Kari Herer has been a professional photographer for over 20+ years. More recently she has worked closer to home. In her community of Yarmouth, Maine, and along with two other local women, their guided journal, Take Two: A Journal for New Beginnings, was published by Chronicle Books in 2021, and debuted in the latest issue of Stanford Magazine. Kari has photographed for renowned businesses like Maine Health, nonprofits like The Dempsey Center and The Harold Alfond Foundation, and celebrated local restaurants like Duckfat and Maine Craft Distilling. Kari's flower photography has been sold in Ikea, Anthropologie, Restoration Hardware, Land of Nod, and Artfully Walls, and has been featured in Anthology, Design Sponge, Cup of Joy, Martha Stewart Weddings, Etsy, Modern Sanctuary, Click Magazine, Zest Magazine, and Creative Maine.

“Gesture in a Still Life” by Kari Herer

One of the first photographs that I remember was Edward Weston’s “Pepper No. 30.” That pepper was a piece of produce, and yet the photo was so intimate. The rich black and white tone and flawed skin elevates this pepper and reveals gesture. I’ve spent a lifetime trying to replicate this sentiment with flowers. During lockdown in June 2020, as with many other full-time artists and caregivers, my work and home life was upended. I have been fortunate to have successes and partnerships with work in the last decade, and yet overnight, my career and livelihood was thrown into doubt. Work disappeared. I am a single mother of two, and was pulled into constant caregiver mode while my children struggled to transition to online schooling. On the other hand, time slowed down and I had the space to look at my own work. Although my studio is feet from my house, it provided a place to “go” when the kids went to bed. I now had time where I could focus on work even if it was confined to late night, with artificial lighting. Creating this series was a way for me to return to that original inspiration. The hours I spent exploring the lines and curves, the subtle turns and gestures within the stillness of these flowers was a way of expressing intimacy when intimacy was impossible. Setting the lighting, making micro adjustments, props, and pins gave me a sense of balance when the outside world seemed out of control. It was a way to discover movement, however small, in the stillness. It was my attempt to create something beautiful for beauty’s sake.