Unique Letters: Building Word Art
Phyllis Frankenfield photographs things that look like letters. Using these “letters”, she builds custom word photo artwork on demand.
How did you come up with your name?
It just seemed to fit the letters!
How did you get your start in photography?
I had this passion, and my parents give me my first Kodak camera when I was about 10 years old.
Who inspired you to become a professional photographer?
My cousin’s husband. He was a great professional photographer doing weddings and art shows for many years in the Philadelphia area of Pennsylvania.
What types of products do you offer?
Letter Art Photography in black and white.
What feedback have you received from showcasing your work?
This must be the best part about doing Letter Art, from small children with their parents being able to do their names, to seeing the faces of someone that does a special gift for the hard-to-buy-for person. I like the idea of having my work in homes all over the states and many countries.
What can attendees expect to see from you at this year’s Festival?
I will bring letters from the state of New York.
What’s one thing that people may not already know about you?
I am working on being married to my husband, Bob, for 50 years.
Where/how can people purchase your work?
Art shows in the New York State area this summer or online at www.unique-letters.com
Like this:
Flying Whale Studios: Merging dreams with reality
Kevin Schoonover created Flying Whale Studios to create and share interpretations of the world around him.
Where does the name “Flying Whale Studios” come from?
I love whales. I’m a huge whale nut. I studied them in Hawaii in the 1980s and I hope to see all the major species in the 
wild before I die. The image of a Humpback whale, with its outstretched lateral flukes, whether gently swimming under the waves or dramatically breaching through them, suggests flight. The absurd idea of such a mammoth creature taking to the air has a dreamlike quality. This is what I strive for in my photos — the idea of a dream or a memory.
What inspired you to become a professional photographer?
The compulsion to document and the desire to share.
How did you get your start in photography? 
In 1983, after taking some introductory courses at RIT, my grandmother gave me my first SLR camera, and an entire darkroom set-up to go with it. When I mentioned to her then that I was having trouble finding a place to buy a “safe” light bulb, she opened a drawer in a cabinet in her living room, dug back a ways, and pulled one out that she and my grandfather had last used in the 1940s developing his pictures. “You mean one of these,” she asked mischievously.
What types of products do you offer?
My current work revolves around two major subjects: The seashore and abandoned rural buildings. The joy and freedom and color one associates with the beach juxtaposed against the washed-out sadness of empty barns and houses appeals to me. There is a dreamy nostalgia for a time that never really existed.
What’s one thing people may not already know about you?
I am not a photojournalist. My work is not exactly as the world appears but more how I wish it were. Or how it could be. Or how it might have been. Or not. I strive for a version of reality rather than reality itself. Contrary to popular belief, the camera does lie. I dabble in a variety of post-production techniques that affect color, contrast, clarity, etc. I believe it is the job of the artist to interpret the world, not just report on it.
What feedback have you received from showcasing your work?
The response has been incredibly favorable and very gratifying. I have an image of young Mennonite women frolicking in the ocean surf that, practically without fail, generates broad smiles and squeals of delight. Making people happy and eliciting such strong, positive emotions is a great feeling.
What should attendees expect to see from you at this year’s Festival?
I have a variety of limited-edition photographs, signed and numbered, in three basic sizes. Many are framed; all are matted. I also carry a line of blank photo cards.
Where/how can people purchase your work?
Images are always available at www.FlyingWhaleStudios.com.
2011 Exhibition of work: “Abandoment Issues” at Stomping Grounds in Geneva (June 25-August 27)
2011 Exhibits: Syracuse Arts & Crafts Festival (July 29-31), Arts at the Gardens in Canandaigua (August 20 & 21), Clothesline Festival in Rochester (September 10 & 11), Quaker Arts Festival in Orchard Park (September 17 & 18), Naples Grape Festival (September 24 & 25), Ithaca Apple Harvest Festival (October 1 & 2), Letchworth Arts & Craft Show (October 8-10), Canandaigua Christkindl Market (November 11-13), Holiday Bazaar Arts & Crafts Sale in Rochester (November 18-20)
Photographer Patricia Overmoyer Shares her Exhibit of Nature
By Kelly Sabetta
Patricia Overmoyer is one of the many artists who will be featured at this year’s Canandaigua Art and Music Festival. She is a photographer based in Bloomfield, NY, who specializes in photographing nature, and providing her audience with a little bit of local flavor.
“A lot of people say I’ve got an eye,” said Patricia, who captures flowers, close-ups, ice, snow, landscapes, animals, and all kinds of things. She is also inspired by compositions such as lighting, color, and small details, in which she can capture digitally to share with the world.
Patricia began her career in photography since the age of 16, but more earnestly about four years ago, which is also when she began photographing digitally. She prepares the final product of her images by placing them in specific frames.
“I place a color border on everything, which makes a difference in how the image is presented,” said Patricia. The colored borders not only enhance the images, but eliminate the need for matting.
Patricia graduated from Cornell’s School of Architecture, Art & Planning with a BFA in Fine Arts, and has received the Goodwin Sands Memorial Medal for exceptional merit in art.
Her work has been featured in many different shows, festivals, and displays across the region, including Honeoye Falls, Cayuga, Penn Yan, Canandaigua, and Geneva. Patricia’s work can be purchased at her live exhibits, festivals, retail stores such as Finger Lakes Gallery and Frame on Main Street in Canandaigua, as well as Web sites such as Etsy, and by contacting her personally.
For more information about Patricia Overmoyer, please visit her Web site, http://www.povermoyer.etsy.com, and visit her exhibit at this year’s Canandaigua Art and Music Festival, Friday, June 16th through Sunday, June 18th.
The Negative World of Dewey Fladd, Finger Lakes Photography of Everyday Life
Dewey Fladd’s perspective on the world comes from having the trained eye of a photojournalist. If you view the photos on his website, Negative World of Dewey Fladd, you’ll see an attention to detail and a quest for quality that comes from studying the great Masters such as Ansel Adams and Edward Weston.
"Steamy Morning" on Keuka Lake
In many of his photos, you’ll also see a sense of humor, and that’s Dewey’s personal take on the world.
The majority of photos in his collection showcase the Finger Lakes region.
“I have photos from my travels, but photographers from New York City and other places asked me why I would want to live here in the Finger Lakes, so I decided to show them. Everywhere I look, I see hundreds of things to photograph… parades…festivals…drive-ins….”
He began focusing his photography on the subjects of everyday life, especially themes of Americana, in the small towns across the Finger Lakes region.
"VFW" Winter Nightscape in Canandaigua, NY
Dewey develops his own prints using archival photo paper which gives him control of the quality and the vibrant colors found throughout his work.
He will be displaying framed and unframed works in various sizes, as well as notecards at the Canandaigua Art & Music Festival, and he invites you to stop by and look for your town within his collection.
