The World of Jon Barrows: Art & Photography
I've always been inspired by nature. It may have to do with growing up
on the Maine coast, playing in the woods as a child, or fishing with my
Dad. Whatever it was that made me fall in love with the natural world
also led me to study environmental issues and ecology in college and
graduate school. All of which has in turn shaped the kind of
photographer I've become.
I didn't appreciate the artisitc element of photography until I
received my first digital camera as a gift from my Mom in 2004. Since
then, I've seen it through a different lens (couldn't resist)!
While it may seem that you are just capturing an image of something
instead of creating art, what you choose to include (or exclude!) from
the frame is a creative choice, just like choosing the exact moment to
snap the picture, choosing the angle, time of day, etc. I especially
like to get up close and personal with the world of the very small.
I've taken photos all over the country (and beyond-- the Caribbean,
Japan), including my home state of Maine, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, DC, California, New Mexico, Wisconsin, and my
new state of MA.
I hope you find something in my shop
that you'd like to bring into your home, whether it's a framed print, a
greeting card, a photo mug, a calendar, or one of my newest creations--mixed media
photo art cards and prints, where I hand cut stencils to overlay on one of
my photographs, creating an entirely different work of art!
To the extent possible, I've chosen eco-friendly materials to make
these items to ensure that in capturing nature's beauty, I'm not
sacrificing it. This is one of the main reasons I shoot digital instead
of film. My cards are also mounted on sugar cane or hemp card stock,
and my frames are salvaged from black rubberwood and are made with an
eco-friendly stain and recycled glass.