SHOW & TELL

WAVE III, ARTIST TALK SERIES

JANELL N. STROUSE, FEBRUARY 24, 2026

HEAT LIGHTNING

/ˈhēt ˌlītniNG/
noun

a flash (or flashes) of light seen near the horizon,

especially on warm evenings,

believed to be the reflection of distant lightning on high clouds.

A (SORT OF)

HISTORY LESSON

COSHOCTON, OH

… magical, wild, but at times strange …

ORAL TRADITION

… folklore … and the 12 spinster aunts …

EXPECTATIONS

… of a woman … from a rural community …

MARILYN JEAN

(SHANNON) DAUGHERTY

MY MATERNAL GRANDMOTHER

BORN IN 1933

  • High school graduate

  • Married @ 19

  • First child @ 20

  • Total children: 5

  • First grandchild @ 41

  • Died @ 62

DIANE ELIZABETH

(DAUGHERTY) STROUSE

MY MOTHER

BORN IN 1955

  • High school graduate

  • Married @ 18

  • First child @ 19

  • Total children: 2

  • First grandchild @ 42

  • Bachelor’s degree @ 48

  • Widowed @ 68

  • First great-grandchild @ 70

KENDRA JEAN

(STROUSE) WHITEUS

MY BIG SIS

BORN IN 1974

  • High school graduate

  • Married @ 22

  • First Child @ 23

  • Bachelor's degree @ 25

  • Master's degree @ 29

  • Total Children: 3

  • First grandchild @ 51

JANELL NICOLE

STROUSE

ME 🙂

BORN IN 1985

  • High school graduate

  • Engaged once @ 19 (called off)

  • Bachelor’s degree @ 22

  • Engaged a second time @ 23 (also called off)

  • Adopted Aggie @ 34

  • Master’s degree @ 38

  • Moved across the country alone @ 39

MY RESEARCH
AND PRACTICE

THE ARCHIVE

… where my obsession with photography began …

PIXELIZATION

… from digital storage to metaphor …

MATERIALS

… photography that straddles the 2 & 3-D planes …

PROCESS

… the part I giddily geek out over …

EASTER, ‘87

… the first piece of the “Heat Lightning” series …