The Backstory

Every story has a beginning, and here’s mine.

where the “-Ness” started

Everyone has those words that they say all of the time. Well, mine for the longest time was “ness”. I would add it onto the end of any word ever. It was usually added on because I couldn’t think of the right adjective for a certain noun. For example, “Hey Joshy, do you have your schoolness all together for tomorrow?” I couldn’t think of “homework”, or “supplies”, so I add on “ness”! It’s my quirk. What’s yours?

a world traveler with a digital camera is a dangerous thing

Rakiura Track, Stewart Island, New Zealand

I have always been an amateur photographer and avid doodler. In 2009, I got the chance to go to New Zealand as a student earning a Masters degree in Mathematical Physics. Yep, you read that correctly. On the way there, England, France and Belgium were included in my romping. (One of my goals is to live in France… so beautiful!) In New Zealand, I saw more of the country than most Kiwi’s have ever seen. It was an amazing journey. When I came home, I had around 10,000 photos from that trip alone. Some of them were pretty good. It’s easy because New Zealand is so beautiful all by itself.

and then there were the paint brushes

My mixed media painting. These are sail boats racing

While in NZed, I also started dabbling in painting with some friends (Shout out to Aline, Jess, Lainey, and Susan!!) and fell in love with it. I took a mixed media class while there and loved it. Abstract art is my jam! It gave me permission to not be precise, to color outside whatever lines I chose.

I have since expanded my mediums of choice to watercolors, and ink and colored-pencil drawings.

Since New Zealand, I have managed to max out a passport and add a few more countries and states to my “been to” list including China, Tibet, Italy, Alaska, and Hawaii. At this point, I have so many photographs, I have no idea what to do with them all! My walls are full on their own!

time to take that leap, Jul

In my heart of hearts, I have always wanted to try “doing something” with my art. It’s always been a cherished hobby so in my anxiety that “doing something” would take away it’s shine, I didn’t try. Back in 2012, I started printing my photographs onto cards. It was my first leap. I sold them to friends, and family, and my grandmother’s gift shop. It was great fun. I even found a local printer to help me print them. I thought about making an LLC, but as soon as teaching got intense, -Ness by Julie took a back seat.

So, once I quit teaching, Joshy encouraged me to have a go. Why not. That’s when I decided to start an Etsy shop! Here I post whatever art, photographs, notecards I have to offer at the moment. It’s still small and I’m enjoying the challenge. Check it out! 🙂

Thankfully, the shop has not taken away the “shine” of my beloved hobby. Making my art is still as challenging and life-giving as it always has been. It is a bit bizarre trying to put a price on the words from my heart, but I’m getting better at it every day.

So this is my outlet for my art. Sharing it with the world and hoping beyond hope that it speaks to someone as it does to me.