We were lucky to catch up with Crystal Turnblom recently and have shared our conversation below.

Crystal, appreciate you joining us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

I’m not sure that I can pick one, to be honest. I guess I’ll just do my usual by not following the rules, and pick three (insert five or ten laughing emojis.)

A photograph of woman doing a yoga pose inside an abandoned school.

A hat I made for a hat party. Spoiler: I won.

A wall I made for art Class.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I grew up in Utah. I started exploring the world of photography when I was about 17 or 18, with black and white film. Going through my goth phase at the time, cemeteries were a perfect fit! All joking aside, they felt very peaceful to me, and so I spent a lot of time in them. Shortly thereafter, I met and married a man in the Air Force who was from New Orleans. If you’ve ever been to a cemetery in New Orleans, you know they are a photographer’s dream! He was then stationed in Japan. Enter the Buddhist temples. Choosing photographs to represent myself feels impossible, as I’m all over the map with my subject matter, but when I look back at my life and the things I value, it all makes sense to me. There is a common theme of peace, adventure and resilience.

I’ve had my photographs up in a handful of coffee shops, galleries and metaphysical bookstores, though it’s been awhile. I miss it.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

My goals have changed as I’ve gotten older. I’ve sold photographs online and in person in the past. At one time, I was convinced I was going to make photography my career. It was going to both pay the bills and fulfill me. Life is unpredictable, and I’ve gotten pretty good at accepting change. I dabble in many other types of arts and crafts. Most of them have become another form of meditation for me. Though the end result isn’t as important to me, it’s definitely satisfying when something I’ve made looks good in the end, but I’m also okay with art just being something that calms me. Lately I’m started making cards using collage, watercolor, etc. People have often told me that no one sends mail anymore. I absolutely love it. I love to write in cursive, as well and would like to get good at calligraphy. I would LOVE to sell enough art one day to be able to stay home and off of my incredibly painful arthritic knees. A little secret though: I’ve always wanted to see my art hung in places that move and uplift people. A psychologist’s office, a children’s hospital, assisted living homes, schools, youth centers, etc. Art can be so incredibly healing. If life doesn’t work out that way, then I just want my art to mean something to someone- even if it’s as small as a thoughtful homemade card in the mail.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

One of my very favorite humans ever is my dad. Growing up, he would take us exploring in abandoned houses. He had such an adventurous, goofy, fun personality. He was also obsessed with photography, and had an incredible eye for it. As I got older and had my own children, he would take us on photo adventures. Sometimes there would be three or four of us with cameras in hand. He made a concerted effort to communicate with us regularly, even though we lived across the country from him. He sent texts and videos almost daily that made us laugh at the most ridiculous things, and smile at the small things he found beauty in. He died in 2020, right when the pandemic started. He was my inspiration and my rock. I didn’t think I could get back into caring about what happened with my art (or even if I continued it.) But I keep reminding myself how resilient he was, up until the very end. He was always creating something. He made some beautiful picture frames by hand for a neighbor the year he passed away. He wasn’t about to let his physical pain stop him from doing the things he loved, or from showing us a sunset, or a bird, or something completely off the wall that gave him a chuckle. Not a day goes by that I don’t think about him, and I know that I want my life to be more than just the daily hustle..

Contact Info:

• Website: https://discoveringcrystal.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/discoveringcrystalphoto/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/discoveringcrystalphoto/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/crystal-turnblom-72aa64a6
• Other: Etsy.com/shop/silentruins

  https://fineartamerica.com/profiles/crystal-turnblom

Image Credits

Crystal Turnblom