Artist
| Arts & Entertainment |
SPOTLIGHT
SHANNA DUGAN Local artists invigorate the community with thoughtful, creative pieces. Each issue, Starved Rock Country Magazine and Starved Rock Country Community Foundation are partnering to highlight artists and their work.
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22 | Summer 2022 • Starved Rock Country
hanna Dugan’s work is captured on film. Not the cinematic kind of film — the kind involving a darkroom. Dugan, a photographer since 1998, captures portraits on film for families and seniors. “I learned on the principle that creating an amazing photograph was worth taking time to make it amazing,” she says. “I much prefer the look, feel and romance of film, especially for portraits.” Her studio and darkroom are located in Peru’s historic Westclox Building, which is home to many talented artists and their craft. Dugan is also in the process of opening a community darkroom this year. The challenge with that, she notes, “will be balancing my own creativity while helping others discover and strengthen theirs.” Creativity is not in short supply for her, however. Dugan has been experimenting with new film techniques, including what she calls “film soup”: mixing “household chemicals into the developing process for wildly unpredictable results.” (See photo 3 for an example!) “I’ve embraced my artistic nature since I was a young child,” Dugan says. “As a teenager, my parents knew if they came home to the smell of paint, I had probably painted yet another mural on my bedroom walls.” An active member of Starved Rock Country’s bustling arts community, Dugan has lived in the area since 2003 and since raised her children here. Her work is available at her studio, Open Space Art Gallery & Studios in Ottawa and other regional shows, she notes. Dugan has taken classes and lessons beyond photography, including ceramics, fiber art and drawing. “Art incorporates music, cinema, books, as well as visual arts,” she says. “Art boosts our morale, S R our brainpower, our empathy as well as our society.” C
