For as long as I can remember, I have lived and breathed art.
It's not just what I do, it's who I am. As a child I would spend hours and hours drawing (usually horses). My journey as an artist has taken me through several seasons of growth, pause, and reinvention, and today, I'm stepping into a new one.
A little bit of my background story: I graduated summa cum laude from Allegany College of Maryland with an Associate of Arts degree and went on to earn my Bachelor's in Art and Design with an Art History minor from Frostburg State University, graduating cum laude. My focus was always painting- it was where I felt most at home along with drawing. However, I decided to dual focus in printmaking as well, switching from graphic design.
Then, life happened. I had children. Typically, as with most as they enter motherhood, they lose a little bit of who they once were. When the kids were little, spending time painting was nearly impossible. My time at the easel had to take a pause. I channeled my creativity into teaching private art lessons in Pittsburgh while my husband was at Carnegie Mellon pursing his PhD in Chemistry- eventually thinking I might get back to my art roots. When we moved back to Maryland- I found myself pulled to something new- photography.
Around 2012, I started dabbling more seriously with photography eventually taking on clients. I purchased my first "real" camera. By 2013, Sweet Charlotte Photography was born. What started as a passion quickly turned into a thriving business. My work was accepted into shows, and I even won multiple awards. More importantly I was able to life's most beautiful and meaningful moments for so many people.
But, by 2020, I felt a shift. The business that once fueled my creativity started to feel limiting. I slowly scaled back on my client work, and while I still enjoy photography, I feel like I'm meant to do more. I feel like there is something else in the cards for me.
That brings me here- to my rebrand, my reset, my return to my roots.
Soon, I am going to be reintroducing myself as an artist- not just a photographer, not just a painter, but a creative unbound by one medium. Heck, I've even used pastry as an art form- remember those pies? I want to explore painting again, experiment with new materials, and take on mural projects that push me to work big and bold.
And in this new season, I'll be reclaiming my maiden name- the name I used when I first became an artist, the name that is on my degrees, the name that represents where it all began. Plus, since having that art degree seemingly has cost me some other potential career paths, I might as well own it now. (Check a few blog posts back about that one if you're out of the loop).
This is more than a name change; this is me coming full circle.
If you've followed my work as Sweet Charlotte Photography, thank you for being here. I hope you'll stick with me as I step into this next chapter, where creativity can flow freely- through paint, ink, lens, words, or whatever medium calls to me next.
Maybe I'll even illustrate that children's book I've been thinking about.