Gretchen DrewSamples of image work including:

Horseplay Tattoo brochure Poster Design ThingsFallDown:Afieldguidetourbandecayphotography

Horses:This was a basic introduction to Photoshop assign-ment. We were tased to alter an image of horses in Wyoming, using masks and layers.

Tattoo Brochure:We were tasked with designing a brocure. I want-ed to have fun with the project and make it use-ful. I have been meaning to compile some in-spiration images for a new tattoo design for a while, and this seemed like a great opportunity.

The TATTOOI’m looking to get some new ink on my shoulder and my shoulder blade. I’d like it to be paisley patterned, with a flower or peacock worked in. While primarily black, we will integrate blues, greens and purples into the design.

I Seek Out:A tattoo artist to create a new work of art on my shoulder.

You Are:An experienced, creative and innovative artist working in Oregon, with an extensive on-line portfolio available for re-view. It is preferable that you are a female artist.

I Am:A female graduate student currently sporting three tat-toos. It has been quite a while since my last tattoo, and I am being very particular about this one. This tattoo is meant to commemorate the impor-tant lessons I have learned about myself in the past year.

Contact:You can reach me via emailat grytchyn@gmail.com or by phone at 541.731-1511

Wanted:exceptional tattoo artist for original new ink.

The RugI’m very attracted to the basic floral image in this pattern. The subtle use of color in partnership with strong black lines provides the strong con-trast that I am looking for in a tattoo. This is actually a rug found at Macy’s.

The DoodleMy initial plan for this tat-too was based on the idea of a freehand paisley doodle. I love the beautiful line work in this image as well as the sassy statement. This image is by artist Natalie Perkins.

The FabricThis is a vintage styled fab-ric made by the fantastic Ke-zia Designs, based out of the UK. I am looking for a simi-lar combination of paisley and peacock for my final tattoo design. Though one this may be a bit to folksie.

Poster Design:This is a simple poster design for an event spon-sored by the Emerging Leaders for the Arts. I fell in love with the draped curtain and the sugges-tion of a stage that it created. The events speakers are visual and performing artists, and I felt that the image really spoke to the nature of their work.

20under40

University of Oregon 20under40 Book Launch Workshop and Imagination Activation Soire

Rebecca Novick: Crowded Fire Theater Company FounderShannon Preto: Artistic Director of Dance/Theater Shannon

Elizabeth Lamb: White Box Coordinator

Join authors from 20under40: Reinventing Arts and Arts Education for the 21st Century and local arts leaders for a dynamic interactive workshop on the future of the arts sector

Workshop is Free and Open to the Public Spsonsored by ELAN and AASAC

Things Fall Down: I created this book alongside a Google map project of urban decay sites in Eugene. I saught to create a physical and visual aesthetic to the piece, mar-rying the digital and the analogue. The print copy had the pixelated maps printed on vellum, overlay-ing the images of the sites and was bound by hand with a hammer, nail and thread.

Things Fall Downa field guide to urban decay photography

Eugene, Oregon

By: Gretchen Drew

ur·ban (ûrbn) adj. 1. Of, relating to, or located in a city. 2. Characteristic of the city or city life.

de·cay (d-k) v. 1. To fall into ruin. 2. To decline from a state of normality, excellence, or prosperity; deteriorate.

pho·tog·ra·phy (f-tgr-f) n. 1. The art or process of producing images of objects on photosensitive surfaces.

To borrow the words of Raymond Williams, “Culture is ordinary.” It is all around us, but sometimes it takes a shift in focus to really see it. Urban decay photography is the celebration and documentation of one’s surroundings. It tells the story of our architectural predilections, of our pre-ferred gathering spaces, of the turns in our economies, and of things we’d rather pretend just do not exist. Urban decay photography is captures one moment in the journey of our spaces, focussing on what Kingston Heath calls the “patina of place.”

Urban decay can be found in the boarded up building, in the construction projects which never came to completion, in the graffiti on alleys, doorways and windows. It is the crack in your sidewalk, and the cobwebs in the corner of your office. It is your downtown core, and evidence of your communi-ty’s urge to flee into the suburbs. It is an anachronistic re-minder of mortality meshed with the splendor of times past.

Urban decay photography is the study of a mostly subcon-scious art existing at the intersection of man and nature. Wheat paste stickers take on new meaning with the addition of blackberry brambles and peeling corners. A single object left behind in an abandoned room illustrates the end of an era. Grafitti removal teams add abstract grey shapes to the sunbleached building wall. Urban decay photographers do not create these vistas. They just frame them.

Urban decay photography is an artifact of the larger world of urban exploration. In a world where everything has been mapped and catalogued, where in-car GPS units dictate routes, and every street corner can be viewed by a simple search, urban explorers are hungry for adventure.

There are not many rules to urban exploration, and by proxy urban decay photography. At its core, it is an anarchistic practice without much concern for society’s restrictions. However, one rule is generally followed: Take only photo-graphs, leave only pictures. That credo, borrowed from the Sierra Club, is one of the main reasons we have urban decay photography. Like family photos taken in front of the Eiffel Tower, we want tokens of our experiences. These photographs provide not only proof of the adventure, but also justify the activity itself.

The photography itself comes in as many forms as cam-eras themselves. Some use vintage cameras, preferring to extend the site’s aesthetic into the image itself. Others employ cell phone cameras or simple digital point and shoot devices. Likewise, the post processing is just as varied and ranges from straight out of camera (OOC) shots, to dramatic high dynamic range (HDR) imaging techniques. For most urban explorers, it is not the qual-ity of the image that matters. The image’s story is told by the content inside the frame.

The images in this field guide were created in a participa-tory manner, as is the nature of the artworld. Over a period of one month locations were scouted by members of the community and included on an interactive online map. This is indicative of the way urban decay photographers often work. The knowledge and experience of the community as a collective is gathered and shared and individuals are matched with others who share their interests through inter-net utilities such as ued.ca and terrastories.com .