Dear Reader,

I have been behind the camera since I was 17. I never thought I would try to turn it into a full-time job. Certainly not as an artist. I spent years focused on politics and then tried to pursue a legal career. I was incredibly miserable and in pain.

Then a car accident in 2018 led me to restructure my life. I was trying to heal a body that not only was trying to recover from an accident but also from life-long trauma that was suppressed and ignored. I attempted to start a business focused on communications and making photography once again a side-project.

During this chapter I was also actively seeking God. I was seeking Christ. The fire of the Holy Spirit started entering into my life in an immense manner. It made me let go of old political beliefs where I thought the government was the solution to everything and began leaning into God instead.

He began to show me that the life I had built was an illusion. Easily crumbled and broken. The following verse comes to mind:

Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. But it did not collapse; it had been set solidly on rock. And everyone who listens to these words of mine but does not act on them will be like a fool who built his house on sand. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. And it collapsed and was completely ruined.

Matthew 7:24-27

After letting go of the false and confronting grounded reality, God led me to begin to build my house of self upon a rock instead of sand. I began to dive deeper into photography. I spent countless hours taking photos of flowers. Flowers helped me soften as I confronted years of sexual abuse that I survived earlier in life. Flowers helped me reconnect to my womanhood. Flowers have become a reminder that even as I walked amidst pain and darkness, I could bring forth beauty and goodness into the world. Most importantly, I began to learn how to turn all the pain and darkness and bring forth a light and beauty for people.

So, when you look at any of my pieces, I hope that they bring some light into your life even amidst darkness and pain. I hope that they are a reminder that God will bring forth good even from the darkest of chapters. And if need be, if you allow Him to lead, He will help you build the house of self on a rock instead of sand. He will help you withstand the future storms.

Sincerely,

Anna