Artist: Jim Fender of Lockport.Medium: Digital photography.
Background: As a boy, Jim Fender loved to hang out with his uncle, who owned a small newspaper in Southern Illinois.
'It was one of those newspapers that was so small he was the owner, editor and photographer,' said Fender.
'He let me develop a few rolls of film once and that was it.
I was hooked.'
By adolescence, Fender had purchased his first camera, but he was more interested in taking pictures of the birds in his backyard than he was of family events.
He put his interest on hold during high school, when he had no opportunity to develop his talent.
Fender played sports instead.
When the time rolled around to select a college, Fender was faced with a dilemma.
Should he find a school that specialized in football or photography?
He did both.
Fender attended Joliet Junior College by day (where he played on the football team) and the College of DuPage (where he studied photography) by night.
'It was the only school in the area that offered photography at the time,' said Fender.
'It used to be in the Top 10 schools for photography in the nation; I don't know if it still is.'
Fender's football coach set him up with the photojournalist who taught Fender darkroom techniques.
By this time, Fender's interest in photography had developed into the surreal.
'So much of my photographs were different from anyone else's in class that they always drew odd comments,' he said.
'Fortunately, I had a couple of good teachers who realized what I was trying to do and encouraged me.'
One class short of his degree, Fender left the College of DuPage and accepted a position at a photography studio in downtown Chicago.
One year later, he created his own studio in his home and 'never looked back.' Today, 20 years later, 'Photography by Fender and Donisch,' has two locations: one in Lockport and one in Orland Park.
In the past few years, Fender has branched into digital work using the computer which, with his interest in surrealism and symbolism, he said has 'made it so much easier to get the quality of work I'm looking for.
'There are a lot of things hidden in my work,' Fender said.
'Several forms will make up another form.
One (picture) could actually have 14 images in it.'
One of Fender's works, Died For Our Sins, his personal statement on war. 'It's about Vietnam vets and what they went through, their resulting drug use and deaths afterwards,' he said.
Fender made 'some small flag draped coffins,' and photographed them, along with the photographs of a G.I. Joe doll that he set fire to, an eagle and a sunset, then combined the images into one collage.
Creative Birth utilized the photographs of a man who works at Fender's studio, an old 'haunted house' and Fender's 3-year-old nephew.
He also included a couple of girls he had photographed a number of years back that he had used in other pieces, one on meditation and another on drug abuse.
'It's about the whole process of creative thinking, the doubts, and the thoughts that go along with the creative thought process, of delving into your own mind,' said Fender.
The ideas that later become digital photographs come to Fender from myriad sources: meditation, dreams, song Iyrics, and books on a variety of subjects.
He said that he first sees the ideas as in image in his head that gradually begins to take on particular elements.
'I was reading this book about Rockefeller,' said Fender, 'and I got the idea for another piece, Breaking Down the Wall, even though it was completely unrelated to what I was reading.'
Before Fender wanted to show his work at galleries, he wanted to amass a collection of 6 to 10 pieces before he began.
Since each piece takes about 6 months to complete, he is now just realizing his goal, and recently held his first showing at Barnes and Noble Booksellers in Joliet.
However, Fender said that some of his photographs have been reproduced in coffee table books, and the Epcot Center at Disney World.
Words of Wisdom: 'Stick with it and trust your instincts.' Jim Fender.
Lockport's Jim Fender calls this original artwork 'Far from My Heart.'
