Why "I am Art?

I love what I do! I love seeing the look on a woman’s face when I show her the first few shots on a shoot, and she realizes what she truly looks like to the world. I love that when leaving the studio, she walks just a little taller than when she came in. And I love that the little spark ignited in her will be carried into the rest of her day and hopefully other parts of her life.

This is my small contribution to the body-positivity movement. But I also want it to be more than that. We are more than just the bodies that we inhabit; we are complex and often contradictory creatures, made up of more things than even we ourselves can remember. And all these aspects, when put together, make up the work of art that is uniquely ourselves. We, as women, are bombarded from birth with reasons to feel like we are just not up to scratch. Not tall enough, not thin enough, too thin, too tall, nose too big, eyes too small, hair the wrong color, texture, etc. The list is endless. It’s hard to ignore, and it’s internalized without us even knowing.

When people ask how I got into boudoir and nude photography, I can answer them honestly when saying that it found me. Like most photographers, I used to hate having my photograph taken. I would joke that becoming a photographer was my way of taking control of the camera so that I wouldn’t have to be in front of it. So during the pandemic when I, like everyone else, found myself with more time on my hands than I knew what to do with (which also meant more time in my own head than I knew what to do with) and with my camera sat in its bag unused, I decided to turn it on myself for the first time, and it quite literally changed my life.

For the first time, I actually liked what I saw, and this gave me a much-needed boost in confidence. A confidence which I took into other aspects of my life. It also, and probably more importantly, made me realize that if I was wrong about this, then maybe I was wrong about other aspects of myself. It wasn't the entire answer but it was the beginning of one which I chose to keep searching for. 

Sharing these images was also eye-opening because I was suddenly in a world where people appreciated not only my images but saw the beauty in women of all shapes and sizes. Never was this true appreciation for diversity more clear to me. Yes, there will always be a small contingent who require people to fit some arbitrary and constantly changing body ideal, but for the most part, I have been pleasantly surprised to find that yes, people see more beauty than anything else and no there is no single definition of beauty.

It may appear very superficial but when the physical side of who you are feels like it has been criticized from the day you were born then having that feeling ease somewhat can be a powerful catalyst. It’s also very easy to say that we should rise above it all and that we shouldn't care what people think about our bodies, and for the most part that's true. But let's be honest, we all do. I know I do, although ironically, not nearly as much as I did before I started this. The more I photograph myself the less important the way I look becomes. 

Now a nude or boudoir shoot will not be the cure for years of unrealistic expectations thrust upon us, but it’s a good start. And we are more than just what people may see in the images. “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts,” as Aristotle once said. With “I am Art,'' I am hoping to tell the story of you. To remind you of the beautiful work of art that you are. To possibly shift your perspective just a little and maybe even enough to give you the boost that you need to gain some forward momentum. 

“I am Art” is the hope of creating a community of women who want to take control of not only their self-image but of their own narrative and celebrate that. The stories we tell ourselves, about ourselves, are important and shape the way we move through the world. And sometimes we need to be reminded of what those stories actually are and see that we, in our own messy chaotic way, are in fact, Art.

Learn more about "I am Art. I am Woman."