“Of all the great works that we can experience, nature is the most absolute and enduring. We can witness it change through the seasons. We can see it in the mountains, the oceans, the deserts, and the forest. We can watch the changes of the moon each night, and the relationship between the moon and the stars.”
― Rick Rubin,
The Creative Act: A Way of Being
Artistic inspiration comes in many forms and from many sources. I often say that ‘art is everywhere’ and nowhere is this more true for me than when I am in nature. I think of Mama Earth as the most incredible artist and masterpiece of all. I am deeply inspired by beautiful natural environments and they are a major feature in my photographic artwork.
The Art of Environmental Portraits
I find it interesting how the call to create sometimes leads us to what we need to give voice to although without awareness of what we are being called to or what we need to say while we are in the creative process. I am obsessed with creating environmental portraits, but it took years and years of me creating them before I even knew it was my style and that there was something I was trying to express through my creation of them.
Nature as Muse
Nature has always been a place of safety and a space that held me. As a kid, I loved running in the woods, climbing trees, sitting by a river, watching clouds pass overhead…these were places I sought out. I felt a sense of peace and belonging in them. As an adult, I am moved daily by the beauty I see in the flicker of light, the clouds in the sky, the way a sidewalk glitters when the sun hits it just right, the breeze that sways through tree limbs, the texture in a plant leaf, the thousands of years of story that exist within a single rock. I am awed by the splendor of it all.
Nature As A Story of Belonging
When I watch my daughter or my client kiddos play in nature, I am again reminded of how we are naturally wired to be within, and a part of, nature. And that for me is part of what I want to show in my art. How we all inherently belong to this beautiful earth and how we are a part of nature.
Our Home: Mother Nature
I do this through my use of environmental portraiture. I am looking for imagery that sparks awe and wonder for this marvelous planet we call home. I want people to see themselves as part of nature. I believe that we are part of this beautiful interconnected planet we are fortunate enough to call home. I want people to feel that BELONGING to the earth. I want them to see Mother Nature as our truest and most vital home without which, none of us survive.
I am actively trying to show people their connection to place and it is my hope that it inspires awe and reverence, and therefore a responsibility to honor our environment and home planet. We are living in a time of rapid environmental destruction and crisis, and this is my little way of reminding folks of this beautiful gift that we need to take care of because Mama Earth IS our home.
Beautiful 🥲