CARYN DREXL = Artsy fartsy stuff creator / Puppy cuddler / Coffee drinker / Old house lover / Pickle hater

The basics:

I'm in my early 40's, an escapee of my native Florida, instead now unhappily living in the foothills of Western North Carolina. Currently dreaming of moving to Baltimore because I am NOT cut out for suburban/country living. Generally i'd describe myself as pretty boring. While my images might illicit a specific image of the type of person I might be, I'm actually a big goofball, always trying to make people laugh. So, don't judge a photographer by their images. I mean, okay, I do like skulls and some other things people would label as creepy. But i'm way more likely to show up to a shoot in my shirt that says 'potato salad' than all dark and moody. I don't even own much black. I DO listen to a lot of sad songs though.

The art stuff:

I am completely self taught. Everything I know I learned through trial and error or the internet, starting back when I was a teenager and taking off more fully in my early 20's. This whole thing really started as an emotional and mental outlet for me, therapy really, and I used whatever tools I had (scanner on its side, a broken old 2MP digital point and shoot, webcams that took stills, etc) to create images. Mostly self portraits, which I still continue with today, but there's now a decent mix of images with other people. I'd prefer to be shooting with others more regularly, but, well, COVID.

Currently I shoot with a Canon 77D, but in the past i've used a bunch of Canon & Nikon DSLR's and a few film cameras as well.

Around 2014 I started playing around with altering prints and working with different materials, and then after not having a studio for about 4 years, or even a camera for a couple of those years, I leaned more into mixed-media work and then eventually digital collage work. My mood depends on where i'm focusing really, but these days i'd say i'm equally a photographer and a mixed-media artist.

But what does it all MEAN?!

Inevitably, when you create all the weird stuff that pops up in your head and share it, people are going to start looking for, and asking for, an explanation. But i'm not really interested in giving one. There's a few key reasons for this. First, my process varies. Sometimes I have a specific story I want to tell, sometimes i'm processing something going on in my life without even realizing it, and other times I was at a craft/antique/hardware store and something caught my eye and it all just sort of grew from there. (Which is to say I create some stuff just because I think it will "look cool".)

Second, and probably most important, is that once I finish a piece and share it, I think it stops being about me. The creation part, polishing it after, whatever I take away from the whole process, that's all for me. After that it's up to every one who views it to find their own connection and story. Or not. In the past i've referred to it as a "choose your own adeventure", because that's how I see and process art. It will either speak to you, or it won't. No one should need, or want, their hand to be held throughout the process. You don't need to "get it" to have a reaction, love or hate it, etc, etc.

My one concession, in hopes that I'd get questioned less, are the image titles. If I have something to say, or want to give a nudge in a specific direction, i'll put some breadcrumbs there. The only problem is that when i've created something 'just cuz', I still have to title those images, so I guess good luck in figuring out which is which?