Patty Rentschler C’11 is never far from her camera.
By Mary Jo Patterson
At some point today, as she’s done for the past 200-plus days, senior Patty Rentschler will take her own picture. Inspiration usuallystrikes—and that’s good because she has four months to go on a yearlong, creative self-portrait project.
Rentschler’s work is inspired by everything from Frida Kahlo to Mahler.
Many photographers seeking to improve their skills do the same thing, posting their work on the internet for all to see (and comment on). “I was just amazed by how much people could grow in a year,” says Rentschler, an art and music double major who took up photography in 2009. She launched her own 365 Days project on January 1. Initial results disappointed. “The ideas were maybe good, but I wasn’t skilled enough to make them fully art,” she says. Then came Day 127. “It just happened,” she says. “I’m in a dress, but you don’t see my face. The light was coming through the window and making all these geometric lines on the walls and the floor. I thought, this reminds me of Edward Hopper. I was very pleased. It was everything I wanted.”