Hello.

Over the course of the past year I have been throwing a lot of creative endeavors against the wall and seeing what sticks. Welcome to the newest one.

Background

Let me back up. This all came after two years of post-university floundering, during which I spent a lot of time regretting my Master’s in bioarchaeology, even more time unemployed and miserable, and two seasons employed as a full-time field ecologist. That job sparked a total obsession with botany (though, if I’m being honest, being raised by a gardener in a family that took daily hikes probably set me up for this), but I burned out from the intense hours and understaffing.

Me during my brief tenure as a field ecologist. I don’t miss hanging out in clear-cuts all day!

In the spring of 2022, my partner and I moved from Portland, Oregon, the city we’d lived in together since I finished school, to Seattle. We made a deal: while he pursued his new, exciting, well-paying (ahem) job in Seattle, I got to shed the obligations of minimum-wage job-hunting for the summer and really dive into my interests.

And oh boy, did I.

I started a mystery novel. I began taking nature photography and sharing it regularly on a dedicated Instagram account. I began painting for the first time. I tried linocut printmaking. I bought stained glass supplies. Whoops, those are still sitting untouched on the table in my laundry room…

I tried so many new things, and I kind of loved it all. But how could I make it into more? Could this be more than a mishmash of hobbies?

That brings us to today.

Present Day

This website, and this blog itself, is an amalgamation of those experiments.

I am living in Seattle, trying to create a life (and potentially a career) that I find fulfilling and meaningful. For me, that means learning, creating, and interacting with native. This blog is my way of sharing those experiences. Doesn’t that sound like fun?

Living in Washington has a few perks!

What’s Next?

I will post my photography. I will write about the Pacific Northwest and the role that native species play in our ecosystems. I’ll also post about art, writing about my inspiration hikes, my learning process, and the role that art can have in our lives. I’ll probably write a bit about my personal life.

Come for some of it. Come for all of it. Who knows, it’ll be a bit all over the place! I promise that the environment will be a pervasive theme, as well as life in the Pacific Northwest, life in a city, and ecology-focused travel.

Did I mention I’m also on Instagram? My content there is always a bit more casual. Check out my links at the top of the page!

With all my best,

Ellen Freya