Who am I, anyway?
By day, I’m a Portland creative who flexes her aesthetic muscles doing custom web site design and development, and capturing visions as a commercial, fashion and local business photographer. If you’re the type who wants to get straight to the point, my resume is available online, and I encourage you to take a look at my portfolios.
By night, I’m earning my spurs as a derby girl in-training, and I also have 7+ years of wushu training under my belt. As intimidating as that probably sounds, though, I’m really just a geek-ish dork with nerd tendencies, I love to cook and will eat just about anything you put in front of me, and I never take myself too seriously.
I built my first web site when animated GIFs were still cool.
I started out as a graphic designer and web developer at the tender age of 15, and I’ve been elbows-deep in web technology ever since. I basically live on the Internet, and I’m passionate about making the web a prettier and more useful place. I do have a degree in design, but practically everything I know is a skill that I learned on my own, because, well, I was excited about learning it. Even now, 15+ years later, I still sometimes giggle like a moron when I find a creative solution to a problem, so that’s probably a good sign that I’m still having fun with my work.
There’s more than one way to get visual.
I probably shouldn’t have been surprised that I also became a photographer based in Portland, Oregon, almost 10 years later–I love a good visual, and digital photography grabbed onto me and wouldn’t let go. Photographing people in their element is what I love, and it’s incredibly cool to capture who they are and what they want to say through my work. I’m self-taught as a photographer, too, and I’ve loved learning and experimenting, playing with light and concepts, and working with awesome people.
I’m not just a cube warrior.
I’ve held full-time jobs in web and graphic design for software companies and non-profits, and the professional experience was nice, but I wasn’t wildly excited about those positions. I spent over seven years creating web content for a company, sending it out into the world, and feeling completely detached from the people I was supposedly serving. My bosses gave me glowing reviews, but I never had a clear picture of of how useful or helpful my work was for our clients or the community. Some people are happy with being a cog in a large organization, but I felt disconnected and sometimes downright depressed.
It’s about creating beauty and relationships.
It was working in my off-hours as a photographer that helped me figure out what the problem was with “The Job.” I loved working with my photography clients because I wasn’t just being a creative: I also got to learn about them and be more connected with them. I eventually realized that, hey, maybe I’d be happier if I took that approach with my design and web site work, too!
I’ve learned that, for me, working as a creative is also about building relationships, and I like getting to know everyone I work with, and actually seeing how my work is helping you take a leap towards your own dream. It’s already fantastic that I love what I do, but I also want to love what you do.
I’ve done a lot of things.
I have a lot of experience, but I’m always looking for new ones, so if you have a ball to throw at me, I’ll catch it. If you want to know more about the lady working behind-the-scenes, here’s a little interview I did in 2010. Or, see what my design portfolio and professional photography work have to say for themselves.
Anything else you’re dying to know about? Just ask.
