Honorable mention, New York Center for Photographic Arts, Primary Colors Exhibition

I am honored to announce that my image, “Feeling Groovy”, was selected by juror, Stephen Perloff, as honorable mention for the New York Center for Photographic Arts, 2019, Primary Colors exhibition. There were a total of 46 images selected for the exhibition out of almost 1000 images submitted.

This image is very dear to me as it was created in my home town of Portland, Oregon back in 2012. The image was juried into my first group gallery exhibition in 2014, at the Lightbox Gallery in Astoria, Oregon, and it received my first international recognition, being granted honorable mention, for the Prix de la photographie Paris competition in 2014.

I remember at the time, thinking it was just a fluke that my work received these acknowledgements. I felt very out of place being new to the photographic art world. My mentor at the time, Joni Kabana, kept saying that this was just the beginning for me, and it was not an accident. She said I had talent, and that she could see good things for me in my future. I had a hard time fully believing that, yet she kept encouraging me to continue to follow my passion as a photographer, create new work, and keep putting myself out there. I am grateful for her belief in me, and her ongoing support and encouragement. Since that time, I have won international awards for my work and been in several exhibitions, both nationally and internationally.

December 2018, I retired from my 34 year career as a registered nurse, and moved to the south of France to live my dream of being a full-time fine art and portrait photographer. Since that time, many doors have opened for me here in France. I have the most amazing group of friends, and the amount of love and support I feel is incredible. This place inspires me to be my very best, and to be open to trust and allow good things to happen. I am no longer doubting myself. I believe all things are possible, and that I can live my life as an artist. Life is good!

It is interesting to me how the events of our lives are so interconnected. We don’t always understand the deeper meaning of our experiences, or where they are leading us. But, I do believe that everything happens for a reason, and in time, it will be revealed.

As I was looking at the images that were chosen for the 2019 Primary Colors exhibition, I noticed that, my mentor and friend, Joni Kabana, had one of her images selected as honorable mention. What a lovely surprise to see her image in the same exhibition! For me, it was another beautiful message from the universe confirming that I am on the right path, and showing me how far I have come since 2014. Back then, I could never image I would be where I am now. It is a good lesson in trusting, allowing, and listening to the people around you, and saying, “thank you for believing in me”, even when you are not sure you are worthy of the compliments.

To check out all the wonderful images selected for the exhibition, click on this link. https://www.nyc4pa.com/primary-colors-2019 It is such and honor to be amongst these photographers!

Finally, If you, or anyone you know, is traveling to the south of France and would like to have unique and beautiful portraits made with me, contact me soon. I have my calendar ready to go for the upcoming season, and I am expecting to be quite busy here in beautiful Provence, France.

Feeling Groovy, 2013

My mid-life awaking in the south of France

This is a view from my bedroom window in my home in Goult, France. This photo was taken in March shortly after I moved here.

It has been a long time since I last blogged. I have been going through a huge transition in my life over the past 2 years.  To keep it short, I ended my marriage,  cleared out of most of my belongings,  left my 34 year career as a nurse, and in February, 2018, I moved to the south of France to begin my full-time career as a professional photographer.  This past year has been the most fulfilling year of my life.

To back track a bit, the first time I came to France was in 2014. My first night there I was brought to tears, and I had an overwhelming feeling that I had found my home. I felt very strongly that France was where I needed to be to follow my dreams, and change my career path, but I had no idea how I could possibly make that happen. Well, with perseverance and strong determination, 4 years later, I made it happen.

Since 2010, I had been working on transitioning out of my nursing career to follow my dreams of becoming a professional photographer, but I was held back by my fears.  Over time, I realised that I had to let go of my fears of leaving my safe and successful career as a nurse.  My heart was not fully in it anymore, and my entire being craved to be free from within the box I was living. 

I could no longer live a life that was not feeding my soul, and it became quite clear to me, that life was way to short to not follow my dreams. I knew in my soul, that I had to dramatically change my life, and let go of my fear of leaving, what I perceived at the time, as a "safe and secure" lifestyle.  As a result, on December. 8th 2017,  I retired from my nursing job.  On January 9th, I left for a 1 month trip to Ecuador, and on February 15th, I left the United States and moved to the Luberon Valley in the south of France.

Taking this leap of faith has been an amazing experience.  I have experienced nothing but an incredible amount of support.  I am 58 years old, and I am living my dreams. I have changed my life path, and I am the happiest I have been in years. I dreamed of being a professional photographer when I was 18 years old, but I chose a different career path, which I don’t regret for a moment. But, I feel quite happy that I was able to follow my dreams at 58 years old. I worked hard to get where I am. It has not always been easy, but I believe in perseverance, and to never let go of ones dreams. You never know when it will be your time to soar. I believe that one is never too old to follow their dreams!

Since moving here, I have made many wonderful friends, and had many amazing adventures. I am learning to speak french, learning about the french culture and their way of life in the countryside. It is quite humbling to be a foreigner. I am learning many things about what to do, and what not to do to survive here. I butcher the French language on a daily basis, and pray one day I will be fluent in french. Along the way, I am learning how to trust myself, how to be quiet and listen more closely to my inner voice, how to nourish my body, heart and soul, how to love myself, how to live life in the moment, and allow good things to happen.

If you would like to follow my journey here in France, and beyond, subscribe to my email list, and you will be sent updates. I will be posting what I have been up to since moving here, so there will be lots of fun stories and photos to catch up on from the past 9 months.

My new home in the dead of winter when I first moved here..

In April, I brought this beautiful sweet puppy home and I named her Zoé. She is now 9 months old and has her own instagram account, Princess Zoé of Provence. Check out her site. I have a lot of fun photographing her.

One of the first sunsets I experienced from the property I live on.