Please start by telling us a little about yourself and your studio. 

I love life, I love nature, I love photography. As long as I can remember, I’ve had a camera in my hand but since the dawn of digital photography, it’s a whole new ballgame! Merging my love for the outdoors (so much so that my husband, Jim and I were married on the boardwalk of Phinizy Swamp in Augusta, GA, Thanksgiving Day, 2006) and the camera just seemed like a nature progression.  I want so badly for other folks to see what I see and how I see it.

Some of the greatest compliments I receive are how I have reminded someone of home (Newfoundland pictures), evoked a happy memory (Covered Bridge picture) or just pleased a person’s heart (too many to count). A lot of people ask, “Birdlegs…why?”  Well, the name Birdlegs not only reflects my love of the outdoors but honors my wonderful husband as well... it was his call-sign in his Navy days…sounds like two great reasons to me.

Birdlegs is a vast photographic cornucopia filled with beauty, awe and coolness!  My galleries of over 300 pictures include Landscapes, Versed photos (Bible verse added to a photo), Critters, Churches-Barns-n-Stuff and Other Coolness!

Relax, peruse and ENJOY!

If there’s one thing that defines you, what is it?

My love of life.

What role does your family play in your art?

My husband shares my passion for life and love of the outdoors, my daughter shares my passion for photography...we are in it all together!

Where do you live and what is it like?

Virginia, two hours from the beach, two hours from the mountains and surrounded by gorgeous swamps, marshes and some of the most down-to earth people one could hope to meet.

Where did you learn your medium?

God for the better part, self-taught (and still teaching) on the lesser.

What are your goals with your ArtFire studio?

To share with folks the beauty that I encounter everyday (and in so many ways, shapes and forms) and to make a living at it, as well!

How did you come to selling online?

I created my website to reach the masses; I came to ArtFire for help with that goal.

How did you come to find a home on ArtFire?

My husband and our neighbor make leather goods and my neighbor is a part of the ArtFire Family.

He recommended it to me.

What is the best piece of advice you can give other artists?

TRY!  I have had some many people contact me from other venues I was selling through, wanting me to offer advice or to evaluate their work and I tell them all the same thing...you'll never know unless you try!  I am still in contact with one Gentleman and he is out there every day trying and succeeding!

 Why do you think that buying and selling handmade products benefits society?

Handcrafted items capture the heart and soul of the crafter...each piece offers a glimpse of the unique personality of its creator, tells a story, it has a history...and it exudes from each piece.  

Whether it's my perspective of a fishing village, the subtleties of hand-embossed guitar strap or the marking from hand-hewn wood, it's character that can never be captured by the sterilization of mass-production.

It helps to keep us human, grounded and humble.

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