HI IM KARA
visual storyteller, memory insurance agent,
and adventurous couch potato
My mission is to spread joy and spark confidence through my passion and creativity. Lifting women up so they can take on challenges and create change. To instill a sense of pride and beauty in women, to help them feel powerful in mind, body and spirit, opening them up to healing, understanding, and transformation. Bringing women together to create a community of strong, passionate women capable of changing the world.
I grew up in Durango CO where I still currently reside, it is a beautiful mash up of mountains and desert, small town and city...ish. I am a 1992 leapday baby, so now you know how old I am, in birthdays and years (they're different for me). I have been passionate about photography since I was about 10, portraits since I was about 15, weddings since I was 18 and female sexuality since I was 20. So this is my newest photographic adventure, and the passion I put in has just been climbing higher and higher with each adventure I embark on. Boudoir is so powerful for me, it has added so much joy and sanity to my life.
I enjoy self boudoir sessions, I also love donuts and chicken nuggets.
Why did I get into Boudoir?
I went to college in Philadelphia, and in 2014 I graduated with my BFA in photography. My senior year my thesis was on female sexuality. In my thesis paper I went through the history of sexuality in society, in art, in media. I talked about the fact and statistics. However the photography portion of my thesis was a lot more personal. I explored my own struggles with sexuality, my own conflicting feelings and opinions. College was when I really discovered sexuality, and it was so confusing. I was a young woman, I felt society was telling me two different things that boiled down to you have to be sexy but not slutty and the line society had drawn between the two was not only thin but all over the place!
Boudoir is a safe place for sexuality, it is a place where only you get to define what is sexy, to feel powerful and confident without worrying about anyone else's opinions. To remind ourselves that sexuality is a huge spectrum and you get to decide where you fall. If you want to be fully nude, go for it! If you want to be sexy in a full coverage dress, that is great! If you want to try out one of those fun pieces of lingerie you've been eyeing for a while it's the perfect reason to get it!
Below is the beginning of my artist statement that went along with my senior thesis photo project, and I feel that it still fits today.
Sexuality in society is confusing.
But boudoir is not society, boudoir is where you get to make all the rules.
A major struggle in today's society revolves around the conflicting views and opinions of female sexuality. It is confusing sometimes for women to figure out, find, and be comfortable with their sexuality. Not just sexual orientation, but the state of being sexual, owning their own bodies and nature. It is hard being a woman who can own up to a healthy sexual nature in our society. Women are too often judged or objectified. I feel that society tells me to be ashamed of my sexuality. Even when I am told to embrace it and be confident in who I am, it is still hard to integrate these two sides of myself without fear of judgement, shame, and objectification...
- my senior thesis 2014
