accept the invitation to participate.

“I have a lot of respect for the Rape Crisis Center and the people who work there, and I definitely believe in what they’re doing. I wanted to help out any way that I could,” Monroe said.

While serving as a new spin on the Walk A Mile In Her Shoes fundraisers the center has organized in the past, the campaign also provides a more accessible way for the community to engage with the center’s mission, explained Jamie Thompson, Coastal Horizons Center development director.

“It can be difficult to start a conversation about the work we do, but this is a unique way to start learning a little bit about the work done here in town for survivors of sexual violence,” Thompson said. “We’re shaking it up. You’re not used to seeing a man wearing high heels, and that’s why I think it’s such a great way to start the conversation. You see that picture of Matt Monroe, and he’s a tall, in-shape guy with his badge and gun, and there he is wearing sparkly teal heels. When you click on his bio, you see the incredible work he’s doing to catch these perpetrators of sexual violence and support survivors through that process.”

The campaign shows a network of people throughout the community who work together to help victims of sexual assault in hospitals and counseling centers, at crime scenes and in courtrooms.

“We wanted to highlight the work they do, because you don’t always hear about it. But we have these amazing heroes and this team at RCC who are working to support survivors, to prosecute perpetrators and ultimately eradicate sexual violence and the things that cause it,” Thompson said.

The photos were fun and informative to create for those behind the scenes as well.

“I definitely have a newfound respect for anyone who wears heels,” Monroe said.

After traveling to Wrightsville Beach and posing with his surfboard on the walkway at Public Beach Access No. 4 for his picture, Lance Oehrlein, assistant district attorney who prosecutes all sexual crime cases in New Hanover County, squeezed in some time on the water.

“It gave me an excuse to go to the beach in the middle of February, and the waves were good that day, so I ended up going surfing after the photo shoot,” Oehrlein said.

Oehrlein, who raised more $1,000 during the first week his photo was online but claims he is “definitely not a social media butterfly,” said he is happy to help raise awareness of sexual assault within and beyond the local community.

“I’m getting texts and emails and Facebook posts from people that I know from all over the world, and I’m getting comments from people I don’t even know. It’s really cool. They’re not all donating, which is fine, because even if they don’t donate, it raises awareness for a good cause,” Oehrlein said.

Voting, which raised more than $6,000 in its first week, continues through March 26, when the winner will be crowned and caped during a 5 p.m. rally at Riverfront Park in downtown Wilmington.

To see the photos and vote for the 2015 RCC Hero in Heels, visit www.crowdrise.com/heroesinheels/

email miriah@luminanews.com

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SALT Studio Photography
805 N 4th Street
Wilmington, NC 28401
http://saltstudionc.com
910 367 5720

Photographer, Owner, Curator: Kelly Starbuck

Now showing:
HARRY TAYLOR “Requiem: Views from the Cape Fear” Photography Exhibition
Exhibition through April 17, 2015.

art, Art gallery, Family and Children Portraits, News |

March 4, 2015

| Kelly Starbuck

Harry Taylor “Requiem” & Tintype Portait Day in Encore Magazine

Capturing a Bygone Era: Harry Taylor showcases Civil War re-enactment photos at SALT

Mar 3 • Art, ARTSY SMARTSY, FEATURE BOTTOM

Over the last few decades, our society has embraced the Digital Revolution, so much to the point that most of the U.S. population consists of avid cell phone and Internet users. One may argue that in our modern world, film is dead. Photographer Harry Taylor, however, will prove otherwise when he shows Wilmington the beauty of traditional film photography during his upcoming exhibit, “Requiem: Views from the Cape Fear.”

recreating an era

It is well-known that the Port City is rich in history, but Taylor’s photography gives viewers a tangible, in-depth look into what life was like along the Cape Fear River during the Civil War. Living historians act as models for Taylor as he recreates the aesthetic of the culture during the 1860s.

“I have always been interested in history, but the Civil War era is definitely the most interesting to me,” Taylor says. “I can’t imagine what it would be like to live with the politics of that era.”

Taylor achieves his photography through a process called wet-plate collodion—the primary process used for creating photographs during the Civil War era. Taylor has been working in the medium for nearly a decade. The method is much more complex than the simple snap of a button as used on digital cameras. For starters, an 8-by-10 box camera with a hood is required, as well as a dark room, complete with several chemicals. A glass plate is coated with collodion, a mixture of raw cotton treated with nitric and sulfuric acids that has been dissolved in ether and alcohol, usually with a touch of bromide. The glass plate is then moved to the dark room to be dipped in a solution of silver nitrate, which binds the bromide to create a light-sensitive, silver-halide coating. Once the plate is placed into the camera and the lens is removed, light enters the camera, striking the collodion. It takes approximately 10 to 20 seconds or more of exposure to take an ideal picture.

“There’s something different about holding still for a 10- to 20-second exposure,” Taylor explains. “More of their thoughts come through, and there is more depth.”

Immediately after the shot, the plate needs to be taken back into the dark room to develop. A solution of sulfate and acetic acid is poured over the plate so that the grains struck by the light will smooth into a metallic silver. The plate is then rinsed, taken out of the dark room and varnished. “Watching an image emerge from a solution is the most primal experience in photography,” Taylor states.

For “Requiem,” Taylor will be using prints from a previous display called “Glass House.” He displayed the wet collodion plates in “Glass House” in a greenhouse. Those who entered could view the photos through the walls; it was more of an installation project, creating a unique visual experience. The Cameron Art Museum actually owns this collection today.

“It was difficult to make out all of the details in the photos of the Glass House,” Taylor says. “I have pulled a select few prints from that display. This time the pictures will be clearer, and the mood won’t be quite as mysterious.”

Taylor created about 300 wet plates in four months. Because of the method’s many vital steps, only 10 pictures a day can be created. Taylor gets a lot of help from other living historians, who re-enact specific stories from the past, such as of confederate spy Rose O’Neal Greenhow. Serving as a female blockade runner, Greenhow’s rowboat actually turned over in the Cape Fear River, while she was escaping a Union ship. Due to her wearing a dress laden with gold items, Greenhow drowned in the Cape Fear River. Taylor recreated this scene.

“A lot of people who help me by posing for these photographs will come dressed in clothing from the 19th century,” he says. “You never really know what someone will decide to do, but all of the Civil War re-enactors take their work very seriously. Most of them make their materials for this hobby themselves.”

While SALT Studio will feature archival photos of Requiem, new creations will be displayed as well. The featured prints will range in size from 16-by-20 inches to 40-by-60 inches and will be affordably priced for both new and experienced collectors of fine art.

Those who are interested in having a wet-plate collodion photo made for themselves also can attend Taylor’s upcoming event on March 8, American Tintype (another term for the collodion process). SALT Studios will host it and guests can pay to have one-of-a-kind portraits made by Taylor in his signature method. Portraits start at $80. Details below.

“Requiem: Views from the Cape Fear” will hang until April 17, Monday through Friday, from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m., and on Saturday by appointment only.

DETAILS:

Requiem: Views from the Cape Fear

Work by Harry Taylor
Hangs through April 17

American Tintype

EVENT: Tintype portraits created by Harry Taylor
Sunday, March 8th
10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Portraits start at $80

Click HERE to make your reservation!
Or call 910.367.5720 and Kelly will help you get a spot confirmed.

+++

SALT Studio Photography
805 N 4th Street
Wilmington, NC 28401
http://saltstudionc.com
910 367 5720

Photographer, Owner, Curator: Kelly Starbuck

Monday – Friday 12:00pm – 5:00pm
Saturday by appointment

SALT Studio is a working photography studio and business. Please call ahead (910.367.5720) to confirm the gallery is open and that we are not on location for a photo shoot. Appointments welcome!

art, Art gallery, News |

February 25, 2015

| Kelly Starbuck

Harry Taylor “Requiem: Views from the Cape Fear” Exhibition in the Star News

The WAE

Fourth Friday: Harry Taylor’s latest installment of river-inspired photographs

Wednesday, February 25, 2015 at 9:55 by Justin Lacy

For a while now, local photographer Harry Taylor has looked to the rich history stretching the banks of the Cape Fear River as a muse for his photography. In 2012, Taylor presented “Rio Jordan,” his 621N4TH solo exhibition featuring portraits and landscapes inspired by the culture and terrain of the Cape Fear region. Last year, Taylor followed up by installing a greenhouse at the Cameron Art Museum made entirely from glass plate negatives depicting local civil war history, much of which revolved around the river.

This Fourth Friday, the Gallery at SALT Studio, 805 N. Fourth St., presents “Requiem: Views from the Cape Fear,” the latest chapter in Taylor’s ongoing series covering the Cape Fear. Taylor will debut new tintype photography created in the antiquated nineteenth-century process of wet plate collodion, as well as large-scale archival prints.

The solo exhibition opens with a public reception 6 to 9 p.m. Feb. 27, in coordination with Fourth Friday Gallery Nights, a monthly self-guided art crawl throughout downtown Wilmington’s art studios and galleries organized by the Arts Council of Wilmington and New Hanover County.

“Requiem” hangs through April 17.

+++

HARRY TAYLOR “Requiem: Views from the Cape Fear” Photography Exhibition
Exhibition through April 17, 2015.

SALT Studio Photography
805 N 4th Street
Wilmington, NC 28401
http://saltstudionc.com
910 367 5720

Photographer, Owner, Curator: Kelly Starbuck

Monday – Friday 12:00pm – 5:00pm
Saturday by appointment

SALT Studio is a working photography studio and business. Please call ahead (910.367.5720) to confirm the gallery is open and that we are not on location for a photo shoot. Appointments welcome!

art, Art gallery, Editorial, Headshots, News |

January 28, 2015

| Kelly Starbuck

Kelly Starbuck “SALT Studio: Year 1” Photography Exhibition in Encore Magazine

PHOTOGRAPHIC REFLECTIONS: KELLY STARBUCK’S NEW EXHIBIT LOOKS BACK AT SALT STUDIO’S FIRST YEAR

Jan 27 • Art, ARTSY SMARTSY, FEATURE MAIN

What’s in an image? It’s a quandary every photographer must ask herself. For local photographer Kelly Starbuck, nostalgia and family (of any degree) have emerged as recurring themes in her work. Turn back the hands of time to one year ago, and she unveiled not only her fresh, new photography studio and gallery, SALT (805 North 4th Street), she also debuted her exhibit “Family Shrine.” The fine-art photo series captured her longing for home (Starbuck is a Wilmington native and graduate of New Hanover High School) while she lived and worked in NYC.

Now, 12 months into business, Starbuck’s work has come full circle. She has premiered a new series, dubbed “SALT STUDIO: Year One,” just last Friday—to a turnout of 100-plus people. The collection celebrates her first year in operation and even harkens back to her NYC days.

Starbuck’s love of photography began at an early age. A visually geared mind, combined with her grandfather’s propensity for being a “shutterbug,” led her to make an interesting request on her Christmas list at age 10: a Polaroid camera.

“All of the film was used up by lunch,” Starbuck says with a laugh. “I had various cameras and took snapshots throughout life as a passion, but didn’t really consider photography as a profession until I realized that if I didn’t make a go of it, I would regret it later in life.”

After working as a corporate events producer, Starbuck made the transition to the photo industry in 2003. Her first job was as a studio manager for Fernando Bengoechea. It wasn’t long before she also began working as a teaching assistant at the International Center of Photography.

Having worked in the industry for over 10 years and moving back to Wilmington in 2009, SALT Studio truly has become Starbuck’s home. “I was ready for my photography business to move to another level and to have a studio where I could offer clients the option of studio- or location-based photography services,” Starbuck details. “When I found the space, it easily lent itself to have a small gallery, and I always wanted to curate photography shows. So it was a perfect fit. The first year has been great and I have learned a lot.”

Starbuck beams over her accomplishments: SALT Studio has hosted the likes of husband-and-wife duo Scott Irvine and Kim Meinelt for their “Waxenvine” exhibit (Irvine is even depicted in a New York-minded photo from “SALT STUDIO: Year One.” The “Secrets & Lies” production team bought the prints for set decoration. As well, SALT has hosted international photographer Leeta Harding.

“Probably the biggest name was Christopher Rauschenberg, son of famed painter Robert Rauschenberg,” Starbuck comments. “His ‘Studio’ exhibition was a great draw for artists of all mediums.”

The real standout from SALT has been the sense of community that’s blossomed. More so, Starbuck’s evolution as a photographer, is evident in “SALT STUDIO: Year One.” “Mostly, [it’s] the theme of relationships,” she says. “My artist, musician and actor portraits was the biggie. These were ideas I had for a while and finally pushed myself to work on this body of images. Many of these people are great friends, and the feeling I got after putting that wall of images up was, ‘Wow! I love having these awesome people here with me (many live in NYC) and I don’t want to take this wall down in a month because I will miss them.’”

Starbuck’s work covers an array of editorial, commercial, private client, portrait and fine-art photography (“Bokeh Nights”) that she has amassed since conceptualizing SALT. With each photo she passes, she exudes a distinct sense of familial love. She can recall how she knows each person, their story and even how the depicted individuals know each other.

One of her favorites is a portrait of artist Dan Witz, who has showcased his photo realism internationally and was the cover artist for this month’s Juxtapoz Magazine. It comes as part of a collection that features artists in their workspace.

“I love how he is nestled between his paint brushes and a large-scale painting he created for his ‘NY Hardcore’ exhibition,” Starbuck describes of the Brooklyn-based painter.

The show also boasts a sweaty, hard-rocking image of pop-rock band GROUPLOVE that she took after a concert they performed at the Cat’s Cradle in Chapel Hill. She’s known the band members since her time in New York. “Bokeh Nights” fine-art photography collection also reminisces of her New York days. Comprising blurred neon lights that epitomize the larger-than-life brightness of the city, the photographs were captured locally through light reflected off the Cape Fear River and the USS Battleship when it was lit over Christmas.

Her editorial work consists of photos taken for Wilmington and Focus on the Coast magazines in 2014. “My favorite has to be the fashion cover shoot I did for Focus on the Coast,” Starbuck says.

The story examined three pairs of jeans that could be worn both uptown and downtown. The cover image, which features Kelly Tada, was shot with natural lighting to add accent to the minimal cement wall behind her. “She just looks awesome!” Starbuck adds.

A series of black-and-white photos Starbuck did for Oliver Earney’s CPA firm, as part of an interior-design project, are also on display. “One of my favorites is a group of trees at Fort Fisher. The trees don’t look like they are here at all—more like Africa,” Starbuck says.

DETAILS:

SALT STUDIO: Year One

Photography by Kelly Starbuck
SALT Studio, 805 North 4th St.
On display through February 23
www.saltstudionc.com

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KELLY STARBUCK “SALT Studio: Year 1” Photography Exhibition
The show hangs through Feb 23, 2015.

SALT Studio Photography
805 N 4th Street
Wilmington, NC 28401
http://saltstudionc.com
910 367 5720

Photographer, Owner, Curator: Kelly Starbuck

Monday – Friday 12:00pm – 5:00pm
Saturday & Sunday by appointment
SALT Studio is a working photography studio and business. Please call ahead (910.367.5720) to confirm the gallery is open and that we are not on location for a photo shoot. Appointments welcome!

art, Art gallery, Editorial, News |

January 22, 2015

| Kelly Starbuck

Kelly Starbuck “SALT Studio: Year 1” Photo Exhibition in the Star News

SALT Studio owner turns eye on own photos

A series of abstract nighttime images is one of several styles featured in Kelly Starbuck’s exhibition “SALT Studio: Year 1.” Photo by Kelly Starbuck

By Justin Lacy
StarNews Correspondent

Published: Wednesday, January 21, 2015 at 9:06 a.m.
Last Modified: Wednesday, January 21, 2015 at 9:06 a.m.

In December of 2013, the Gallery at SALT Studio set up shop at 805 N. Fourth St. with the ambition of introducing Wilmington to the photography of local, regional, national and international artists as the area’s only fine arts gallery dedicated solely to camera work.

A year and a month later, the Gallery at SALT Studio presents “SALT Studio: Year 1,” a collection of photographs shot by SALT owner and resident photographer Kelly Starbuck during her studio’s inaugural year.

The exhibition opens with a public reception 6 to 9 p.m. Jan. 23 in coordination with Fourth Friday Gallery Night, a monthly, self-guided art crawl throughout downtown Wilmington’s studios and art galleries. Fourth Friday is organized by the Arts Council of Wilmington and New Hanover County.

“It’s interesting to see how just starting this business, and having an actual brick-and-mortar space has pushed me to a different place with photography,” Starbuck said. “I’m still in a way working freelance, but it just put me in a different place to where I did get some referrals and opportunities that came my way that weren’t really happening before.”

In the past year, Starbuck produced editorial work for magazines like Focus on the Coast and Wilmington Magazine; created a series of abstract, nighttime images; and compiled an extensive portfolio of expressive portraiture, shot with her approach of framing in close on her subjects, but not too close.

“When I want to do a formal portrait of somebody,” Starbuck said, “I always go in waist up, and I want to fill it tight, almost fill the frame. But give them a little bit of head space. Sometimes I will come in closer, but it’s just a good distance, I feel like, that kind of shows the person and their personality, and maybe a little bit of attitude.”

“SALT Studio: Year 1” hangs through Feb. 23.

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KELLY STARBUCK “SALT Studio: Year 1” Photography Exhibition
The show hangs through Feb 23, 2015.

SALT Studio Photography
805 N 4th Street
Wilmington, NC 28401
http://saltstudionc.com
910 367 5720

Photographer, Owner, Curator: Kelly Starbuck

News |

October 30, 2014

| Kelly Starbuck

SALT Studio Photography open for “Day of the Dead Arts Rove” in Encore Magazine

ROVING BAD: NEW COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION IN BROOKLYN ARTS DISTRICT HOSTS DAY OF THE DEAD CELEBRATION

Oct 28 • Art, ARTSY SMARTSY, FEATURE MAIN

Interconnectedness. It’s the key word folks in the Brooklyn Arts District are focusing on in encouraging the community to take advantage of everything North 4th Street is becoming: a destination to work, dine, shop, and play.

Muertos-Poster

Once a hustling area of commerce and residents pre-WWII, the neighborhood has faced constant reconstruction for 30 years or more. The first reviltalization efforts took place in the ‘70s, and continued into the ‘80s and ‘90s. Today, it’s finally culminating in bustling activity again, so much so the newly formed Brooklyn Arts District Community Organization (BADCO) wants everyone to explore the borough of downtown just in time for Halloween. On November 2, they will host their first arts and cultural walk, dubbed Day of Dead Arts Rove, featuring family-friendly events that allow participants to familiarize themselves with local businesses, pubs, restaurants, and galleries.

“November 2 is the last day of the Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) holiday, when the deceased are honored through celebrations of their life,” explains Nina Bays, the head of the arts committee for BADCO. “It felt like a great way to bring people together to share something personal but in a festive setting. And it also presents the opportunity to learn about and include some threads of cultural traditions, which makes for a more rooted and meaningful event.”

BADCO has partnered with UNCW’s multi-cultural student organizations and Centro Hispano to properly honor the enriching significance of the celebration. They’re encouraging foks to dress to impress and sport calavara-style face-painting, an artistic representation of skulls prominent in Mexico’s celebration of the Day of the Dead and the Roman Catholic holiday All Souls Day. It will be offered for a small fee at the area’s newest salon, Hair Slayer, and at the local bar Brooklyn 723. As well, the watering hole will be showing luchador films featuring El Santo, a popular actor in Mexican superhero films.

It all kicks off with a spoken-word edition of Speak Easy Wilmington at Flytrap Brewing at 2 p.m. The theme “Laughing at Funerals” welcomes scribes to churn out and deliver their best satirical and creepy stories and poems. Gina Gambony will produce a kid-friendly puppet show entitled “Baba Yaga” on the back patio of the Goat and Compass every hour, starting at 2:15 p.m., with the last production taking place at 5:15 p.m. Sketch comedy by Pineapple-Shaped Lamps will take over the Bladen and 4th street corner at 4 p.m., as SquidCo. plays experimental and electronic music from their store one block over. The record shop has been a part of North Fourth’s evolution for the last five years.

“We’re excited to see so many new faces on the street, and anticipate many more as housing expands and CFCC opens their performing arts center [off 3rd Street],” owner Phil Zampino says.

SquidCo’s neighbor and new restaurant Canapé will have patrons decorate their own skull cookies and strike at piñatas. Folks can also see their latest art show, “Surfaces.”

“Some of the area galleries, like CFCC’s Wilma Daniels Gallery and SALT Studio Photography, are holding special hours so people can pop in and see the exhibits, too,” Bays notes.

Wilma Daniels features their annual faculty show of 2D and 3D art. SALT Studio Photography is showing photographs and installation work by Leeta Harding, while ACME Arts Studios on N. 5th will showcase Fritzi Huber’s “Dia de Loa Muertos ofrenda.” Likewise, Detour Deli and Café will sell handmade steampunk jewelry by Melissa Hindle-Sherman and books written by her husband, Todd Sherman.

“We’ll have a larger-than-life skull that will travel between venues for people to write mementos on,” Bays says. The skull will make a symbolic offering during the parade route at the end of the day. New storefront Eco Chic Blossoms will host a paper flower-making workshop, and the flowers will hang on the 4th Street bridge. The decorated structure essentially will act as a traditional Dia de los Muertos altar, a place where folks honor their deceased love ones and ancestors. It will be the last destination of the rove and will look like an arts installation when all is said and done. Participants are asked to gather at 4th and Harnett at 5:30 p.m. to do the final fanfare march.

“We hope the event brings businesses and people together to show that we’re a team,” Eco Chic owner Kristy Holt says.

All events—including wine-and-cheese tastings at Tin + Oak, food from the neighborhood’s food truck, Soulful Twist, and a sneak peek at soon-to-be-opened wine and beer shop Palate—are self-guided. “And if people get tired of walking, they can hop on Trolley Pub Wilmington,” Bays says. Basically a bar on wheels, the trolley is powered by the people riding it, all of whom pedal and sip on select brews.

“We do have a recommended route to best take advantage of all the offerings,” Bays notes. “We are definitely encouraging people to dress for the day.”

Having lived in the neighborhood for six years, Bays and the committee already have hosted neighborhood cleanups and begun outreach to help further progress redevelopment of the area. Along with volunteers and community organizers like Allister Snyder, founder of BADCO, they’re welcoming “spirit guides” who may want to help out during BAD’s Day of the Dead Arts Rove. Musicians and artists are welcome to join in on the fun, too (e-mail badcowilmington@gmail.com).

“The more people we can get involved with the organization, the more influence we can have in the area,” Bays says. “We hope the interest in this first event will continue to further the development of community on the northside, and show how businesses and residents can mutually benefit from those symbiotic relationships.”

DETAILS:

Day of the Dead Arts Rove

Arts and cultural walk
Brooklyn Arts District, N. Fourth St.
November 2, 2 p.m. – 6 p.m.

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LEETA HARDING: “IT’S SO ME” Photography Exhibition
The show hangs through Nov. 21.

SALT Studio Photography
805 N 4th Street
Wilmington, NC 28401
http://saltstudionc.com
910 367 5720

Photographer, Owner, Curator: Kelly Starbuck

News |

October 23, 2014

| Kelly Starbuck

Leeta Harding Photo Exhibition in the Star News

STAR NEWS ONLINE: The WAE

Fourth Friday: ‘It’s So Me’ at The Gallery at SALT Studio

Tuesday, October 21, 2014 at 8:01 by Justin Lacy

There’s a certain degree of honesty in the expressions of the young women featured in Murfreesboro-based artist Leeta Harding’s photographs.

“When I shoot a portrait,” Harding states in a press release, “I’m looking for that moment when something personal is revealed to me. I never know what that expression will be. It’s a feeling of truth.”

The Gallery at SALT Studios presents “It’s So Me,” Harding’s solo exhibition of photography and video installations. According to Harding, the women she photographs are “at a time in life when they’re trying to figure out who they are and what they want to be. It’s a very confusing but freeing time.”

“It’s So Me” opens with a public reception at the Gallery at SALT Studio, 805 N. Fourth St, 6 to 9 p.m. Friday Oct. 24, in coordination with Fourth Friday Gallery Nights, a monthly self-guided art walk throughout downtown Wilmington’s studios and galleries organized by the Arts Council of Wilmington and New Hanover County.

The show hangs through Nov. 21.

LEETA HARDING: “IT’S SO ME” Opening 10/24 from 6-9pm.

SALT Studio
805 N 4th Street
Wilmington, NC 28401
http://saltstudionc.com
910 367 5720

Photographer, Owner, Curator: Kelly Starbuck

News |

October 22, 2014

| Kelly Starbuck

Leeta Harding Exhibition in Focus on the Coast

Leeta Harding: “It’s So Me”
Written by Shannon Rae Gentry | Photos by Leeta Harding
October 22, 2014

This Friday, Oct. 24, the Gallery at S.A.L.T. Studio debuts “It’s So Me,” an exhibition by photographer Leeta Harding. Featuring a mixture of portraiture and video installation, Harding’s work delves into female self-exploration and identity.

Kelly Starbuck, owner and curator at S.A.L.T. Studio says she’s known Harding since their days living and working in New York City. For the better part of a decade, the creative friends have supported and encouraged each other’s career. “We connected over photography and I instantly loved her work,” Starbuck recalls. “I had been shooting for a while but did not have a tight portfolio or website. I asked Leeta to help and we met one day for Chinese food in Union Square; she was extremely supportive and mentored me through the editing process.”

“I still have the fortune from the cookie from that restaurant taped to my portable hard drive. It reads, ‘You are about to embark on a most delightful journey’ and in my handwriting below ‘2.28.08 with Leeta.’ It has been a remarkable journey of photography and friendship!”

Harding’s work has been exhibited in galleries and museums throughout the United States and Europe; a cover photographer and interviewer for Index Magazine from 1997-2006, she’s also contributed to the likes of Harper’s Bazaar, Vice Magazine, and The New York Times. Now living in rural North Carolina, down the road in Murfreesboro, Harding says she’s looking forward to sharing her portrait studies of young women in the south.

“We all have stories to tell,” Harding says. “I want people to identify with my photographs in a way that’s personal. The women I photograph let me into their lives, so I’m letting the viewer into the stories we create.”

As a film photographer, Harding explains her endearment to the “old school” color darkroom tradition. “It’s important to me to keep it real and not use all the seductive retouching tools that make photos look perfect. I’m not against it, but my eye has been trained to see actual photographs, not computer monitors.”

Shot in various locations throughout North Carolina and Virginia, “It’s So Me” captures not only a look or sense of time, place, age and feminism, but conveys various stories of style, culture and personality. “Leeta’s style of shooting for her show mirrors her subjects: fun, fresh, colorful and young,” Starbuck observes. “What I find interesting is that there is a story behind each of these young women that are in the show––not just photo portraits, but portraits in a deeper sense about who they are and who they are becoming.”

“What is also interesting is the broad range of young women Leeta has photographed,” Starbuck continues. “You can see the differences in their personal style of clothing and the way they express themselves through hair and make-up that I believe each girl would say, ‘It’s So Me!’”

Visit saltstudionc.com

For more on Leeta and her work, visit leetaharding.com

SALT Studio
805 N 4th Street
Wilmington, NC 28401
http://saltstudionc.com
910 367 5720

Photographer, Owner, Curator: Kelly Starbuck

News |

October 15, 2014

| Kelly Starbuck

Gary Breece Exhibition in the Star News Online

STAR NEWS ONLINE – The WAE

Fourth Friday: Gary Breece is ‘Somewhere In Between’

Thursday, September 25, 2014 at 7:57 by Justin Lacy

The Gallery at SALT Studio presents the opening reception of “Somewhere In Between,” a selection of three of local photographer Gary Breece’s photographic projects: “We The People” a series of political photographs featuring black-and-white images depicting President Bill Clinton’s 1992 campaign for presidency, as well as a series of Cuban photos commissioned by the Contemporary Art Museum in Havana; “San Fernando,” featuring images depicting the desert surrounding Los Angeles; and “Off Route,” Breece’s well-composed current series documenting the off-the-beaten-path people and places he encounters while traveling throughout the United States.

In his artist’s statement, Breece writes that the “Off Route” series photos are some of his most cherished. Breece took the photos when he reached the end of several roads:

“I chose to travel the beaten path of back roads in the region of my roots in order to find my way back home,” Breece writes. “It was a photographic journey and it healed me. I sought beauty and meaning in the images that surrounded me, and I wasn’t disappointed. Searching for them was medicinal and finding them sustained me.”

“Somewhere In Between” opens with a public reception 6 to 9 p.m. Friday Sept. 26, in coordination with Fourth Friday Gallery Nights, a monthly self-guided art crawl throughout Downtown Wilmington’s studios and galleries organized by the Arts Council of Wilmington and New Hanover County.

The show hangs through Oct. 17 at SALT Studio, 805 N. Fourth St., a working photography studio now solely run by local photographer Kelly Starbuck.

SALT Studio
805 N 4th Street
Wilmington, NC 28401
http://saltstudionc.com
910 367 5720

Photographer, Owner, Curator: Kelly Starbuck

barb morrison record producer from Frenchtown, N.J.

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Leeta Harding: “It’s So Me” Written by Shannon Rae Gentry | Photos by Leeta Harding October 22, 2014

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Published: Wednesday, January 21, 2015 at 9:06 a.m.
Last Modified: Wednesday, January 21, 2015 at 9:06 a.m.

Leeta Harding: “It’s So Me”
Written by Shannon Rae Gentry | Photos by Leeta Harding
October 22, 2014