Stephanie Jarstad : The Twelve Beards of Christmas

Stephanie Jarstad : The Twelve Beards of Christmas by Aline SmithsonDecember 24, 2015

©Stephanie Jarstad

Deck the halls with beards of holly, fa la la la la…!

On this day before Christmas, we thought we’d share some levity and holiday cheer combined in Stephanie Jarstad‘s project, The Twelve Beards of Christmas. Her creative portraiture is the perfect tonic to the stresses of the season.

Stephanie Jarstad is based in Seattle, WA and available worldwide. Stephanie is currently pursuing her MBA degree at Northwest University. She received her undergraduate degree in photography from Brigham Young University. Stephanie’s photography has been featured in publications nationally and internationally including Cosmopolitan, Good Morning America, Today, The Huffington Post, Slate Magazine, Trendhunter Magazine, The Dish, Fashion World, ABC, NBC and various others.

©Stephanie Jarstad

My initial idea was to publish a twelve month calendar called “A Beard for all Seasons.” It’s being sold here! I wanted to do something quirky and fun. Each month of the calendar has a different corresponding holiday represented in the model’s beard. i.e. January is a new years eve beard. February is Valentines day, etc. So when I got to “Decembeard” I had a slew of ideas. Instead of limiting myself to one, I decided to do the twelve beards of Christmas. So, most models did one calendar beard and one Christmas beard. The Christmas beards began as a side project from “A Beard for all Seasons” calendar.

I adore photography and people. Blend the two and it makes for a heavenly pair. I was that eleven year old who walked to the drug store to buy a disposable camera every month and planned photo shoots with my two best friends. I’ve filled a million scrapbooks. In high school, I lived in the darkroom. College was the same story. After completing my BFA in photography, I packed up all of my frames, prints, and cameras and moved back to the Pacific Northwest. My photography philosophy comes from an Aristotle quote, “Where your talents and the needs of the world cross; there lies your vocation.” Photography is my vehicle for social change and creativity.

I am itching to see as much of this planet as possible, near or far. So, even if you don’t live in Seattle, don’t hesitate to inquire.

©Stephanie Jarstad

Can you tell me about yourself, how did you get into photography?

I’ve always had a passion for photography. As a kid, I planned photo shoots with my two best friends and we rode our bikes to the drugstore to get film developed. My love for photography blossomed in high school where I took my first darkroom class. Then, I furthered developed my skill in college graduating with a BFA in Photography from Brigham Young University. I worked in a darkroom through college. Currently, I have work in three fine art galleries in Seattle and supplement my fine art with shooting weddings and freelance commercial work (stephaniejarstad.com) I love human interest stories. I love the conversation photography brings to life. Photography is my vehicle to raise awareness and create social change. I have a couple human interest exhibits in galleries right now.

One body of work is called, “Innocent Eyes,” where I took portraits of blind people and gave them disposable cameras and asked them to take photos of things they find significant or beautiful with their other senses. Their photos are on display alongside their portrait so they become the artists.The thought behind this project was to make people happy and spread a little more hairy, merry holiday cheer. I wanted to do something to raise awareness for Movember (prostate cancer and men’s health).

©Stephanie Jarstad

How did you get the inspiration for each beard?

I would walk around craft stores and think, “This is small enough and would make a good Christmas beard!” haha I’ve definitely never shopped with that intent before. I tried to make each Christmas beard different enough with its own theme. We’ve got the Christmas tree, the snowflake, reindeer, elf, etc. I just thought of different themes of Christmas. I have a few up my sleeve for next year already!

©Stephanie Jarstad

Special thanks to the models as they appear in the poster: Nic Polaske, Jay Simpson, Joel Mitchell, Kody Jacobs, Michael Pett, Nathan Stauter, Taylor Brimhall, Troy Mattinson, Tony Reed, Christopher Hyde, Willy Ludlow, Jess Anderson, Gregory Denton. Their beards are a labor of love and I definitely couldn’t have made this a success without them and creative assistant Kristin Gulledge. I found them by putting a casting call on Facebook and Instagram @stephaniejarstad people tagged their friends. I had over 80 people respond or tag friends. It was a very interesting experience because I didn’t know any of them previously. So, it went a little bit like this, “Hi! I’m Stephanie….Ok, I’m going to stick a bunch of decorations in your beard now.” It was quite the bonding experience. I made so many great friends through the project.