artist bio: John Cessna

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My interest in photography and art goes back to elementary school days in Ohio when I got my first Kodak camera. These early pictures were unique, some were taken at dog's eye view, others were shot with the camera at a 45° angle so my prints could be mounted like diamonds in my scrap book. My first published photo (a moody sunset shot of a pep rally and bon fire) appeared in my high school yearbook.  I gained early experience in page layout and design as editor of my high school yearbook and tri-editor of my college yearbook. Our college yearbook won an "All American Award" for its creative magazine format. The four issues covered stories as a magazine would and were collected in a hard binder.

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After graduation I traveled and photographed Europe, visiting the galleries and landmarks of 12 countries.  On my return in late summer 1971 I moved from the midwest to Connecticut, where I have lived since.  My first years were spent as a leather craftsman and then a graphic designer. While a designer for King Casey, Inc. I worked on a project to design the Merril Lynch bull logo, still used today. We also did packaging for General Foods and product design for Toro snow blowers. These early experiences were the foundation for my future business.

I left this design job and spent 3 years as assistant manager and advertising manager for a contemporary retail furniture store. Architects and designers who visited the store complimented me on the ads I photographed and designed. I eventually started shooting interiors and home furnishings.

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In 1978 I went out on my own as a photographer. During this period my photography appeared in House Beautiful, Womans Day- Kitchen and Bath, Connecticut Magazine, The New York Times, American Photographer and many others. By the early '80s I began to sell my design skills in addition to my photos. I created ads, catalog pages, brochures, designed packages and other promotional materials.

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In 1992 I converted from cut and paste to computer design and rapidly became computer literate in both PC and MAC formats. In 1995 I learned how to program interactive CDs and in partnership with a writer/editor, Paul Lalley and a technical director/programmer John Ludtke we began to produce CD titles for the educational market. In 1996 I became Art Director and a partner in a project producing Caboodle "the interactive kids' magazine" on CD-ROM. Currently my projects include CD projects, web sites, photo and design assignments.

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I have had 2 one man photo shows during my professional career and have won awards at town arts and crafts fairs for my photography.  My first exhibit in 1980 was at the Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, Ohio.  This show featured a collection of black and white images of the steal mills of Youngstown. These scenes are a historic record of the now extinct industrial revolution style steal industry that for so long made Youngstown a great industrial city. My second exhibit was held in 1982 at the Farmington Art Guild, Farmington, CT.  This show titled Architecture & Antiquity was a collection of photos ranging from antique objects and buildings to modern skyscrapers.  The one common element in these images was the emphasis on strong geometric shapes, textures, light and shadow.

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All photos are available for purchase.  For pricing inquire by phone or e-mail:

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John Cessna

Designer / Photographer

Phone: 203 926-8888

photoman@photo-graphs.com

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Cessna's Fine Art Gallery. This section of  Designer/Photographer John Cessna's web site is designed for exhibiting painting, photography, drawing, illustration, glassware, and other art and crafts. Most of the artist who will show in this gallery make their living as commercial artist or photographers. Images in this agallery are avaliable for purchase framed or unframed. For detailed information or pricing contact the individual artist by e-mail links from their bio page of from the how to contact button on this page.