Photography by Kendal at Signatures of Switzerland County January 2, 2009

Kendal R. Miller of Photography by Kendal will be the featured artist at Signatures of Switzerland County during the Vevay Main Street Jan. 2 “Happy New Year” First Friday event.

Miller will show new works, including new local and area landscapes and nostalgic memorabilia. She will also demonstrate the art of hand-coloring photographs with pencils—now more often done by computer.

Miller has worked professionally in photography since the late ‘90s, having first started as a professional needlework and craft designer. Nearly 40 of her counted cross-stitch and craft designs have been published in national needlework and craft magazines. She was the featured designer in several, eventually self-publishing her work and distributing it through a company in Atlanta.

“I still have a whole other life on eBay,” Miller jokes. “Even today you can still find Kendal Bushnell Designs in eBay stores and through individual posts.”

Photographing her finished needlework pieces for editorial submission, Miller found that she enjoyed that process even more.

“Back then you used film, so I’d feel wasteful only shooting a part of a roll,” said Miller. “I’d use the rest to shoot the landscape and scenery that I found on my way to and from work from my Florida home.”

When Miller’s neurological condition cervical dystonia of the neck worsened, it made stitching painful. It was then that she decided to make the switch solely to photography.

After winning photography contests and being asked to take pictures of people and local events, Miller officially began a part-time photography business that incorporated everything from gallery shows, portrait sessions, events, commercial photography and photojournalism. She began freelancing for newspapers and was eventually asked if she could write art.

“I remember being asked by one of the editor’s at The News Herald in Panama City (FL) if I would be interested in helping them become more ‘community friendly’,” said Miller. “The next thing I knew I could accept any and as many stories I wanted and have them completed within a couple weeks—I’d frame during the day and photograph and write at night.”

At that time Miller was also self-employed full-time as an owner/operator of a custom picture framing business in Panama City that also housed her photography gallery.

Miller’s freelance photography led her across Florida’s Gulf Coast from Apalachicola to Pensacola. She had photographed such notables as Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, current Florida Governor Charlie Crist, The Oak Ridge Boys, Clarinetist Buddy DeFranco, Stephen Stills of Crosby, Stills & Nash and internationally recognized artist Paul Brent to name a few. Her work appeared in magazines, newspapers, books, catalogs, billboards, CD and phone book covers.

After leaving FL and settling in KY, Miller later married and moved to Dillsboro. She has participated in shows in Florida, Kentucky, Indiana and Ohio. Her work is represented in galleries in Vevay, IN, LaGrange, KY and Seaside, FL.

The First Friday event will be held from 6-9 pm and is free and open to the public. Musical entertainment will also be provided. Miller’s show will continue throughout Jan. at the gallery located at 120 West Main Street in downtown Vevay. For more information, telephone 812-427-2024.

Official Website: http://www.vevayin.com