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STRANGER page 45

for Ms. Kawer if she
spread the word that
Japanese handmade paper
is not "rice paper," as it is
often called in the United
States, but rather named
individually for the village
from which it originates or
the plant from which the
fiber comes.
A correspondence con-
tinued, and one year later
Ms. Kawer received a
newspaper clipping from
the papermaker. The arti-
cle was about her work.
One of her pieces had been
donated to the Paper Art
Museum — Kami No
Hakubutsukan — in
Tokyo. The papermaker
had contributed the piece,
having felt selfish being
the only one to enjoy Ms.
Kawer's art.
Instead, a reproduction
Ms. Kawer designed for
the Detroit Institute of
Arts' Art and Flowers
poster competition from
1991 is proudly hung in
his office in Japan.
The technique artists
and professors once joked
about has afforded Ms.
Kawer the opportunity to
display her work in the
permanent collection of
the DIA, the Polaroid
Collection in Cambridge,
Mass., the California
Museum of Photography
and the Southfield Cul-
tural Arts Commission. In
addition, many commer-
cial photographers have
adapted the process.
"There is an inherent
danger in something being
seen as a gimmick. I'm
sure this is a fad and will
pass. But for me, this is
simply my printing tech-
nique," Ms. Kawer said.
Through much search-
ing, Ms. Kawer has also
found gallery representa-
tion. Three women, also
learning the tough busi-
ness of male-dominated
photography, took Ms.
Kawer on as an artist at
the Pierce Street Gallery.
Twelve years ago,
Nanette Carnick, Marcia
Boxman and Elaine Yaker
opened the tiny, second-
floor gallery in Birm-
ingham. All three women
had a passion for the lens
and a desire to show the
works of others with that
same love.
Photography accounts
for 80 percent of their
exhibits.
In 1989, the co-owners
decided they needed more
activity in their lives and
their business and created
the business of Pierce
Street Portraits — black
and white photographs of

children in their natural
state, rather than posed in
a party dress on green
shag carpeting.
Ms. Yaker, Ms. Carnick
and Ms. Boxman had
taken classes at the
Center for Creative
Studies, Wayne State
University and the Maine
Photographic Workshop.
The experience out east
profoundly affected their
collective future.
"We studied with many
women there," Ms.
Carnick said. "It made a
difference. It gave us a
belief that there was a
place in the world of pho-
tography and art for
women."
All mothers of grown
children, Ms. Yaker,
Carnick and Ms. Boxman
chose the subject matter
they knew best — chil-
dren.
During a typical sitting,
four rolls of black and
white film are shot using
only the child and simple
props — nothing gim-

"There is a
different quality
about buying
portraits as
opposed to
artwork."

Elaine Yaker

micky. They encourage
parents to dress their
child in the child's
favorite clothing rather
than stuffy dress apparel.
Photos are shot in the
gallery with gray paper
covering the wall and floor
to produce a neutral back-
ground. Often the women
find themselves on the
floor with the children —
helping them grow com-
fortable in the environ-
ment.
"Our goal is to find the
child, to find his or her
personality and capture
it," Ms. Yaker said.
The women believe
printing the image in
black and white helps con-
vey the personal nature of
their photography.
"Black and white iso-
lates. All you are looking
at is the child," Ms.
Boxman said. "There is no
distraction of color."
Although the partners
of Pierce Street Gallery
and Portraits are proud of
their work as art, they
also view it as something
greater — the recording of
a family history. And that,