iconI am a wife, mother, artist, photographer, crazy Cancer girl, and all-around dork.

I came to photography is a rather roundabout way. In 2000 I was living in Seattle and getting divorced. I was also preparing to move to Dallas to get a fresh start. My husband (a graphic designer) gave me a disk with Photoshop on it and said “You should play with this.” I was not an artist, not a photographer, not a crafter. I sometimes made collages for myself and friends and family. My apartment was one big collage of vintage clothes, magazine cutouts, and fairy lights. I was always being mistaken for an artist (I dressed weird) – but was most definitely NOT one. I didn’t even own a camera at the time.

So when I made the move to Dallas I bought a camera, a Photoshop book, and started shooting and editing photos. Those first few images are still some of my favorites. I mostly used my images in mixed media pieces – I sold work on Ebay and had some success with that. A whole lot of life happened between 2000 and 2006. I moved from Seattle to Dallas to New Orleans to Dayton, OH to Princeton, WV to Albuquerque. I went from being a career freight operations manager to being a graphic designer. I went from divorced to married to divorced to married again. And I became a mother. Let’s just say art and photography were put on the backburner for several years.

In 2006 I participated in a yearlong project with a group of local artists. We each created one piece a week for the entire year. We checked in with each other once a month. For my part I decided to give myself the additional challenge of working in one theme or medium each month. December of 2006 I decided to create 4 new photographic images – no mixed media – just the images themselves. And through that experience I decided to focus on photography. We had a gallery show displaying our work from the project in March 2007. And I bought my Rebel xti that same month.

Thoughts on Photograph

My photography is not about capturing a moment – it is about capturing emotions and creating visual allegories. I believe that is why I’m drawn to photo collage as it allows me to assemble and edit images to create a story. I love sitting at my computer and layering  images on top of each other – until something leaps out of the screen at me – and I understand the story these images are trying to tell me. Also, looking over the images that I love and speak to me the most I seem to hover on the darker side of life. I love things that simultaneously break my heart with their emotional context and lift me up with their unmistakable beauty. And when I see those things I point my camera and shoot.

My artistic journey has led me to be a founding owner of  The Wooden Cow Gallery in Albuquerque, New Mexico.  It is a space that is devoted to furthering the Albuquerque arts scene and promoting New Mexico artists in all creative media. It opened its doors in September 2008 and was voted Best Gallery in Albuquerque the Magazine and The Weekly Alibi in 2009.

I moved to Huntington, WV in June of 2010 and have recently joined the artist cooperative Renaissance Gallery.

Shows/Galleries

July 2010 – Photography Show  – Renaissance Gallery – participant

April 2010 – Urban Views:Capturing City Life – juried photography show – participant

July 2009 -  Familia de Burque – The Wooden Cow Gallery and Art Space – Solo Show

August 2008 – 08/08/08 Lucky day, lucky number. – 105 Studios, Albuquerque, NM

July 2008 – Ancient Voices, Distant Storms – Art 66 Gallery, Bernalillo, NM – Juried Show

July 2008 – Photo New Mexico – Matrix Fine Art, Albuquerque, NM
People’s Choice Award

January 2008 – Solo Photography Hanging – Satellite Coffee, Albuquerque, NM

August 2007 – Mixed Media Show – Magdalena Arts Gallery, Magdalena, NM

March 2007 – 52 Weeks – OffCenter Arts, Albuquerque, NM