Barbara Lawlor, Nederland.

Every few months the Nederland Community Library presents a local artist’s show. The walls of the library have the lighting and hanging gear, as well as the space to provide artists a chance to show their work in a well-used public place.

Last week, Marlyn Cheshes, a long-time Nederland resident, hung her collection of dancer photographs. She was trained as a sculptor and painter but in the last few years she has devoted herself to documentary and art photography.

“I approach the camera with a sculptor’s eye. When shooting I am drawn to shadows, contours and offbeat perspective. I may shoot down from a ladder or up from the floor. I get below the surface and beyond the whole.”

Cheshes has shown her “Death Camp Series,” a photo essay of the Holocaust; she has produced an outdoor exhibit of sculptures from “Alice in Wonderland,” and another documentary series of photos, “Ground Zero.”

Now she says, “I am a camera. The interior of the Zone Plate camera is my face in the negative blank space. The features of my face can be seen when a bright light shines on it. I think I look playful inside.”

Marlyn says she is always ready with two 35 mm cameras and prefers fast film without flash. When she shot “Alice in Wonderland” on stage, she followed the dancers snapping continuously to capture the essence of the dance, mentally thawing the sculptural tableaus.

“The facet of my work reflects my love of dance,” she says.