Artists’ Statements

Adelfa Dowling

I grew up in a family that aspired to be creative. By my teens, I knew I wanted to be an artist even though I didn’t know what that would entail. I knew I liked being in and looking at nature. I also thought professional cameras were fascinating. My parents, however, encouraged me to pursue something that would ‘pay the bills.’ Although well-intentioned, they too were at a loss as to how to pursue an artist career, so they encouraged thinking practically instead.

As time went on, so did life. I got married (twice) and raised a family. I stayed practical and paid the bills, but the idea of being an artist never left me. I remember telling my husband once how I liked professional cameras. He took a different approach than my parents: He encouraged me to be an artist. I didn’t know it at the time, but it was something he also wanted to pursue one day. He bought a used camera for me. Then he started to use it to take pictures on his walks, so we bought me a different one. Soon we would go out and take pictures together. The more pictures we took, the more we wanted to share them with others. From there, a dream was born.

Look through our site. Come to our shows. See the beauty we capture. Nature is constantly changing, so our work is ever evolving. We strive to capture nature in all its glory. We would love to have our art in your life.

Clay Dowling

My photos are my attempt to capture the wonders I experience when I am out in the world. I don’t need to travel to exotic locations to find a fairy tale world: I’m perfectly capable of finding it a twenty-minute walk from home.

I love stories of Magical Realism, like Ray Bradbury’s Something Wicked This Way Comes, or Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere. In these stories, there is a magical world that lives alongside our own, hidden from the view of most people. Photography has given me the ability to see that magical world. The world of offices and doctors’ appointments lives alongside the world where deer walk out of the morning mist on the river, owls sing to me while I record the motion of the stars, and fat carpenter bees protect me from the hornets while I drink tea on my deck with the cat. It’s not all roses, though: There’s a ruby-throated hummingbird who thinks I bring down the tone, and he flies off if he sees me.

I hope that you will join me in discovering the magic that surrounds us every day.