Growing Up Boy was started as a companion to the Growing Up Girl® project. Both are personal photography projects by artist Lori Pedrick began during her studies at New Hampshire Institute of Art (June 2014–January 2017). This collection of carefully crafted portraits of men and women eventually grew into an inspired series accompanied by personal essays written by her subjects.
Mission Statement
Growing Up Boy is a collaborative project celebrating individualism, beauty, and the empowerment of men. The basic premise is to promote a healthier, positive message for men of all ages, ethnicities, body types, and backgrounds. Since my portrait sessions are basically my interpretations of each of my subjects, I wanted to find a way where each individual could have a voice too. I’ve invited each participant to write a short personal essay about being a boy/man. Their stories, coupled with my images, are incredibly powerful. This is a collection of stories from many courageous men, with lived experiences. It is a chance for each participant to share, be seen and be heard. The goal is to inspire young boys and men to feel more confident and self-assured. We all have great perspective in our own individual ways. Considering all that is in flux with our world today, I feel this message is vital.
Artist Statement
A portrait is a celebration of an individual, a commitment to slow and careful observation of beauty and uniqueness. The desire for acceptance lives within us all. I seek to embody the spirit of men, in their glorious, natural state. I aim to capture the strength and confidence in each of my subjects so that she too may see herself in the most positive, healthy light. My portrait sessions are a collaboration, a time of openness shared between women. The culmination of this exchange helps to empower the subject, the viewer, and myself. I am exploring standards of beauty within our culture.
Artist Biography
Lori Pedrick is an art director and photographer living in New England. She has over 20 years of experience in publishing and design and has recently received her Masters degree in Photography from the New Hampshire Institute of Art (graduate January 2017). Her skills include creative direction, graphic design, mixed media, photography (both commercial and fine art) and brand-development. She has worked on publications with a variety of topics, which include: home, food/entertaining, travel, wedding, and both long- and short-form narrative. Her photographic background includes commercial, editorial, and fine art photography. Along with a great attention to detail and strong typographic skills, she is highly organized and has a wonderfully collaborative spirit. This serves her well in client-based endeavors as well as her pursuits as a fine art artist.
Her photographic series entitled Growing Up Girl® and Growing Up Boy are collaborative projects, a portrait-based series accompanied by personal essays written by her subjects. Born from her passion to explore standards of beauty within our society, this project has expanded into areas of empowerment, confidence, and the support of women of all ages, ethnicities, body-types and the like. For inquiries email info@growingupgirl.com, info@growingupboy.com, or call 215-880-8494.
She is presently the founder of at Lori Pedrick Creative Services, LLC and the art director at Art New England Magazine. She is available for commissions or collaborations at any time.
To see more of her photography, and a portfolio of her publishing-related work, please visit loripedrick.com.
For questions, she can be reached at info@loripedrick.com or by phone at 215-880-8494.