Bio of Deborah Eidson
Photographic Alchemist and Visionary Artist
Raised as a military brat, exposed me to an exotic and diverse world rich in culture, history and art; yet strange and lonely with only my imagination to amuse me. My intuition and clairvoyance was evident as a child but I did not understand what a gift it was, just that others didn’t see the same things I would. Not able to talk about certain things with others, I naturally became a loner and spent most of my time in nature talking to trees and animals. Developing a keen ability to observe, I learned how to read nature before I could read books.
I always found myself living in a paradox of sorts. My father a navy man with a great love of books and knowledge instilled in me logic and a pragmatic approach to life. At the same time there was my Grandmother introducing me to a world full of magic and mystery. A true renaissance women, most just found eccentric, for me the greatest source of inspiration. Amazingly she taught art on her own radio show. She always had time to show me how to handle a brush, mix colors and taught me how to look at things from different perspectives in order to see, listen and feel the true essence of the subject matter.
In addition to her artistic influence she also planted the seed that it was possible to heal yourself. She was an encyclopedia of folk remedies for any ailment and people came from all over for her remedies and advice, thrilling me with tales of miraculous healings. She imparted great curiosity in me by exposing me to ancient history, herbal lore, metaphysical thought and symbolism as a key for interpretation of the language of nature. She also introduced the tarot cards to me, and taught me how to use them as a tool to access information and answers. Her timeless wisdom influenced me to reach for the stars and value my own innate knowledge. Her love and guidance has inspired my life’s journey in so many ways.
Attending the University of Texas (UT) at Austin opened me to a greater world of knowledge. I graduated with a B.S. in Interior Design and a minor in cultural anthropology. Through my studies in cultural anthropology I came to understand relationships of people and the shared cultural factors that influence them. It gave me the tools to learn how to bond with people that had a different cultural background than mine, thus breaking down the barriers of my own feelings of non-acceptance. This freed me to express my unique perspective without fear of alienating myself.
My love for photography also began at the University of Texas. I took photo journalist classes which taught me the technical skills of photography. But it was in art photography classes that I began to develop an eye for capturing an image. It was the legendary Garry Winograd who was so instrumental in helping me to really feel and see the ordinary world that most overlook, and be able to capture the emotional essence of life through my lens, learn how to frame the shot while shooting on the fly, last but not least ---to always carry my camera. Winograd’s influence went beyond photography; coloring my perspective on life by inspiring and fueling my passion to show the known in an unknown way. It has only taken me 30 plus years to feel fulfilled as a photographer.
Photo Alchemy
To me art is a transformational process; it is my time with the Divine. Immersing fully into creative endeavors has been an essential part of my Shamanic training to perceive the subtle energies emitted from all forms of life. Opening my mind to perceive the patterns of life and the abstract has been a theme of my art and life. My day job is a clairvoyant, metaphysical mentor and author. Writing “Vibrational Healing through Aromatherapy’s Use of Essential Oils”, was a co-creative endeavor with the Plant Kingdom’s nature Spirits and Devas,” and preparation for the task of creating bridges between realms and kingdoms. Throughout my journey, a desire of mine has been to create a fusion of art and healing. I feel to accomplish this through my photography
Curiosity and my love of adventure fuel my passion for exploring and interacting with the unseen realms. It might be a darting energy, a sparkle of light, a buzzing sound, change in temperature or some other subtle shift that alerts me to observe the energetic activity, and that is how I know it is time to take pictures.
The next step of the process, I call photographic alchemy, implemented by a technique called mirroring ---which is putting two halves together making symmetry or wholeness; nothing is added ---but itself. Through out history mirrors have been known as portals or doorways to other dimensions / worlds. A powerful tool used by mystics and seers. This process opens a portal and reveals worlds, many of these worlds we have heard stories about, but masked as myths and fairytales, or we have visited in our dreams.
Nature Spirits are all around us, calling us to come and play, we just have to remember how to see them! Realizing that I have traveled through these worlds all my life but always from the perspective of peering around the door, where as now I am able to penetrate the veils of the unknown and illuminate the unseen realms to others through my photography. The photos seemed to be images that have been painted from the imagination but remember they are real photographs!
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