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Katherine Marie McKee, (born Katherine Marie Tomski on March 11, 1969) aka KASHA, is a Canadian fine art photographer. Born in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada, to immigrant parents from Poland and the Ukraine.
As a child, KASHA showed promise in the arts of singing, acting and illustrating. In high school, she studied under award winning water color Artist HUGH NIBLOCK who recognized her affinity for drawing to which KASHA received the Art Award in both senior years.
1989 - At Guelph University, with full scholarship, British Artist & Professor MARGARET PRIEST noted KASHA's talent and ‘self willed’ nature. It was here that she decided her skills should be put toward a more lucrative career possibility other than as a painter.
1992 - Ryerson Polytechnical Institute, Toronto, accepted KASHA into the acclaimed Interior Design School as 1 of 1500 international applicants. Through the first year of fundamental instruction and experimentation, she fell in love with photography as a medium. With signed out photography equipment, KASHA volunteered for the local school newspapers as an entertainment photographer and began shooting live rock concerts. KASHA gained recognition quickly with each publication which fueled her ambition to jump into the real world, camera ready.
It was also during this time KASHA was invited to participate in a group art show to support Aides Awareness. The sense of community and charity made a great impression on KASHA. As her first photography exhibition, this put a public spotlight on KASHA and her work which she naturally embraced and gracefully rose to the occasion.
These early years in Toronto, when photography was film, and the industry relied on labs for processing and locations to print, KASHA made her rounds with her second hand camera with such zest, it was easy for her to make friends and be acknowledged as an IT girl on the scene. Half of the time, she was being recruited to be on the other side of the camera by other aspiring photographers, film directors, and fashion designers.
As KASHA continued to rise in popularity with exhibitions and publications in local magazines and newspapers, she fine tuned her subject to male models. This opened the world of fashion where KASHA became known for shooting fresh faces for modeling agencies in Toronto and South Beach Florida. Her exhibitions grew as well to include solo shows with larger, more experimental prints, and projections. The venues were always unusual spaces, restaurants and clubs.
Over the years, the digital evolution changed the landscape for photographers, for artists, and KASHA adapted seamlessly. Identifying the internet as a demand for images, KASHA was a hired gun for content for many years until she missed exhibiting.
In 2008, KASHA spent the winter in South Beach shooting her environment which revived her artistic appetite. The 'Umbrella' series, and 'Paradise At Night' were born. The 'Umbrella' series was printed as large scale prints, and 'Paradise At Night' was projected on a grand scale. Both series were exhibited at her favorite clubs, Mynt Lounge during closed hours and SET during a packed Friday night.
2011 - KASHA married her husband Scott McKee, a Captain for American Airlines and settled comfortably in Palm Beach Florida. Now, KASHA has dedicated her time to evolving her work to the next level; large scale digital, photo montage on paper 36" x 72", and are issued as first and only prints, the most valuable pieces of her career. KASHA plans to continue this creative direction of photo montage as her signature style.
2014 - KASHA decided to donate the sales of her 'FAMOUS PLAYER' Celebrity Portrait Series to raise funds and awareness for her charity of choice: 'MORE BIRTHDAYS' benefiting children with cancer via The American Cancer Society. Exhibition t.b.a.
Charity work remains a strong theme in KASHA's life and has had some excellent occasions to help:
Canada: 1992, AIDS AWARENESS - 'Artists Group Show', 2003-2006, RED CROSS - 'MEALS ON WHEELS (delivering hot dinners to dependent seniors).
U.S.A.: 1999, KOSOVO RELIEF DRIVE, 2007,2008, UNITED WAY - 'Toast to the United Way', UNITED WAY - 2009, 'Feed the Homeless' Thanksgiving, MIAMI.
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2014 - KASHA decided to donate the sales of her 'FAMOUS PLAYER' Celebrity Portrait Series to raise funds and awareness for her charity of choice: 'MORE BIRTHDAYS' benefiting children with cancer via The American Cancer Society. Exhibition t.b.a.
Charity work remains a strong theme in KASHA's life and has had some excellent occasions to help:
Canada: 1992, AIDS AWARENESS - 'Artists Group Show', 2003-2006, RED CROSS - 'MEALS ON WHEELS (delivering hot dinners to dependent seniors).
U.S.A.: 1999, KOSOVO RELIEF DRIVE, 2007,2008, UNITED WAY - 'Toast to the United Way', UNITED WAY - 2009, 'Feed the Homeless' Thanksgiving, MIAMI.
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