Who am I and How did I get here from there?
Rerouting.....
My adventures began in 2013 when I was given a sketch as a gift that needed a frame. I turned my local name brand custom framing company they quoted me $450 to have my picture framed and I paid it. However, I decided after looking at their quality that I could produce something just as beautiful at the fraction of the cost. In 2014 I began doing simple frames with fire kissed wood as a stress reliever after a long busy day of being a trauma nurse. My frames were all dependent on what kind of night shift I had is the trauma nurse the more trauma I saw the more pieces I would make. It was during that time that my family would often hear me telling people the wood does the creating I just hold the torch. I then started venturing out to use Barnwood or at least old weathered wood I was given after the family cabin collapsed. I also started burning things that I would buy from local craft stores as gifts such as treasure boxes birdfeeders plates. I looked at it it’s just a simple way of distressing after a busy night of everything that I saw my family on the other hand so it is beautiful works of art.
As another side part of my nursing career was doing forensic Photography. And looking at that type of photography it required a lot more than just picking up a phone or a simple click and shoot camera and taking a picture. In 2015 I taught myself photography to enhance my evidence style picture taking ability. I purchased a Nikon D3200 DSLR camera and set out taking pictures of everything to learn lighting. I would take pictures of the tiniest mushrooms or simple items like a Moss ball that had fallen from a tree. I never once thought about adding any of my pictures that I was taking to any of my frames.
However in late 2014 I stumbled across the no greater love art. I already had several frames done so I just decided to go ahead and include the artwork. Wow I would’ve never realized how adding images to my frames made them in such high demand for finished pieces of hangable art for offices, fire stations, police stations, businesses, hospitals, and even homes. And seeing this huge demand for finish works I branched out and started including my own photography in my frames. Many of my items whether it be my frames or my trinkets or my knickknacks I often sold at local gun shows or arts and craft shows.
In 2016 I relocated back to northern Idaho when both of my parents were diagnosed with cancer. I devoted my time and energy not only to care for my parents but also my career in nursing. Unfortunately, in 2018 I too was diagnosed with cancer. My artwork, my picture frames, my wood projects, my photography, and my whole life came crashing to a standstill. However, in July 2019 I decided to take back my life and get back to what I knew I could do. I had received a clean bill of health that the cancer was gone so I booked a trip to go on a photo shoot up in Alaska.
However, my wood-burning did not come back alive until after I was hurt as a nurse. I found myself in a wheelchair and struggling with pain and trying to understand how I could be from a metal chair. I had to give up my nursing career I had to give up my lifestyle and most days it was all I could do to get out of bed. My photography never died off even during this time, and some of my wood-burning started to come back to life. I found myself creating small projects however I needed help assembling them. I started creating things that were needed around the house from bookshelves, desks, tables, equipment stands, and even a bedframe. In the beginning of January 2021, I had received the not so pleasant news that I would never be a nurse again. I was angry, I was lost, and I didn’t know what else I could do. I looked down one day and I saw that I had a torch in my hand. I put that flame back to wood and I started creating with more determination and passion. In March 2021, I decided to bring to life Hidden Burnt Treasures. My business has carried me this far whether it be official or unofficial and it’s something I love to do.