BAHGSU MUSE :: EMORY HALL

I remember skipping class in high school to go to the darkroom and develop + print my film rolls. It became this safe and creative space for me, where I could listen to music and lose myself playing with light and shadows. When I look back now, I see that photography was always just a natural outlet for my creativity - it was how I spoke to the world, in my own unique way. Doing it as a career was never an end goal for me, though I do feel so blessed to be doing it for my work now. In many ways, I never really had a choice. From the moment I first picked up a camera, it became a tool for me to communicate my inner world to the external world. I guess the journey began before I even knew it was beginning.

Art is the thing that beats my heart and breathes my lungs. I really can't imagine my life without it. Before I found the camera, though, I used writing as a way to communicate my deeper heart. As a young girl, I always dreamt of becoming a writer. Even though photography has taken up a lot of the last few years of my life, I've begun writing again (on my blog, and I am currently working on a book as well!) and it has been such a beautiful re-connecting. So, I guess I'd be a full-time writer.

Connection. When I stand before a piece of mine, my heart is connecting with the moment, person and or place that is depicted. It's a deep and living connection that is really hard to put into words. And then there is the connection that happens between the piece and others. Watching people interact and connect with my photographs is one of the most beautiful and inspiring things. Art is connection, and that is where I feel its greatest power lies. It connects us to moments, places, feelings, spaces, etc. That is what inspires me. 

Where is the Divine feminine not? She is everywhere - the womb of all creation. She is expressed in so many beautiful ways through different cultures - but it is all the One Mother. In regards to my art, I always say - "from Mother to Mother". Meaning, the creative energy that flows through me and allows my art to manifest - that source is the Divine Mother. In my heart and mind, I then offer and surrender that very energy back to the Divine Mother, at Her feet, in Her name. That is the attitude I like to hold when I am both creating and sharing. 

Nepal is home. I first traveled there almost ten years ago, and after returning back to the US, I immediately hopped on a plane right back. That country holds some of my most cherished memories and life lessons that truly changed the person that I am. I am forever grateful for the deep hearts that I have crossed paths with over there, for they each taught me what it means to be one human family. Nepal is like nowhere else in the world - it is special beyond words.

I love that Bahgsu harnesses the power of Mama Earth to create beautiful pieces of art that we can all wear. Stones hold incredible power, and the wisdom of our ancestors says that we can use them to invoke healing, intuition, creativity, and more. You can see the respect that Bahgsu has for this fact in their beautifully crafted pieces. I've truly been an admirer of their brand for a long time!