One of the things I love most about my job is all opportunities that I get to meet and work with different creatives. I find other artists to be my biggest forms of inspiration; I would like nothing more than to sit over a cup of coffee and talk about our passions. I know I personally could talk for hours about my love for my craft and different techniques and inspirations, and I know I am not the only one! To me, every form of artistry is so beautiful and the tale of the craft deserves to be heard.

Being a small business owner myself, I understand some of the trouble that comes along with relying on local clients, especially when big studios are everywhere! One thing that I offer to locals is a trade. In exchange for photographs of themselves or their art, I get to take home one of their pieces as the form of payment. I have quite the collection now of jewelry, painting and trinkets, along with a lifetime of free coffee from my favorite locals! Gathering this community of artists has been such an eye opening experience for me on how diverse art is. For instance, I shot for a local coffee shop, Land of a Thousand Hills, specifically the Roswell location (for my ATL readers) and I came out of that session completely shocked by how much technique is put into making what I thought would be a simple cup of coffee. I could go on and on, but I will have another blog post all about this amazing coffee shop later.

One of the coolest atmospheres I have taken pictures in was Adam Cook's bedroom in his apartment. His room was filled to the brim with his paintings which lined the walls of his room creating a whirlpool of color, inspiration and stories that were brought to life. Adam talks about painting the way a bee would talk about flowers, it is as if he needed to to survive, which like most artists I have met would agree with that statement. We have no control over it, we are so drawn to our craft because we are quite honestly held captive to it in the most compelling way. We do not feel trapped, but we quite literally have no other option but to fill that bursting desire within us to create. Adam spoke about not being able to do anything else, and truly not wanting to do any other job, it makes since, his pieces are so beautiful and whimsical, he would be doing the world a disservice to not continue to decorate these canvases with the swirls of his mind.

Moving on to another favorite of mine, Kayla Williams is an epic metalsmith who creates the most phenomenal pieces of jewelry out of her in home studio, which she allowed me to explore. Her workshop is quite literally one of the most fascinating things I have ever seen, She taught me all about how to make her pieces and how she incorporates her gritty yet glamorous style into all of her sets. I was captivated by the constant contrast of heat with the torch and the cooling of the water. It was such a beautiful process to watch, but you must have patience, care and a lot of bandaids in this craft, something that Kayla has an abundance of. Her are some pictures from that day in her shop!