As an artist, I find that by depicting a person as an anonymous, faceless form, while still incorporating elements of their character, can leave more to the observer’s imagination…
—Dona Laurita, creator of the Silhouette Project
Thank you for your interest
in the Silhouette Project
Years ago, I used the silhouette in my photography projects to portray the power of the shadow voice. This has become an ongoing template for me to connect with fellow humans in different situations and share their stories and circumstances artfully.
The participants in this ongoing project, coupled with their actual story and words, encourages a deep interaction between the subject and the viewer, such that both fill in and color the silhouetted image with their own subjective reality.
In our current cultural and political climate, the silhouette serves as a profound modality of portraiture and personal stories not only for the subject, but also for the community itself.
We all have such unique and immensely different stories and backgrounds, and though I find many commonalities and themes across their narratives, the nature of the individuality within their experiences is so deep that I no longer see two-dimensional and anonymous images…my goal is that you will have that experience when engaging in this project.
The Silhouette Project and the multitude of demographics that I choose to represent is about people in the shadows - all of us...faceless, and in many instances, voiceless.
My desire is to provide an opportunity for anyone that wants to share their story. Please reach out and let’s discuss how I can help facilitate sharing your story with the world.
As I photographer, one of the biggest compliments I receive is, “I didn’t know you were there” - being invisible is important. I look for opportunities while documenting, to step aside and allow others to share who they are and how their experiences shape them.
My Story
I appreciate you taking the time to land here on The Silhouette Project website. Though I often prefer to be behind the lens rather than in front of it, I want to share with you a bit of my story.
I have worked as a photographer and personal historian in Boulder County for nearly thirty years bringing my artistic vision to thousands of life’s rites of passage from births to deaths and everything in between.
I’ve collaborated with the Boulder Sister Cities Project involving Lhasa, Tibet and Jalapa, Nicaragua, furthering the understanding of life, beyond language and cultural barriers, through visual art. In my career, I’ve also been retained by Naropa University as the exclusive photographer documenting the visit of the Dalai Lama in 1997.
I’m honored to say that I’ve received numerous local, state and national grants to continue my work enriching young lives, sometimes impoverished and disenfranchised, by empowering them in their own pathways to personal artistic expression. As a teaching artist, my workshops and curriculum successfully fulfill academic standards and expose students to a multitude of media and creative experiences.
I encourage those who I engage with to “see” what already exists within and around them, and facilitate the expression of their impressions, intuition, and imagination through visual, written, and auditory media. I have facilitated experiential learning programs as an artist-in-residence in many schools and institutions throughout the state of Colorado, including Children’s Hospital, the Denver District Attorney’s Office Restitution Project, and the Migrant Workers’ Program.
I’ve also been fortunate to have collaborated with organizations such as Think 360 Arts, Young Audiences, the Mizel Museum, Eco Arts Connections, and the One Action 2016: Arts + Immigration Project. I have operated along with my lovely family, a fine art studio, gallery and music performance space in Old Town Louisville for nearly a decade showcasing along with our own consistent outpouring of personal work, visual art, film, and music of some of the best, most creative and adventurous working artists of our rich and blossoming art scene here in Colorado. Currently I have relocated my personal studio to Eldorado Springs Art Center (ESAC) where I work with many international artists.
