Artist sets the stage for her photography

CLAYTON — When she decided to branch out five years ago, artist and photographer Yana Slutskaya became engrossed with still-life photography while flipping through a magazine.

“There was one photographer in a magazine that did still-life photography that was really captivating,” said Slutskaya, 44. “I thought it was so beautiful. I wanted to try to do that with my camera.”

The techniques that went into creating still life fascinated her, she said. “It requires a lot of combinations,” Slutskaya said. “You have to find objects that you really love and then put the variety of items together.”

She enjoys all types of photography but found her calling in still life, Slutskaya said. “I really do love photographs,” she said. “I could do any other type of photography if I really wanted to. I’m pretty good at other subjects and portraits. But I think that when you have a connection to something, it’s very intuitive.”

Still life might seem simple, but it’s more than meets the eye, Slutskaya said, explaining that when starting a piece, it’s important to find the focal object. Then “you gather options, and you bring them literally to the table, and you create a composition,” she said.

“I get inspired by looking at one thing, like a teapot that looks really cool, and you think, how would you tell a story about the teapot?” Slutskaya said. “So you’re looking for other subjects that might look interesting with that teapot. Then you create this piece that will look striking.”

With the pieces assembled, it’s important to set the stage, Slutskaya said. “It does require a lot of positioning and thinking about what looks great,” she said.

Anything that complements the focal object — flowers, books, papers, teacups, etc. — could surround around it, but every item has meaning, Slutskaya said. “Still-life photography has a lot of hidden meaning, and I think many people don’t know about it unless you read about it,” she said.

Slutskaya encourages people to discover their own narratives inside her works. “I don’t expect people to discover what story is behind the photo,” she said. “Everybody has their own opinions.”

She tries to keep her pieces natural, Slutskaya said. “I have a window next to the table where I do my work in my studio,” she said. “I use natural light; I think it works the best for the composition versus artificial light.”

The dark backgrounds in her photos have a purpose, Slutskaya said. “I like that my subjects can kind of pop out and kind of light up against a background,” she said.

With the pieces in place and the background set, Slutskaya begins clicking away. “I actually take numerous photographs and choose which one looks best,” she said. “I think sometimes it takes just the first shot to get it right, but then sometimes it takes more than that.”

She does only a little digital editing, using Photoshop or a similar program, to perfect the image, Slutskaya said. “I really do like minimal editing, so nothing really exaggerating, just to make sure everything looks right and it’s in the format that you want,” she said. “And then you have to give the piece a name.”

An example of her work is the still life “English Doll and Violin.”

“I had a doll that I bought abroad from England when I was like 15,” said Slutskaya, who is originally from Russia. “It came from Russia all the way here to America, and I still have it.”

But the inspiration to feature the doll in a photo came much later.

“It took me all these years to think of this doll,” Slutskaya said. “I kind of surround this doll with flowers like peonies from my garden and a violin, along with some musical notes to add to that kind of nostalgic moment for childhood.”

Slutskaya takes inspiration from many artists. “My still life has that sort of influence of the Dutch Masters,” she said. “It’s a group of artists from the 17th century, and that’s where they mastered that kind of lighting and the way they deliver pictures.”

Slutskaya uses still-life photography to set the stage for untold stories. “You’re not photographing a person, but things that this person might be using,” she said. “It gives you a sense about people but through nonliving objects. … You are taking silent stories and letting them speak for themselves.”

Slutskaya feels fulfillment in her work. “There is an internal sense of satisfaction when you realize that you enjoy what you’ve done and your photo is appealing to you,” she said.

Slutskaya also finds satisfaction in sharing her pieces  “Many people have complimented my work, and that’s a big gratification,” she said. “I think for any artist, if somebody buys your piece, that’s even more huge because it means that somebody really wanted that piece.”

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