Cristen J.
Roghair is a wife, mother, photographer and rancher. She ranches alongside her
husband in western SoDak were they also home-school their two kids.
Cristen has
lived in several states in the mid-west but South Dakota is her favorite and
has become home.
Photography
has been a part of Cristen’s life for as long as she can remember; it’s the most
enjoyable art form she knows for her to be able express what this landscape
means to her.
For the past
6 years Cristen has built a landscape photography business. She sells her
photographs of South Dakota at several art shows throughout the state, her website
and galleries across South Dakota: Prairie Edge Fine Art Gallery in Rapid;
Rehfeld’s Art & Framing in Sioux Fall and South Dakota State Art Museum in
Brookings.
Cristen and
her family are in the process of restoring a 1911 township school house on their
Okaton ranch into an art gallery and art education space.
Artist
Statement:
As a
photographer, I observe and see the world around me. Through my lens I have
discerned fathomless depths in shadows, penetrating brilliance in the sky and
profound beauty in the wide open spaces. When I photograph, my senses come
alive. There is a song in the wind, harmony in the waving prairie grasses and
the grand percussion as the sun moves across the sky. The clouds are big
and full of life, the storms so close you can reach out and feel the heat.
After living
over half of my life on the prairie, I am at home with its peaceful and yet
raging expanses. Photography allows me to express the beauty of the
plains--this amazing and often overlooked landscape--which brings comfort to my
soul. What a joy to know the One who created it and to share His beauty with
others.
"Art is a reflection of God's
creativity. An evidence that we are made in the image of God
."
~Francis Schaeffer