Hello!

My name is Alexa, and I am an artist and photographer in the Pacific Northwest.

Thanks to my parents, I was exposed to the arts early in life, and the creative pursuit has been one of my constants.

I started out as a ballet dancer at age 3, eventually dancing professionally in my late teens and early twenties. I also was exposed to other artistic endeavors, including pastels and collage, and I fondly recall my mom giving me her old film camera age 13, and how crafting photos helped me overcome an illness at that time; I remember loving how my camera was able to introduce me to the wonderful simple things.

Eventually, as I tried to build a career in ballet, photography fell to the wayside. Unfortunately, my dance journey was cut short due to injury. Fortunately, the need to create was still alive and well. and I soon found myself studying English Literature, Eastern Philosophy, and spirituality, including meditation. Though not what I had planned, these years were formative to my artistic self, and the search for joy and beauty in the world was rejuvenating.

In fact, retrospectively, I now see that my creative journey through dance, literature, and the contemplative practices led me back to photography as a medium of expression and contemplation and all of my prior experiences have resulted in photography allowing me to record images in a joyful and playful way.

In my world, photography is not just a technical process, but a spiritual practice. And in my work, I am interested in what Nature can communicate about the Sacred and our relationship to it.

Specifically, I am exploring the relationship between the Sacred and Nature through close-ups, in the abstract, and the emotion and energy that is emanated by certain places.

I also love the subject of water, but I have a soft spot for cats (a miracle of nature, indeed), and also a deep love for photographing the landscape of Western Ireland, a place where humanity and nature have cultivated an ancient coexistence. I especially love the stories of the early Christian Monks of Ireland, who taught about God’s revelation through the book of Scripture, and the book of Creation (and, in case you didn’t already guess, it’s not an actual book, but one which can be partially captured through the lens).

I am grateful for the abilities given to us by modern technology, but my own approach to photography isn’t so much about “taking” a photo (or worse, “shooting” a photo); rather, it’s about waiting for a photo to happen and being ready to recognize that moment. I do my best to make each image its own moment of contemplation.

My hope is that in sharing my work, I can inspire others to slow down and take a moment to receive all of the ways that beauty and joy surround us, and is within us.

Enjoy!

Alexa