June 8 - July 7

Donna Lee Rollins, “The Toy Camera”

With the advancement of photographic tech, few artists have held tight to the traditional methods of dark room photography. Astorian Donna Lee Rollins’ is one such artist, whose commitment to traditional photography using authentic equipment and light-sensitive materials represents a purist’s loyalty to the craft. For her current exhibit at Astoria Visual Arts, Rollins delves further into the medium by using a vintage plastic toy camera to create the work featured in “The TOY Camera”, an exhibit at Astoria Visual Arts, June 8 through July 7.

Previously given away as a carnival prize in the 1960s and ‘70s, Rollins uses the Diana and Holga cameras, which were designed with a single aperture, one exposure speed, and a simple plastic lens. The all-plastic body uses a spring shutter, needs no batteries, and is virtually weatherproof.  Both cameras take medium format acetate film stock which Rollins uses to produce black and white negatives needed for her archival silver halide photographic prints. Once the black and white print is complete, she hand colors each piece with photo oils directly on the print surface making a one-of-a-kind original. Her current featured body of work represents years of photographic work, capturing the nostalgic allure of popular Pacific Northwest icons and of her travels.

What gives this body of work a signature flare is the method of using the toy cameras to attain certain ‘exposure artifacts’ seen as trademark image distortions—edge vignettes, soft focus, lens flares, light streaks and film fogging. “Because the results are always unpredictable, the shooting experience can be an opportunity for playful experimentation.” explains Rollins. These cameras give new meaning to the act of making fortunate and unexpected discoveries.

 After a teaching career at two universities in Maine, Rollins relocated her art studio and custom darkroom from Portland, Maine to Oregon. Her exhibition record includes museums and galleries throughout Maine and New England, including the Farnsworth Museum and Caldbeck Gallery in Rockland, and the Art Gallery of the University of New England, which both have her work in their permanent collections. She has had solo exhibits at RiverSea Gallery in Astoria, as well as Caldbeck Galleryy and Radiant Light Gallery in Portland, Maine, and her work is included in corporate collections of TD BankNorth, LLBean, and Allison Inn and Resort. She has also shown her work at regionally at Art Elements Gallery in Newberg, Cannon Beach Gallery, Light Box Photographic Gallery and RiverSea Gallery. She is currently represented by RiverSea Gallery.