When I was a little girl, I wanted to become an archeologist. As a photographer and PhotoTherapist, I am an archeologist of a sort, whether it’s creating personal mementoes for family galleries – much like ancient hieroglyphics – or guiding my clients to dig into the past using images to explore personal symbols and their meanings for the present.

Photographs are important to us. In fact, photographs are one of the most chosen items to save if a home is burning down. I feel honored at having the opportunity to work with people in such an intimate way by creating these valuable experiences and memories. I take pleasure in learning about my clients’ personas, which allows me to portray the essence of who they are.

All photo sessions are equally important, whether for business, family or creative exploration. Sometimes the sessions are quiet or serious, while others are wildly amusing. I intentionally set up a relaxed, comfortable atmosphere in which my clients can discover the images waiting to be revealed from within them.

I often think of the finished portraits as a prayer, somewhat like Tibetan prayer flags, in that each image holds the potential for carrying our stories forth into the world, just as the flags send blessings and well-wishes. Sharing our heartfelt and vulnerable selves, body and spirit, as we are in this moment, is a kind of voice – a visual story. And sharing our stories is healing for ourselves and for others because storytelling gives us a map to find our place in the world.

Inner Essence Photography & PhotoTherapy

I am a photographer and PhotoTherapist, specializing in individualized portraiture with diverse families & couples, business / PR, CD’s, pregnancy, birth and rites of passage. I work individually and with groups to facilitate women’s exploration of self-image and self-esteem.

Photography Exhibits

• Virtual: Black & white photographs for Verbena @ www.verbenahealth.org
• “Self-Birth,” Women of Wisdom Conference, Seattle, WA, February 2001
• “Virgin: A Woman Unto Herself,” Pound Gallery, Seattle, WA, February 2001
• “Gaia’s Daughter,” “Vision of the Fool,” “Going In and Finding Her,” “Primal Callings,” Women of Wisdom Conference, Seattle, WA, February 2000
• “Voices of Women,” Shelter the Spirit / Womencare Shelter Benefit, Bellingham, WA, February 1997
• “Voices of Women,” Wild Rose Café, Seattle, WA, September 1997
• “Voices of Women,” Women of Wisdom Conference, Seattle, WA, February 1996
• “Virgin,” “Now You Look Right,” Women in the Arts Festival, San Francisco, CA, March 1996
• “primal cyberspace,” the penny university, Seattle, WA, August 1994
• “Primal Voices,” Caravans Crossing, Bellingham, WA, November 94
• “Voices of Women,” Western Washington University / Viking Union Gallery, Bellingham, WA October 1993
• “Voices of Women,” Show Off Gallery, Bellingham WA, May 1993

Note: “Voices of Women” was an on-going exhibit with new photographic images in every show, based on a process of women co-creating their own images.

Teaching / Lectures

• “Introduction to Photography,” N. Seattle Community College, Fall, 2002
• “Treasure Boxes,” Cancer Lifeline / Operation Uplift, Port Angeles, WA, July 2001
• “Treasure Boxes,” Cancer Lifeline Seattle, WA, June 2001
• “Photo-Journaling Series,” Cancer Lifeline / Highline Hospital, May 2001
• “Creating a Personal Healing Mandala,” Women of Wisdom Conference, Seattle, WA, February 2001
• “Story & Portrait: The Intersection of Writing & Photography,” Richard Hugo House, Seattle, WA, April 2001
• “Creating Your Visual Story through Photos and Images,” Cancer Lifeline, Seattle, WA, March 2000
• “Using Photography to Create a Body Altar,” Women of Wisdom Conference Seattle, WA February 2000
• “Healing the Body through Art,” panel speaker, Mae West Fest, Seattle, WA, August 1997
• “In the Mirror: A Slide Show on Women’s Body Image,” Body Pride Week, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA, February 1997
• “Voices of Women,” Eating Disorders Project, Psychology of Women Course taught by Dana Jack, Ph.D., Fairhaven College, Bellingham, WA, April 1994
• “Women’s Spirituality,” panel speaker, Gonzaga University, Spokane, WA, March 1994
• “Voices of Women,” slide show/lecture for Psychology Course taught by Vern Tyler, Ph.D., Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA, January-February 1994
• “Women’s Spirituality,” Empowering Women: The Fourth International Conference for Achieving Human Rights in the 21st Century, Coeur d’Alene, ID, October 1993

Publications

• “Artist Profile: Lori DeMarre,” Verve: A Women’s Network, Vol. 1, Issue 2, March 2002
• “Phototherapy: Traveling Beyond Categories,” Afterimage: The Journal of Media Arts and Cultural Criticism, Vol. 29, No. 3, November 2001.
• “HIV Testing for Pregnant Women and Newborns,” (photo used for article,) Mothering Magazine, pg. 40, Issue No. 83, June 1997.
• “Voices of Women: A Photo-Essay,” The Beltane Papers, pgs. 17-22, Issue No. 6, Autumn/Winter 1995
• “Clarissa: Kalamalka Studio,” (photos used for article), pgs. 32-33, Tattooing By Women, Vol. 1, No. 10, May 1995
• “Masks,” “Nature’s Landscapes,” (photos), Labyrinth: A Multicultural Fine Arts Journal by Women, Associated Student’s Women’s Center, Western Washington University, Spring 1995 Issue
• Staff Photographer, The Beltane Papers: A Journal of Women’s Mysteries, 1991-97
• “Sea Bones,” (photo), The Bellingham Herald, Oct. 13, 1994
• “Crone,” (photo), The Sequim Gazette, July 1994
• “Womencare Shelter: The Name Says It All,” (photos for article), feature story, Whatcom County Awareness, Vol. 1, No. 5, February 1993

Education

Antioch University, Seattle WA (September 1998)
MA, Psychology / PhotoTherapy (Integrated Studies)

Fairhaven College / WWU (June 1993)
BA, Writing, Photography & Social Analysis
(Interdisciplinary, self-designed program)