Were I A Bird: Tree Studies is a series of black-and-white photographs that capture moments among the trees. One can imagine the very second Paula depressed her camera shutter; this is what it was like to stand in her shoes and experience a meaningful composition. “The natural world literally pulsed for her…sunlight and shadows, light and dark, yin and yang – there was a rhythm, an Earthbeat to which Paula felt connected,” wrote her husband, Fred Kraus.
Paula was working on this series in preparation for a solo exhibition at Dutoit Gallery in Dayton, scheduled for January 2024. Her tragic and unexpected passing in November 2023 did not stop the exhibition; instead, it brought her loved ones together to see it through. In March 2024, Were I A Bird opened at Dutoit Gallery. Using her negatives, an incredible team of artists printed an edition of two. The artists are Benjamin Montague, Tracy Longley-Cook, Leah Stahl, Michelle Burdine, Doug Taylor, Don Mishler and Rachel Reisert.
We are honored to share these works on the occasion of the 2024 FotoFocus Biennial. Paula was a champion for photography as an art form and organized the 2024 exhibition season in the Kettering Health Art Gallery at Rosewood Arts Center. Paula served as the Gallery Coordinator from 2018 until her passing, bringing countless stories, laughs, and incessant beeping from copy machines to our lives, as well as organizing a tremendous exhibition program.
Every day was a special one with Paula, and there was no one like her in this world. We lost a great friend, colleague and spirit.
Paula captured these images mostly over the past two years with her Hasselblad 500C/M camera using a Carl Zeiss 80 mm, F2.8 lens.
In Memory of
Paula Willmot Kraus
1957 – 2023
Your kindness, warmth and compassion made every day brighter.
We honor your life as an innovative, talented, and prolific artist,
friend and Rosewood team member. You are forever in our hearts.
The Rosewood Arts Center team
Were I A Bird: Tree Studies will be on exhibit in the Rosewood Community Gallery until January 11, 2025.
