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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW Massive rehearsal planned for Northwest mega-quake, tsunami ... Mental health plan stymied by lack of space ... Ticket availability ... Massive rehearsal planned for Northwest mega-quake, tsunami ... Mental health plan stymied by lack of space ... Ticket availability ... QUILLS & QUEUES Quills & Queues: Photographer adds symbolic elements to portraits Opening planned on Friday from 5 to 8 p.m. Comment By Vickie Aldous for the Tidings Follow @@VickieAldous DailyTidings.com By Vickie Aldous for the Tidings Follow @@VickieAldous Posted Jun. 2, 2016 at 6:03 PM By Vickie Aldous for the Tidings Follow @@VickieAldous Posted Jun. 2, 2016 at 6:03 PM » RELATED CONTENT • Quills & Queues: Washington couple show whimsical works at Hanson Howard... • Quills & Queues: SOU's Tutunov says Ashland is a cultural oasis... • Ashland artist premieres salmon art at Rogue Gallery • Quills & Queues: Oregon Shakespeare Festival artistic director talks about the direc... » Social News In a photograph titled "Leap," a woman jumps from a wooden bridge through a tangle of dead, creeping vines, the camera capturing her suspended mid-air above a creek. The image is actually a composite of several photographs artfully tied together by Ashland portrait photographer Mary Landberg. After posting the image, Landberg said she received a message via social media from a woman who was touched by the piece. "She was on the edge of taking a big leap in life. It was so deeply moving for her," Landberg said. "She had to stop and reflect. That's exactly what I want — for people to stop and reflect." With their mysterious, surreal juxtaposition of images, Landberg's photographs invite viewers to pause and come up with their own interpretations. Her work is on display through the month of June at Rasa Yoga, 469 B St., Ashland. An artist's reception is set for 5 to 8 p.m. Friday, June 3, in conjunction with Ashland's First Friday Art Walk. Visitors to the exhibit can pick up 50 percent off coupons for their own conceptual portraits and be entered into a drawing for a portrait. With the help of a tripod, Landberg often uses herself — and her life experiences — as subject matter. She disguises her medium length hair under long auburn or blonde wigs. For the piece "Dancing Self," she went into the forest on a frosty February day and waved a skirt made with three yards of emerald satin fabric into the air. Out of two dozen photographs, she melded nine together to create the illusion of a woman tossing her auburn hair while wearing an impossibly voluminous dress. The woman appears to levitate above the forest floor. "This is how I feel when I'm dancing," she said. "It's like the world disappears. I would love it if people would see this photograph and say, 'I know how that feels.' I want all my photographs to have an emotional impact." Landberg works with clients to come up with ideas that fit their lives and dreams. For one woman, she created a totem-animal style portrait called "Power Animal" in which the woman's head and body are melded with her favorite creatures — a wolf, a dragon and a monarch butterfly. Landberg works part time as a hospice nurse and is the author of books that include "Enduring Love: Inspiring Stories of Love and Wisdom at the End of Life." The book is filled with black and white portraits of the hands of dying patients, often being tenderly held by loved ones. Landberg said she uses photography to capture the full spectrum of human experiences. For the people she photographs, the portrait sessions can offer resolution, acceptance, catharsis, deep understanding, a sense of celebration or deep, quiet self-inquiry. She began creating her conceptual portraits of melded imagery about six months ago, pushing her creativity in new directions. "It's an undeniable calling. I have to do this type of portraiture for people," Landberg said. She added, "I like to combine people, nature and objects in a way that isn't logical in the real world, but that makes sense when you look at it. I want to capture the human experiences of beauty, of pain and of mystery." For more information about Landberg and her portraits, visit photographyfortheuninhibited.com . Staff reporter Vickie Aldous can be reached at 541-776-4486 or [email protected]. Follow her at www.twitter.com/VickieAldous . By Vickie Aldous for the Tidings Follow @@VickieAldous DailyTidings.com By Vickie Aldous for the Tidings Follow @@VickieAldous Posted Jun. 2, 2016 at 6:03 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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