We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Tyler Nunnally-Duck. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Tyler below.

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

Over the last few years, I’ve been creating and beginning to implement my nonprofit. It’s a cause very dear to my heart, and its name is DANA’S UMBRELLAS.

At the age of 16, and then again at the age of 22, I lost friends—both named Dana. They were taken from this world in violent manners, both murdered. They were way too young, ages 16 and 19 respectively, with the latter also having her 13 month old son killed alongside her. These events occurred more than twenty years ago and I often wonder if the families ever fully healed from these traumatic events. I choose their names to memorialize the roles they played in my life; both during high school and then college. I hope that by creating this nonprofit, families and individuals who will be affected by future trauma will have an organization that can support them through the process of their healing journeys, assisting them in slowly adjusting to “life after trauma”.

We are still in early stages, but beginning to help people who have been impacted by trauma. Running a nonprofit is all very brand new to me, and I am adjusting to the learning curve and giving it my all–it takes a village is not an exaggeration in this case, and I’m asking for help from many people. Thankfully, people have been receptive and willing to help.

Please check out www.DanasUmbrellas.org and give us a follow on social media or purchase some art, which will support our people affected by trauma. Join our journey in helping people heal.

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

This is my artist statement:

“Tyler Nunnally-Duck is a professional photographer filled with a passion for tropical and coastal landscapes, capturing scenes in New Jersey and throughout the world. With an overarching goal in mind of creating art that evokes soothing and meditative feelings—techniques such as long exposure or ICM are used often, with the end results often appearing painterly. Creating photography art with more softness, flowing lines, and displaying the tenderness of the ocean, while promoting its healing properties became her mission. Tyler aims to bring the peace and tranquility she feels when capturing the photos to her viewers so that the chaos and stress of our world can pause for at least a moment.”

That accurately depicts what I’m trying to do with my photography for others – I create products (both home decor and smaller items such as greeting cards) that provide others with a sense of calm and peace.

I was born and raised in Kansas, and I ventured out to New Jersey for graduate school and never left. The ocean & beaches called to me, and my niche of Tropical & Coastal photography was born. The constant search for finding the most beautiful beaches, and capturing the ocean elements in an artsy style continues to challenge me year after year.

As far as my brand, I want people to know two things that I strive for: eco-friendly products and accessibility for all. It’s important to me that people from all walks of life and all socio-economic levels can afford to own something beautiful for their personal spaces. We are in the middle of switching over ALL products to completely environmentally friendly, utilizing all recycled and recyclable products, with much being compostable as well.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

I have always been a creative person, that element has simply always been a part of my personality since I was a child–from writing stories to creating art, to just thinking about things the ways others didn’t.

At this stage in my life, I’m not sure what my life would look like WITHOUT art and creativity–it would feel so empty.

Art allows me to appreciate and immerse myself with nature and other beautiful things in life and not feel so depressed about the harsher and colder realities of our world.

A love of art allows my mind to venture into the unknown, and always have an optimism for things to be better in life. Art is uplifting, powerful and essential to a healthy life for me.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

For me, I think my overarching goal is to ensure that I have exhausted every opportunity to be a successful business person and to be a successful creative—to be able to transition one day into a full time artist where it’s filling my days is ideal.

When you are still working another full time job to pay the bills, and doing your art in “all the other hours of the day”, things can be very frustrating. You make decisions based on your limited amount of time, and financial burdens, etc.

I want to be able to say that I have tried everything and explored every opportunity to further my art and not left any stones unturned.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.TPhotos.co
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/TPhotosBoutique
• Facebook: https://www.Facebook.com/TPhotosBoutique

Image Credits

Profile shot was taken by Robert Sturman. ***This is only for the photo of me (1st one uploaded).