Two artists from two different countries are joining together in Minot in a project featuring their artistic talents.
Anisa Nin, a photographer from Minot, and Natasha Lazarovic, who designs and produces Temna Fialka Clothing in Edmonton, Alberta, are working on a photo fashion shoot through Monday. They began Friday.
"The shoot is for a collaboration of two artists from neighboring countries, supporting one another's art, with the option of future publications for both of our countries," Nin said.
"We will be shooting in and around Minot the various pieces she brought here," she added. They also plan to go to the North Dakota Badlands for some of the work.
Lazarovic and three North Dakota residents are the models for the photo shoot. The other models are Shannon Luger, of Fort Yates, Randi Getchell, of Minot, and Eesah Howling Wolf, of Garrison.
Howling Wolf has never modeled before, Nin said. She said she met her at the Little Shell Celebration, the powwow west of New Town, last month. Nin has been assisting Herbert Ascherman Jr., a photographer from Ohio who has been in North Dakota in past months to photograph members of the Three Affiliated Tribes and other tribes for a special project.
On Friday, Luger modeled clothes with Lazarovic, with Scandinavian Heritage Park in Minot as the setting. Luger said her modeling experience has included promotions for Miller Lite and Anheuser. She said she wanted to work with Nin and Lazarovic because it is something "out of my box more artistic."
Lazarovic, coaching Luger for a scene for the photo shoot Friday afternoon, said, "Think art when you pose."
Lazarovic said her clothing is avant-garde. Being from Canada, she said she likes to use a lot of fur in her designs. "I love culture and color," she said.
She said she began to sew clothing when she was 7 years old. She started her own company in 2001 and sells clothing online and ships to numerous countries.
Nin and Lazarovic met in August 2009 on the Internet at a site called "Model Mayhem," which is for photographers and models, Nin said. Both Nin and Lazarovic posted their work there.
Nin has been involved in professional photography for about a year. She did her first professional shoot in June 2009. Before that, she said she was doing other photography including self-portraits and landscapes. Her work has been published in Giuseppina, an arts magazine in California, and one of her photos will be on the cover of a CD for the band Stomp Rocket in Los Angeles.
Some of the photos that Nin is taking during the current photo shoot will be included in a show of her work at the Taube Museum of Art in Minot, Nin said. She said the show is tentatively scheduled for June or July 2011. She will also have photos in a group show in the Taube being planned for the end of this year.
Nin said they do not have a publication yet for the work currently under way in Minot but she said several fashion magazines are interested in the project.
