Kundalini Splendor

(the above is a self-portrait taken by Patricia)

http://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/11/09/showcase-74/

Go to the link above and you will find an exciting profile/essay that was posted on November 9 on The New York Times photography blog called "Lens." It features the life and artistic achievements of Patricia Lay-Dorsey, as well as many examples of her recent photographic work drawn from her series of self portraits, “Falling into Place.” As most of you know, Patricia is my long time friend and inspiration, someone with whom I have shared the creative journey for many years. She is the person who set up this blog for me and gave it to me as a birthday present several years ago.

Patricia has been an artist for virtually her entire life. Then, for several years, she chronicled her daily adventures in digital photographs, and posted them on her blog. And then, some three years ago, she got truly serious about photography. She bought a more sophisticated camera and began to study the technique of photography as an advanced art form. Now, she has “suddenly” been “spotted” by some of the most renowned photographers in the country, all of whom love her work and have given her profound encouragement and advice.

But Patricia is more than a gifted artist/photographer. She is a loving spirit who illumines the landscape wherever she goes. In her early years, she was a social worker. Even today, she never fails to stop to speak with and give an offering to a homeless one huddled on the street. When she lived (seasonally) in San Francisco, she regularly volunteered at a church which served free meals to the homeless. I once saw her stop to give cheer to some of the lowliest workers in the basement of the underground municipal transportation system, who were performing the odious task of scrubbing the (disconnected) steps of the escalator. They were thrilled when she told them she would put their pictures on her blog.

When we are with Patricia, we tend to forget that she is “other abled.” She out performs, outdoes, and “out succeeds” most of us in her creative achievements and in her life. She is our inspiration and our love.

Thank you Patricia, for being my friend and for being who you are.

Note: When you go to the site above, be sure to look at the 17 photographs on display, and read the enthusiastic responses of the many viewers. You can also look at the entire edit of 54 images from "Falling Into Place" on Patricia's website at http://www.patricialaydorsey.com/

She also keeps a blog at http://patricialaydorsey.blogspot.com/

Here is the article that appeared on the NY Times blog called "Lens." James Estrin was the interviewer.



Lens - Photography, Video, and Visual Journalism
November 9, 2009, 8:00 pm
Showcase: Falling Into Place
By JAMES ESTRIN

Patricia Lay-Dorsey, 67, wasn’t fond of the way she looked. Her wrinkles — the “dry creek bed” on her face — made her feel uncomfortable. So she made a series of close up portraits of her face. Ms. Lay-Dorsey wasn’t fond of her belly or her sagging breasts. So she photographed herself nude. Ms. Lay-Dorsey felt some shame over falling down because of multiple sclerosis. So she documented her daily routine. And, while exposing herself, Ms. Lay-Dorsey noticed something unexpected. “Somehow,” she said, “I began to feel more beautiful.”

Confronting her insecurities and her shame, Ms. Lay-Dorsey has made intimate pictures that reveal a truly beautiful woman striving to live her life without artifice. Though she has been photographing seriously for only three years, the images are masterful. They are direct and open. Unlike most self-portraits, there is no posturing.

“I don’t know why I don’t mind, why I allow myself to expose myself so much, but it doesn’t make sense to me to do this if it isn’t completely honest,” she said. “One of my main life tasks was to learn to be authentic. I was not in earlier years. I was a chameleon. I could be whatever you wanted. I’m not any more. I’m a very distinct individual.”

She was born and raised in the Washington area. While studying for a master’s degree in social work at Smith College, she went to Detroit for field study. She met Ed Dorsey, a pychiatrist, married him and stayed in Detroit.

At 33, Ms. Lay-Dorsey discovered that she had artistic ability. She started taking classes and exhibited her paintings and installations in Detroit galleries. Over time, she also found out that she loved taking photographs. She purchased her first single-lens reflex camera in 2006.

Within two years, her work came to the attention of the photographer David Alan Harvey, who has mentored her and featured her work on Burn, his site for the up-and-coming. Ms. Lay-Dorsey said that makes her “the world’s oldest emerging photographer.”
DESCRIPTIONPatricia Lay-Dorsey

She learned in 1988 that she had chronic progressive multiple sclerosis. Once a marathon runner, she can no longer walk. Instead, she uses a scooter to get around. Difficulty with fine motor skills often causes her to miss the shutter release on the camera. Though her sight and speech are unaffected, she said her balance is “crummy.” Sometimes, she falls. “My identity is not being disabled, but it is very much how I live day to day,” Ms. Lay-Dorsey said.

Though she was shy about her physical awkwardness, she quickly realized that her self-portraits could “open a window so people who were not disabled could see from the inside.”

What do we see? Someone brushing her teeth, getting dressed and living her daily life. We see the disability, but more than that, we see the person: a passionate artist living a considered life.

“People will see us as either terribly inspiring or terribly pathetic,” Ms. Lay Dorsey said. “We’re either super gimps or just tragic. The fact is we’re not either one. We’re human beings and we’re just living life. Doing the best we can. Everyone has challenges of one kind or another. It just so happens that mine are more visible than others’.”