Artists Tell Their Stories: Backyard Getaway

Thursday, October 20, 2016

Judith Black Horn, Photographer, Tells Her Story

Originally from Indiana, I moved to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina in 1999 and lived there for 11 years. When I started to fall in love with photography Myrtle Beach was full of subjects to capture. The ocean, flowers, Brookgreen Gardens, Atalaya, spiritual retreats, and much more that I had never had the opportunity to see before.

The Atlantic Ocean seemed to be the most mesmerizing to me. Lakes had been my only connection to a larger body of water, so the ocean consumed me and made me want to capture that beautiful part of our world.

In December 2010 my job took me to Sarasota, Florida. After relocating to Sarasota I entered a zebra canvas project and won Honorable Mention. I was thrilled because there were 356 entries in that contest. That award was a sign for me to continue with photography, which is what I really wanted to do anyway!

My favorite quote is: “Nature Does Nothing Naturally” so that is one reason I want to capture nature at its best. My coffee table book, Mother Nature, Captures of Her Children, published in 2006 is an example of what I wanted to accomplish at that time. It shows how I felt when I was photographing nature.

My energy now goes to building my metal prints for great memories. I focus on pet portraits more than anything, and I give 20% of each sale to a rescue of the customer’s choice. If they do not have a specific one, I donate to Vintage Paws, operated by Jennifer Hummel in the south Sarasota area.

The tears flow when I produce a metal print for those that have lost one of their pet families. I grew up with animals so the passion to help families remember their beloved peta makes me happy in the end, but at the time I’m making it, it is very emotional for me. However, the faces of my customers are priceless when they see the finished product.

I have also had the honor of producing metal prints for the most wonderful part of life including book authors, family portraits, events such as weddings and event award plaques, which I do every month for the Span Networking Group in Sarasota.

Business adventures with my metal photography is something that I strongly want to pursue, as the deep colors, light weight, and scratch resistant metal prints are the way to define offices, contemporary designer homes and hotels.

After all is said and done, I am living the rest of my life fulfilling my passion for photography in its many different forms. Wildlife is yet another area I am intrigued by. In April 2017, I will be traveling to Africa on the trip of a lifetime to photograph the amazing wildlife there.

I recently began online sales of a variety of products including fashion, phone covers, pillows, totes, cups and more fun merchandise using my photographic skills. I have been approached to help with a cookbook, do a photo shoot in local gift store and to photograph an event venue. All of these adventures just continue to fuel my passion for photography! Thank you for taking the time to read about my passion.

This is Week 41 of 52 Artists in 52 Weeks. Thank you for reading and sharing Judith’s story today. To connect with her and see more of her work please visit the following links:

Publications:

The Voice, cover

Sarasota Downtown Association’s magazine, January 2015

Florida Creative Living magazine, online

Backyard Getaway

Because of Tuscany, a romance novel by Karen Ross

Social Media Sites:

Website

Facebook

Facebook-Judith the Photographer

Facebook – Metal Prints Photography

Twitter

Wednesday, April 8, 2015

Dave & Lisa Burns, Outdoor Living Artisans, Tell Their Story

Dave & Lisa Burns, Outdoor Living Artisans, Tell Their Story

Until recently, I had not thought of what we do as “art” in the traditional sense of the word. However, through our years of creating inspirational outdoor living spaces, I have come to see that art is something you create to bring joy and happiness to others. We are continually inspired by our customers and enjoy creating artistic spaces for them to escape to without leaving their homes.

Dave and I work as a team, we share ideas, I sketch it out on paper and Dave brings it to life in our customer’s backyards. Of all the projects we have created I think the one we both enjoyed the most was the Backyard Makeover Contest.

Dave had always wanted to do a landscape makeover like you see on those DIY shows. We decided to hold a contest where local people sent in pictures of their ugly backyard and the public voted on who would win the makeover. The winner received a complete backyard makeover, which included goods and services donated by 18 local businesses, including ourselves, and 11 manufacturers.

What made this project fun was that the homeowners had no idea what their outdoor space would look like. We asked questions about how they wanted to use the space but ultimately we had complete control over the finished space.

We created a small tropical water garden with a bench and sandy beach area, a flagstone walk leading from the back door to the water feature, a small Zen garden tucked in a corner of the yard, a gaming area with horseshoes and xeriscape borders edging the backyard. There was also an arbor; a paver patio with seating, a fire pit, lighting and a shade sail; a handcrafted wood shed adjacent to hydroponic planters; a hand painted rain barrel, and a few decorative pieces donated from local artists.

When we’re not working on other people’s backyards we enjoy our own retreat, our farm “Fort Getaway”, where we live with our rescue animals. When we moved to the country five years ago, we started volunteering at a local wildlife rescue helping with behind-the-scenes marketing and handyman duties. This is where we adopted our first horse and ponies. All of our pets, including our horses, goats, tortoises, dogs, cats, birds and bunnies, have been adopted or fostered through local animal rescues.