Dart Photographie

Kinfolk Brunch / San Francisco, CA

lauradart — Wed, 02 May 2012 16:52:55 +0000

San Francisco in the spring is the place to be, and this past weekend it could not have been more delightful! I was traveling with my good friends Nathan Williams and Julie Pointer to help with the Kinfolk Brunch, the fourth in a series of twelve dinners across the country in 2012. The theme for this one was a spring farmers market in which local vendors contributed their wares as gifts for the guests. These items included flowers, soaps, homemade jam, walnuts, cheeses and wooden spoons. The brunch was a gathering of talent: Kinfolk contributors, writers, photographers, florists, and chefs. It was exciting to all be in the same place physically for a few hours, to share a meal and conversation. The highlight of the day for me was meeting one of my biggest inspirations, Heidi Swanson of 101 Cookbooks. Her work has been the cornerstone from which I have grown artistically and continue to create the way I do.

Kinfolk Vol. 3 / from paris to portland

lauradart — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 19:57:04 +0000

Kinfolk Vol.3 was released in late March and is the second issue I had the privilege of contributing to. My favorite moment was when I received the magazine in the mail and saw one of my all time favorite photographs spreading two pages. I have been going through a difficult time of loss in my life, and it was a needed reminder of the love that I have given and shared. This photograph of a Paris apartment building was taken with my best friend at my side. I cherish this memory and moment. The photographs following are of my dear friend, Julie Pointer in her Portland apartment. While we have only known each other less than a year, her importance in my life is irreplaceable. Julie is a beautiful and inspiring soul that embodies the meaning of true friendship.

Purchase Kinfolk Vol.3 HERE

SXSW / traveling with greylag music

lauradart — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 23:57:38 +0000

A roadtrip of 4,500 miles from Portland, OR to Austin, TX and back, brought meaning to March. The days were filled with music, laughter, and friendship. It was good to get away from the dreary gray and have the sun shower us. Greylag will be back on the road in April, this time in support of Augustana. Listen to their music HERE and look for them in your city soon!

kinfolk dinner series / portland, or

lauradart — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 02:50:12 +0000

These are images from a lovely winter afternoon, spent with friends new and old. This was the first of twelve dinners, happening once a month in cities across the country. I am lucky to be a part of such a wonderful group of people, that have made my move to Portland so memorable. Here’s to many more gatherings with beautiful souls in 2012!

B.Lanka / nashville, tn + portland, or

lauradart — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 20:04:09 +0000

Designer extraordinaire Becca Lanka, has landed in Portland, OR. Transplanted from Nashville, TN where she studied fashion design, the following images are from her Senior Collection. A depiction of romantic 1940’s infantry, the collection was composed of real white silk from parachutes, weathered tents constructed into pants and jackets, and other heavily textured fabrics to curate the mood of the anthology.

View more of Becca’s work HERE

Kinfolk / Cape Lookout, OR

lauradart — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 21:03:23 +0000

A particular joy takes root when friends gather and each is given the freedom to fall into their natural selves; this happens through required—and desired—participation, through presentness. The gifting of oneself and one’s talents is a most honest way of sharing with those around us, because it forbids pretense, and demands that we give others something real, something tangibly experienced. Far too rarely do we truly enact this kind of gift-giving—this sacrifice, even—but when we do, something holy and unexpected happens.

We convened on a chilled, wet Portland morning, and piled ourselves and our things into Wagner and Boles (an old Jeep Wagoneer and the 1953 Boles-Aero trailer it towed), along with a few blue Volvos. The trek to the coast is roughly two hours (if you don’t stop for firewood, prerequisite coffee, and lock your keys in the car along the way), but the drive is transformative, sloughing off the city’s busyness and replacing it with surprising calm. We punctuated the quiet with the nostalgia of football-game-static, Peruvian tunes and Louis Armstrong, joined by Frank Sinatra, and, of course, by all of us.

Arriving at the sea after a long bout away alerts you to an absence you suddenly discover is vast, and we filled ourselves by absorbing the damp sand, the salty mist, the drizzle in the air. We soon began our tasks, unloading food, chairs, glasses, pillows, guitars, accordion, lamps, tableware—we packed sufficiently for days. The real magic of this unfolding was that everyone so casually and carefully fell into themselves, whether this looked like salad-tossing, readying the cooking coals, table-making, foraging on the shore, creating music, or recording it all, with moving film and photograph.

Coming to the table, where we knelt before a spread of gifted efforts from each person present, was the crux of our gathering. The thought of breaking bread together had brought us to the coast, and we duly celebrated every bite of salad, salmon, sweet potato, pumpkin bread, swig of beer and sip of wine. The night darkened around us, but our evening peaked with the collaborative music-making of six talented friends, sharing tunes in groups of two, three, and four. With hands full of chocolate-hazelnut pie and tin mugs of coffee, we alternately shook with awed wonder and laughter, as the melodies of our friends overwhelmed. The day ended in cold, blustery gales, but carried by the collective warmth of making a momentary home together, set apart by the sea.

Photographs by: Laura Dart + Amos Lanka

Words by: Julie Pointer

katie + nathan williams / lincoln city, or

lauradart — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 17:53:16 +0000

A quick retreat to the coast on Saturday, where I spent the evening with the lovely Katie+Nathan Williams. I met them earlier this year when I contributed some photographs to their publication, Kinfolk. These two are inspiring souls and I am so happy they are now my neighbors and friends.

becca lanka / stapleton, NE

lauradart — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 17:01:16 +0000

early november / hood river, or

lauradart — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 23:01:43 +0000

En route to the mountains for a post birthday celebration for Amos this past weekend. Our shelter for the evening was a refurbished schoolbus complete with woodstove. The simplicity and setting were euphoric, enticing me with the idea of living like this for awhile.

amos lanka / happy birthday

lauradart — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 14:14:58 +0000

Another year has come and gone, spent with my best friend. I cannot imagine a better life than this, of shared experiences with the one who inspires me most. Today is a celebration of Amos Lanka, the man who drove 1,000 miles to bring me back my dream trailer studio. His generosity, intellect, work ethic, brilliance, aesthetic, humor and wit keep me consistently amazed. Happy Birthday to my dear Amos.