All photography provided by Chelsey Schaffeld

I am a recent graduate with a BFA in Photography from Sam Houston State University. I am originally from the desert farmlands of Eastern Oregon. My art combines photography and CNC metal cutting to abstract and emphasize normally unnoticed subjects. My work with fingerprints deals with ones individuality; researching how identity is built, and how we connect with others along the way. I have done freelance photography work in Tennessee, Michigan, Oregon, Georgia and Texas. I am currently deciding between the life of a gypsy or a career woman.                            

Artist Statement

I individualize; I pluck out the specific from the masses. I let my artistic process carry out the inner worries of my mind. Worthiness, identity, value; each project gutturally exposes a fear, and my art is the process in which I fight to further understand my created purpose. With each discovery I catch a glimpse of God’s intended purpose and am blown away. Through my camera, I use the truth of its images as a sketchpad for my creations. I use and combine shadows, metal, ink, paint and photos to construct textured compositions that use space and perspective in unlikely ways.

Fingerprints represent the fascinating individuality that lies in each human’s hands. It is rarely realized how little has to be done to leave a fingerprint somewhere, just as our words, our actions and our touch impact and easily influence those around us. Just as identity is both represented and hidden unbiased within the print, this engages the idea that the things I do with my life reflect the imprint left behind. This imprint people leave on me affects who I become.