Artist Profile for Della Calfee
By Erica Goss
Della Calfee, a fine art and commercial photographer, is passionate about the environment. She is devoted to both her art and to her surroundings; recently, her business, Evoke Imagery, was certified a Bay Area Green Business. She shoots nature, people, products and events, with a style that is simple, graphic and intentional. Della’s blog will be the public’s window into her world, where she will describe the world of Green photography. When she’s not blogging, she’s out in the world with her camera, capturing and portraying the issues she wants us to understand.
Though Della’s tool of choice is the camera, her earliest memories of creating art include paint. Her parents encouraged her talents, showing her museums, driving her to classes, and taking her on scenic trips. Coffee table books of the classic artists were frequent gifts. “I had a charmed life as an artist,” she says, “yet I took it for granted. I was in junior high before I gradually figured out not everyone is an artist or designer.” Her purchase of a historic home in downtown San Jose, and the project of landscaping the yard, inspired her to photograph the flowers that thrive in her garden. “I got lost in the garden and never came back. My flower pictures are vivid and graphic. I had to see if I could capture the extraordinary experience of their pull. After I found some success I turned my camera on the rest of the world, where I found a different experience. The results varied, unlike my flower pictures. They are often faded, gritty, and painterly. It’s not uncommon for people to assume my photos are paintings.” Artistic influences include humanitarian photographer Sabastiao Salgado, art/fashion provocateur David LaChappelle, and the California landscapes of Ansel Adams.
Before launching Evoke Imagery, Della worked in global marketing and branding. In college, she studied American history and critical thinking. While at art school, Della’s interests ranged from stone carving to glass blowing, settling eventually on photography. Now that she’s running her own company, she shoots events, portraits, and takes on editorial projects, advertising and stock photography. In February, Art Object, a local gallery, invited her to show her fine art photography for the first time.
Della is able to combine her creative side with the need to make a living. Though her days vary, she spends an average of eighty percent of her time on photography and twenty percent of her time on graphics. Big projects can take all of her attention, but she tries to keep a healthy balance between the marketing projects she does and her photography.
Participating in the Business of Art course, a series of classes given by the Center for Cultural Innovation in the fall of 2008, showed Della how important it is to connect with other artists. She’s a charter member of the Silicon Valley Artists Collaborative, a local arts group comprised of graduates from the course. Another area of importance for Della is her new awareness of government programs designed to promote and fund the arts.
Della invites others who share her vision of a green future to contact her at evokeimagery.com. She bewails the lack of time she needs, claiming that she has “the biggest to-do list ever.” However, she’s encouraged that the rest of the country is beginning to agree with her about the importance of the environment. Della’s advice to other artists is, most importantly, to look at the opportunities you have right now. Be open to trying new things, and don’t spend money unless you really know it will make a difference to your career (wise words in these uncertain economic times). Make friends, learn, and allow yourself to be an obsessed artist as long as you’re not hurting your loved ones.
Personal freedom, healthy balance, and time for creativity inform photographer Della Calfee’s artistic practice. As she journeys with her camera, she brings back pictures that combine images of the environment with human beings to make a strong statement about the fragility of nature.
Della Calfee attended UCLA School of Design and San Jose State University. She holds a B.A. degree in fine art from San Jose State. She runs Evoke Imagery (www.evokeimagery.com), a green photography and graphics company. Della lives in San Jose with her husband and two cats.
