Bio:
Jim Schlett’s interest in photography began with a graduation gift of a Polaroid camera from grade school in New Jersey. He later obtained an AA degree in Photography and Art and continued to attend photography workshops and presentations. He obtained his MBA in 1982 and was employed by the US Postal Service as the Director/Chief of Staff of the Law Department for over 30 years in Washington D.C. In 2011, he “refocused” on his love for the National Parks and photography. He is a long-standing member of the Reston Photographic Society (RPS) and the former President of the League of Reston Artists (LRA) (2012-17).
His photographs have been published in the Washington Post, Reston Magazine, Fairfax Times, annual reports, Parks & Travel Magazine, Elan Magazine, the Hoover Foundation Newsletter. He exhibited in local galleries and art shows, and won numerous competitive awards. One of his images was displayed in the Art Takes Times Square Exhibition in New York City in June 2012. Over the past 15 years, Jim’s piece, “Beyond the Planets” was selected for a 4′ x 9′ permanent display of Public Art in Windows at ArtSpace Gallery in Herndon VA. Several of his photographs were selected for the Gettysburg and Manassas Battlefield National Park calendars, as well as the Foundations’ media campaigns for both parks. In 2017, he was selected to participate in the Community Supported Arts Program in Alexandria Virginia.
Since 2016, he successfully completed an Artist-In-Resident (AIR) at eight National Park Service locations, including Gettysburg Military Park, PA, Homestead National Monument In Nebraska, Herbert Hoover Historic Site in Iowa and Bighorn Canyon in Wyoming, creating a large body of new images and some great adventures and new connections. Jim has been a speaker at the several Washington, DC art and photography clubs discussing his AIR experience with his images. He published over 10 feature articles about the AIR experiences in Live More Magazine, Parks & Travel Magazine, Reston Magazine, the Fairfax Times and the Hoover Foundation newsletter. Jim has been displaying his AIR images at several exhibition venues, including galleries in NYC and Fairfax County Government Offices. I n 2019, his photographs were exhibited in a joint effort partnership about the AIR program at the flagship store of REI and the NPS in Washington, DC, and at the Fujifilm Exhibition at Grand Central Station in New York City. See more of his work as https://photomanva.zenfolio.com/p570512401
Donation Appeal:
Throughout June and July, we will be presenting on this web site work by poets and artists responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. We hope you will find these works relevant, comforting and inspiring as we all cope with the economic and health-related fallout.
As you view the work on this site each day, we would like to encourage you to donate to the Arlington Food Assistance Center (AFAC). Their mission “ is to feed our neighbors in need by providing dignified access to supplemental groceries. AFAC is seeing a record number of families due to the COVID-19 pandemic as families who never thought they would ever be in need are now showing up at our doors for much needed food.” And, in keeping with our hunger-focused efforts, you may also want to visit the Poetry X Hunger website where poems by many poets are posted and are being used by anti-hunger organizations.”
Throughout June and July, we will be presenting on this web site work by poets and artists responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. We hope you will find these works relevant, comforting and inspiring as we all cope with the economic and health-related fallout.
Please consider donating to AFAC. If you do, let us know which poet or artist inspired you so we can send you a personal thank you.
