Artist Focus: Viola Ware, Photographer

In this edition of Red Dragonfly's "Artist Focus," we turn the spotlight on emerging Olympic Peninsula photographer Viola Ware.

"Dewdrops on Grass" by Viola Ware

Viola's initial inspiration in photography can be traced to her days of living in Seattle and working in the field of corrections, chemical dependency and social services.

During her bus commutes, she became acquainted with a group of working homeless in Seattle's Ballard neighborhood and would collect their photos and stories, eventually becoming known among them as "the camera lady."

She also finds creative inspiration in nature, while seeking solitude and stillness to recharge-- away from the "noise" of daily life. Like many artists, she feels a strong need to have periods of time by herself.

"Virgin Mary of the Back Yard"

"You can set me loose anywhere with a camera, whether it's in a city or a desert, and I would find myself at home," Ware says, "My goal is to find a way to transport my audience to that very moment in which I caught the image. I want them to be with me, peering at a splash of purple on the shell of an olive snail that just popped out of the sand, or talking to a man on the street with miles of smile wrinkles around his eyes and years of hard work on his hands. I never want to simply show people a picture, I want to send them to new places; fascinating places that might live right under their noses."

Viola Ware is happiest when given the freedom to fully visually explore what's in front of her, no matter what the setting. As a result, her audience will discover that her work spans an extensive-- and always expanding-- range of subjects.

Viola came to photography just in 2010 and her work evolves continuously with each new visual challenge she takes on. What uniformly shines through in her work is her fascination with-- and fondness for-- the world around her.

"Seattle One Love" by Viola Ware

Her photos have appeared in Peninsula College's award winning "The Buccaneer" student newspaper; Tidepools Literary Magazine and more recently she was an official photographer at the 2015 Port Townsend Film Festival.

Red Dragonfly is pleased to present a range of new work from Viola Ware, just in time for Port Townsend's August 6th Art Walk-- we hope to see you there, but if Port Townsend is a little too far away for you, please check out our online gallery shop with Viola Ware's work!