FASHION!

placeholder

The latter part of 2006 was filled with fashion and advertisement shoots and "alternative" senior portraits. A highlight was the "Junk to Funk" fashion show held in the Wonder Ballroom December 2, which was assigned by The Oregonian and had front page coverage in the Living section.

All designers' clothing was made from trash: crayon wrappers, newspaper plastic bags, soda cans, cassette tape: anything that might end up in a landfill. Joni is in the process of bringing all designers into the studio to create documentary images of the amazing designs.

Special guest City Commissioner Sam Adams, who MC'd the show, was dressed in a suit made from rubber.

In addition, Joni continues to work with Renee Field on fashion shoots to include in her ever-evolving portfolio. Renee has worked with fashion greats such as Helmut Newton.

Many teens are tired of the traditional senior portrait, so Joni was flooded with calls to make images that will make a statement in a high school yearbook. See some of these portraits in the teen section of the Joni Kabana Photography website.

Regence Community Gallery Opening

placeholder

Over 100 people from various walks within the Portland community attended the Regence Community Gallery opening in November. Regence CEO Mark Ganz spoke on the importance of celebrating clients and benefactors; Phil Harris from the Oregon College of Arts and Crafts delivered an eloquent speech on the interpretation of art in corporate settings; and Joni delivered a heartfelt message on the "engagement" of images and relationships.

Many comments were received regarding how the gallery brought together many different persons from various walks of life. Perhaps the most poignant comment was from Kristen Stiff Arm, who said:

I was pleasantly surprised to see a CEO of such a large organization take issue with the way his people move through their day; that creativity, stimulation and provocation act as reminders to why they are doing their jobs and the people they serve, and to remember that art itself is healing and supportive of the community they are immersed in. It is when we begin to include art into our spaces, as a society, that we can truly say we have evolved past the point of trying to survive and have raised our glance above our mental litany to see life.

QUICK SHOTS

It has been 10 years since the publication of "Torina’s World: The Villages of Madagascar" but an Oregon teacher kept a newspaper article written in 1997 about Joni's travels and her then 9-year-old son Ben's foray into the editing world when this book was published. Joni was asked to read her book to the 4th/5th grade classes at Willamette Elementary in December, and coincidentally, it was the same week that we found out that Torina (now 18 years old) has written a letter to Joni.

"Trauma Nurse" was selected to be included in the Camera Arts Magazine Artist’s Showcase insert in the November edition.(download pdf)

"Davenport Doorman" was selected to be included in the American Society of Media Photographers "Environmental Portraits" website gallery.

Joni’s image of Andrea and Desmond Mason with their daughter Jada, will be included in the 2007 Women Standing Tall calendar.

Joni was featured on KATU's morning show, AM Northwest, in November for her artistry of food display. Laurie Austin, owner of the interiors shop Please Be Seated, was on hand with an array of her beautiful platters and ceramic bowls.

Piece of Cake Bakery commissioned Joni to photograph an amazing, lop-sided HUGE wedding cake at the Kennedy School.

A trip to New York City to visit with MTV peeps was a highlight of December. Check out their new on-line music center

University of Alaska hired Joni to photograph an alma mater for one of their publications. Check out Sean River's Foot Traffic stores.

Kudos!

To Angela Hult (from the Corporate Communications department at Regence) for assisting with the Junk to Funk Fashion show; to Kristen Arnett for amazing makeup expertise with the Renee Field fashion shoot; to Ben Opsahl for organizing hundreds of receipts and helping on shoots, to David Maier for providing continuous web and newsletter design advice; to Julie Harris for allowing Joni to use her apartment in NYC; to Laura Domela for providing some rockin’ lighting tips, and for documenting the Regence Gallery Opening; to Kevin Cook for an ever-fun subject to photograph; to Ken Kiggins for his creative problem-solving support - check out his new website!; to the random man on the street at Times Square NYC, who encouraged Joni and daughter Brynn to keep following their dreams.