Cher Odum - Fine Artist
Portland, OR - United States
I first discoverd my passion for art at a very early age, when I began expressing myself with colored chalk on the sidewalks around my home. It was always disheartening when a work of art was washed away with the rain or a neighbor's hose. In an effort to preserve my art for the world around me to enjoy I took crayons and colored pencils in hand to create my masterpieces on the walls of our home for family and friends. As soon as my 'wall art' began to appear it quickly disappeared via soap and water and that was when I was introduced to art journals and sketch pads to express myself. I also discovered the wonderful world of photography as a young girl and I have been capturing and sharing my world through the images I see and feel through the lens of my camera ever since. I enjoy capturing the things that go unnoticed, are taken for granted or maybe just take most a little longer to see. My photography is a reminder to the world to stop and smell the wild flowers. Slow down and take time to make note of what might otherwise be forgotten . . . or what already has been by most.
The question was asked, 'What is success to you?' Success to me is to capture a moment in time, a moment most people might overlook . . . walking right past it . . . and never hearing the story. When others view my pieces they can feel the story and see what once was . . . and almost hear it being told.
Life isn't always about the really big moment that make up our lives, though they do count. It's the small, seemingly insignificant ones that most of miss because we're in too big of a hurry to get from point A to point B . . . sometimes trampling down the 'moments,' as in my photos of the leaves on the ground at the beginning of winter . . . or the ice formation that was right outside my front door.