GardenMama

.:Magic In The Woods!:.

.: Three snow children on an adventure in the woods by the sea! :.

Tiny snow babies danced from the heavens over the past few days. When they had finished their dancing they settled here on earth giving us a great surprise with their visit! 

On this day we gathered up our mittens, hats, and snowboots and set out to enjoy our own dancing and stroll through the woods!

.: Mesmerizing ice sculptures all along the way! :.

.: The artists of Winter always inspire and amaze us! :.

When the snow babies come out to play they often inspire other friends of Winter to also do their work. We enjoyed many beautiful ice sculptures left by King Winter!

.: Frozen ocean mist creates prisms as it clings to the reeds :.

A delicate mist from the ocean lands all along the reeds and grasses growing along its waters. The mist clings to the reeds and is left frozen in it's tracks. There it basks in the sun, creating beautiful prisms!

.: Dripping diamonds are perfectly placed and sparkled throughout the forest! :.

A winter fairy clearly enjoyed a time of play here in the woods while decorating the forest in sparkling diamonds that dripped from each branch.

.: A log table set with many mushroom seats set for a moonlit meal! :.

We noticed a log table out here in the woods, complete with numerous mushrooms that served as seats for all the fairies, gnomes, and small creatures of the forest. Surely they will dine together this evening under the snowy moonlight!
 

.: We were lucky enough to see Queen Winter's magical wand! :.

A magical wand glistened with snow and ice. Queen Winter takes in the artwork in the forest she has recently completed.

 

.: We followed  footprints in the snow left by others also appreciating the magic of Winter! :.

We follow tracks through the snow left by deer and other visitors here on this day who also enjoy the work and play that Winter shares with us!
 

.: Snow children enjoy the adventure and beauty of this day! :.

My own snow children enjoy the magic of the woods! The adventure and beauty surrounds us all on this sparkling white winters day! 

.: Sparkling and bright, the winter brings joy to our spirits on this day! :.

Everything is sparkling today, bringing such light and magic to our hearts!

.: The Winners Are! :.

.: Congratulations to two lucky readers,  Rosiebhai and Anna from Wind in the Wildwood! :.

Please email me and I will put you both in contact with Carrie to receive the photography prints of your choice!

Thank you to Carrie for sharing her heart and eye for beauty in this space!

Thank you to everyone who participated in this giveaway! Per request, I recently added the email subscribe option to my blog thank you to those of you who have newly subscribed to Gardenmama!

.: Photography Giveaway! :.

I have had the pleasure of getting to know Carrie through swaps that I have hosted.  Carrie has a sweet sense of humor, she is kind, modest, and talented.  I truly look forward to sharing more about her as a person as well as her talents as a photographer.

 *TWO* very lucky readers will be gifted with their choice of one of Carrie's 8x10 stunning prints!

                       .: Plea se give Carrie a very warm welcome! :.

 

Gardenmama: "Many of your photos share the beauty and culture of Ireland. How does the landscape of your home inspire your photography?"

Carrie: "Ireland is a stunning country, rich in history and tonnes of abundant farmland, it's hard not to be inspired. Yes, it rains a lot here but that just makes the grass greener. I can literally walk out my front door and the sea is on one side and the countryside (complete with sheep) is right there in the field next to me. Also, we have a Norman Castle in our very own home town! Then on top of that my Husband is an archaeologist so through his eyes the lumps and bumps in the landscape are interpreted as the ancient settlements they once were and he knows where all the cool ruins are :) We live on the Antrim Coast which has got to be one of the most beautiful coastlines with clear views across to Scotland." 
 
Gardenmama: "What does your creative eye look out for while deciding to take a photo?"

Carrie: "I have permanent double vision (I see 2 of everything all the time) so colour and texture are very important to me; I guess my general outlook on the world is quite abstract and unique in that way. I thus tend to look very closely at everything and revel in the minute details. Each photograph I take is a moment of the sometimes mundane elements of life that other people may just not notice in the same way."

Gardenmama: "What made you decide to pursue photography?"

Carrie: "Even as a little girl I remember photographs being very important in my life as much of my family lived in Canada and pictures sent at Christmas etc were a tangible link I had to who they were, what they looked like. Then when it was discovered that I had to go through experimental operations for my eye condition, my ability to see at all was made all the more potent to me. I tried to take note of every little detail from then. As a teenager I was offered the chance to study black and white film photography for a GCSE qualification and jumped at it - it was so much fun developing my own work - like alchemy. Now with digital cameras I can take as many photographs as I like and never worry about wasting film and I do take a lot of photographs."

  Gardenmama: "Would you share with us how photography has changed or enhanced your life?"

Carrie: "Just over 10 years ago it was finally recognised that I have chronic depression and acute anxiety stretching far back into my childhood. My academic career came to a halt and I have found photography to be a wonderful medium in which to express myself and the emotions that I find so hard to articulate. It also helps me to remember the beauty in the world through my back catalogue of work when the dark times are at their worst. On top of that I have met some really wonderful people through the internet by sharing my photos and blogging, for example, I 'met' you :)
It sounds silly but selling my works also helps me to feel validated which in turn gives me a little self esteem, something which I lack terribly. To imagine one of my prints on someones wall, giving them joy - oh it feels brilliant!"

Gardenmama: "What will be gifted through this giveaway?"

Carrie: "I have put forward a selection of my favourite pieces and I would like to give away a 8x10 sized print to 2 different people. As art of course is a very personal thing I would like each of the 'winners' to decide for themselves which print they would like best and then it shall be whisked away to them, with love from Ireland and me."  :)

Gardenmama: "Thank you for sharing your heart and eye for beauty in this space and for your generous interview and giveaway!"

Carrie: "It has been a pleasure and I could have talked on for ages but then it would be a very long blog post!"

 

.: Leave a comment on this post to be entered to win one one 8x10 print. This giveaway will close Sunday December 19 at 8:00 pm EST.  *Two* lucky winners will be announced the same evening at 8:30 pm EST.

To receive three additional entries into this giveaway please sign up for an email subscription to Gardenmama in the upper right hand side-bar.  You may leave separate comments letting me know you did so! :.