Excerpt from the Dayton Daily News
When she received a prestigious fellowship at the Dayton Art Institute earlier this year, 2022 Wright State University graduate Ashley Cheak wanted to push herself as an artist.
As a Yeck College Artist Fellow, Cheak was able to experiment with several alternative photographic processes and explore different techniques in the darkroom to elevate her understanding of photography.
She approached the fellowship by asking herself: “How can I challenge what I know about photography?”
As she experimented with techniques like layering, solarization, double exposure and infrared photography, her work evolved.
Cheak — who received a bachelor’s degree in liberal studies and minors in French and creative writing from Wright State and now works as a staff member in the School of Fine and Performing Arts — prefers to shoot with film and develop her photos in the darkroom.
Working in the darkroom, she said, forces her to slow down and be present with her art.
