HW: What did you want to be when you grew up?
B: I was always very creative when I was young. You could find me drawing, creating sculptures, making jewelry, and playing music a lot of my childhood. When asked about what I wanted to “be” when I grew up, I never had a clear answer. I might have said, to be a mother, or a musician. I didn’t end up going for either of those things, haha, at least not yet. When I was 18 I decided to go to college and get a degree in Diagnostic Medical Sonography…It is visual, reliable, and involves caring for others, all of which I felt excited about pursuing. After doing that for 14 years, I’ve gradually moved from caring for women in the medical field, to the creative field.
HW: How do you explain your art?
B: I really love a friend’s observation of my art recently that I’ll use here;
“It’s like a quiet, deeply feminist act of service, a gengle activism, if you will, that serves to liberate women by pulling them out of the shadow of their ingrained patriarchal ideology and into their wild true self.”
HW: Why Photography?
B: It feels natural for me to express with imagery. When I meditate, I visualize things. When I observe, there are all these moments that I want to freeze and save forever. These moments contain a thing deep down, a feeling and expression that I desire to encapsulate and share that I don’t know how to share with words.
HW: Talk to us a little bit about how you got started…
B: In 2014 I was married and in my mid 20’s. We were both figuring out who we were while trying to navigate doing that together. There were many instances where I disconnected from my intuition and I didn’t voice my feelings. This led to me feeling numb and lost. I eventually started doing some self portraits, and to my surprise I got really into it! I started to connect with myself more, I felt a new confidence in my skin, I was more aware and embodied. I had a pool at the time and took my self portraits underwater, and I fell in love with it. It was like a ritual for me, a sort of practice to dive in and let my body speak. I was excited to share them on an anonymous Instagram I had created, “Bird.ee”. That was a place where I was meeting people who also spoke the same language in imagery, they understood depression, disconnect, loneliness, as well as hope, and healing with art.
HW: Which musicians, photographers, painters, artists are you a fan of?
B: Oh this list could be very long! I really love music. For me, music is a key that unlocks visions. Some that I draw inspiration from are Aldous Harding, Weyes Blood, Adrianne Lenker, Shannon Lay, Radiohead, Robbie Basho, Neil Young, The Darkside, Tycho, Daughter, Rhye, Brian Eno, and Henry Toland. Other various artists that inspire me are Clarissa Pinkola Estes, Rupi Kaur, Georgia O’Keeffe, Klimt, David Hockney, Botticelli, and Ansel Adams.
HW: What are you obsessed with right now?
B: Finding ways to create space to allow for creative expression and finding daily rituals that allow me to connect with my knowing.
HW: Where do you get your inspiration from?
B: Music, long walks, observing, and meditation.
HW: Your photos are pure poetry, you manage to create an atmosphere where human beings, water, and love enter at the same time. What do they mean to you?
B: Thank you! The water represents the feminine, it’s transformative, it’s allowing a rebirth, it’s ethereal and mysterious, It’s connected with the moon and is elemental and feels alive to me. When I was young, and even still sometimes, I have nightmares about being underwater or an eminent tidal wave coming towards me. My imagery has been an entire cycle of healing for me, with my self portraiture to rewriting my nightmares into beautiful dreams. Even still as I myself am doing inner work, embracing more feminine energy, understanding masculine energy and its place in my life, I see this reflected in my work.
HW: What’s the dream?
B: I am living the dream! To be doing and sharing my art full time, which I just took that leap last year.
HW: What is your biggest fear?
B: To lose someone close to me
HW: What is fragility to you?
B: A type of vulnerability that is delicate, raw, and trusting.
HW: What do you think of the link between psychology and art?
B: I believe there is so much connection between psychology and art. The more I have dove into photography, the more that I felt like I needed to explore, understand, and heal my inner world.
