January 7, 2020

Meet Erica Montgomery

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Erica Montgomery.

Erica, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
19 years ago this November I chose to move to Phoenix from Wisconsin. I have lived and worked all over the valley, state, and west coast using Phoenix as a launch pad and place to return to when it got cold everywhere else. A few years ago the city had become too much for me so I quietly moved to Tucson and have traveled up for work regularly. Both of these decisions have made and shaped my life’s journey in ways that are still amazing to me when I look back at what might have been had I not leaped into the unknown.

I am a lifelong generational artist/photographer. It is in my blood. It courses through my veins. To me there is no life without art. eARTh without ART is just “eh”…. I was fortunate to have grown up in a magical woods on the Oneida Indian Reservation in WI outside of the Green Bay. At the time we lived in what was referred to as BFE, (bum fuck Egypt) or too far away, or out of the way, I got used to driving to get anywhere. It was peaceful and quiet. Our nearest neighbors were mostly farmers and had horses or cows. My best friend’s father was a small dairy farmer. My sleep over dates consisted of getting up at 4 am to go milk the cows with my bestie, her cousin and dad. On the land I was raised on, there was a stream in the back with water bugs, crawfish, blue gill, sunfish, frogs, toads, deer, foxes, rabbits, pileated woodpecker’s and many other birds, Hawks, Owls, beavers, now wild turkeys are running around in huge flocks. Now that land has homes, part of a larger subdivision, (my father is not a conservationist and instead of a land developer and has sold off my childhood memories piece by piece.) My grandmother who just turned 97, is still writing her life stories and poetry, coloring and doing word searches. I made a book last year for her birthday for her, of all the poems she had collected together and put in a paper folder with a table of contents, I used the photos from the last road trip I took with my mom to see the Superbloom that happened in Joshua Tree National park in 2016, some of my mom’s paintings, my work, and old family photos that correlated to the poems. Making that book and seeing the joy she got from it inspired me. All my Mother’s sister and brother (she was one of six) are creative and use their talents.

My great grandmother crocheted doilies and doll dresses. My Mother made art for over 50 years, a true artist who experimented and pushed her own limits and tried it all… She signed us both up for many classes, some we took together, some separate… I learned to play piano from my ear with the Suzuki method. I later joined the choir and participated in the drama dept. performances in high school, doing things behind the scenes to just be a part of it because I was never chosen to be on stage. My older brother played guitar and was in bands. I do not know a life without creativity, art and music. When my mom passed away 2.5 years ago I uncovered things in the house made before I was born I had grown up with and didn’t realize she had made. My grandfather documented WWII with his camera as his assignment. I was given my first camera at age seven, and I made art with my mom my whole life. It blows me away to learn what has happened in schools that children are not being taught art or music unless in private education or special school for kids who are in performing arts. EVERYONE deserves to learn and have art as a part of their life. I also understand that part of why it’s being taken out of schools is because you can’t control the mind of an artist. We are the non-conformists of society. It is my job to make you see things differently and question everything. That is part of the process when you make art, no matter the form or medium.

Back to the story… I grew up eating from my neighbor’s fields and the local farmers market when it was open… Obviously, winter is a thing, but that is why persevering food in a natural state when it was abundant was important. We would make huge batches of jam, and things were frozen so we would have enough to last the winter. Kraut was a thing because of the German heritage around me but I grew up in a sweet household. my mom baked the best pies, cookies and desserts. partly because she recalled the fondest memories of all the things her grandma would bake and have out when they visited. Today, we have become disconnected from our food, where it comes from, how it’s cared for and what’s actually in it. Food deserts exist. Plastic leaches into our food and water. It is transported so far and for many days to get to you. It is picked before it’s ripe and sprayed to make it “look ripe” this is why everything is tasteless and rots within two to three days of you getting it from the store when it’s “fresh”. We have over prioritized being busy to the point that most people are experiencing burn out, exhaustion, dis-ease, anxiety, depression you know… This might be you. Then life will hit you with a cosmic 2×4” as I like to call it. We then get the chance to either change and correct the course of our lives or hang on so tightly that we risk losing the hand holding on to the rope that we think is holding everything together. I have seen this over and over again. What you choose to do in these instances will either make or break your life. The choice is yours and yours alone. Everyone came here to fulfill a life purpose and a path. No two paths are the same. One is not better than the other, it is only what is right for you. I had my first NDE at age five. My mom always just wanted me to be happy and true to myself. I never wanted to base my happiness on whether or not something did or didn’t happen in my life. I prefer to just choose happiness and joy and I live and spread this as much as I can. I am a being of light here to shed some in this dark world some of you live in. The grief of some of the events that have occurred in my life has shaped my path and I have survived 100% of my worst and darkest days where I didn’t want to be alive, I saw no point. and still, I keep waking up every day.

So I am now going to do my best to complete my new assignment in life to help you understand what has happened to the food and why you’re so disconnected and sick. I believe I am communicating a divine message from the plants and I am now calling this work The Vegetable Codes. I believe that food is medicine. You are what you eat and think. As a photographer, you have to be able to have timing, insight and read situations to see things coming before they happen so you don’t miss the moment. In still photography, if you’re not paying attention you miss it. This is the biggest difference between still and motion. In Motion they do it again and again to achieve the desired look or result, what you may or may not be aware of is this is being used to manipulate you and the way you think and feel intentionally. Both use the light and dark, an understanding of how to use and shape it in your work is important as an artist of any medium. Mindfulness is part of this, and something I see now I lived before it was a thing or a way for people to connect to themselves. Looking at your shadow was just as important as seeing the light. It was my mistake to assume that everyone lived as I did. Present in the moment. Examining myself and the situations that presented themselves to me. The lessons learned through others around me, as I lived vicariously through a lot of my friends, a lot of the decisions I made were based on what I witnessed happening to those around me. I believe I am an earth angel, I came to support my mom though things in her life that were too much for her. Now I am here to do this for others with the ancient wisdom I hold in my knowing. I am an old soul. I am friends with humans from many places, ages, and walks of life, not one of them better or worse than another. All just different beautiful souls who have crossed my path to help me shape my journey and evolution. I have experienced a profound spiritual awakening throughout my life. NOW is the present.

Whenever you read this it is NOW. No matter if it’s in the present or past of the moment I am writing this in. It is always NOW. Now is the time to change what you are doing and stand up for the planet we all live on and call home. Now is the time to shift your attention to the things that matter and forgive all and learn to live in love and peace. Now is the time to understand that we can not go back to “normal”. Normal to me is a setting on a washing machine, and might not be what you consider normal. The way we have been living and doing things here is crumbling because it’s not a sustainable foundation and it is built of the inequalities of everyone. We have been lied to and it’s time to call out the liars and tricksters.

For the last seven years, I have dedicated my life to my work documenting the beauty found in vegetables, fruits, flowers, herbs, and fungi all found at local farmer’s markets where I live and in my travels for work. This work started as a thing just for me to keep me inspired and shooting when I was not working on big commercial projects, and as a way to build the consistent body of work that stood out to get the editor’s attention so I could get more work. The only thing is, I got so busy making the photos, I never showed anyone what I was doing, and honestly, I didn’t care if anyone liked it or not, I did. It saved my life, kept me inspired and changed everything about the way I live and move about in the world. After years of doing this in my home studio by myself, I got my first solo art show three years ago. I printed 52 pieces on recycled aluminum. My opening was at the Tucson Metal Arts Village for the Harvest Full moon festival in 2016, fitting I know… This opening also corresponded to the election of our president. I was out promoting my show to a “shell shocked” audience at “celebration” election parties around town passing out fliers, jumping for joy at what I had created, to a numb crowd of humans in shock. It was surreal to say the least, a moment I will never forget for a myriad of reasons. It is my job as an artist to make you look at things differently and question the world around you, and I can say it worked as most people who view my work have no idea what they are looking at. I started to question everything around me I saw in the world I was working in. My peers had broken relationships and were experiencing burnout, fearing that they would never work again, looking for a way out of the business I had been supporting myself with for 15 years. My sister in law got cancer and passed away. My mom died from complications of a lung disease she struggled with for over 20 years. The doctors had no answers. The drugs they pushed never helped, in my opinion, they made it worse, I have seen this time and time again… I now view food as medicine and I believe you are what you eat and what you think, is true “food for thought”. IT MATTERS more that you understand. I started this work because I too had been in a toxic relationship. I thought if I loved him enough it would change and he would wake up and see what was right in front of him, the love of another human. I know better now. I got mad and angry at the way the world is functioning and I wanted to be the change I wanted to see in the world. I was fortunate enough to decide to move to Arizona 19 years ago this November. I lived in Phoenix for most of that time while traveling extensively for my commercial advertising jobs I got after leaving the hospitality industry to live my dreams of being a photographer. Food is a very important part of my life as is everyone else’s. You need a farmer every day, and eating three square meals a day is just not true either. It’s another lie you’ve been fed by the industries that want to keep you sick and dependent on the failing systems you see crumbling now. Today we are an overly busy society experiencing disconnection on a level that is unfathomable to me most days because I still choose to be connected to the earth, plants, animals, and most importantly myself. What I have learned in my work of documenting the beauty found in the food we eat is mind-blowing. I ditched the grocery store for the farmer’s markets and started experimenting with what I could grow in my tiny yard that does not have full sunlight. I bought a milkweed plant for the butterflies and bees when I learned that the pollinators were in trouble. Last year I raised monarch caterpillars and two of them made it into their transformation to a monarch butterfly. I was able to document the second one coming out of its chrysalis, and then I got to hang out with them for 36 hours total before they flew away. This led to a nature mandala series I am now exploring, as a result of a request to take a photo of a white feather I had found for a writer friend who works with “A Room of Her Own Foundation” I make this work to show you how beautiful food is supposed to be when it’s grown organically and in the way, it was done before the military industrial complex took over. I want you to connect with nature and yourself.

My work to me now represents the Self, the outward self that others see, your inner self and your higher self in the reflections created in my images. These series of photographs are not manipulated with photoshop to create the mirror effect. Nor is it shot on what you consider “a mirror” these photos are made in a natural light setting even though I have strobes and can control the light if I chose. Food sovereignty is now more important than ever. We need to return to the time of Victory gardens, which helped win World War II because they allowed the U.S. government to divert scarce tin supplies for military use. They also promoted healthier eating habits, as fresh, home-grown vegetables supplied 40 percent of the produce grown in the United States by 1944. Foraging and eating what is around us is now more important than ever. Growing food needs to be taught to children in schools NOW. If a child is introduced to this, they want to eat what they grow. We can change the eating habits of a nation by teaching how to cook, grow, forage, and preserve food. We also need to better care for the animals that are being consumed still. When the animals are mistreated, you eat the fear and the cortisol that is pumped into their bodies because they are living in pain and fear. Industrial farms must be held accountable to change their ways NOW. All beings and animals on the planet communicate and are sentient. They have feelings and they do not want to die these horrible deaths after living in dark horrible conditions, being abused and manipulated to keep breeding to keep up with the lies we are told about what we need to eat to survive. Where you spend your money to buy the food that nourishes your Human vehicle MATTERS! These industries have destroyed the foundation I was raised on. I will not have it anymore and I call them out. When you spend your money on local small businesses and artists like me, we can feed ourselves and families. Our dreams can be realized instead of crushed by the system. If you don’t like the way something is done, stop giving it your attention, time and money. That is the way to create and be the change you want. My greeting cards are not wrapped in plastic… I just can’t bring myself to buy it. I make them because of the power of gratitude and appreciation that you send to someone you love and care about makes a difference in that person’s life. Writing is powerful and connects you in a way that can’t be done through the computer. Yes, a few of the cards have been smudged, that’s ok. No one or thing is perfect and I have had to let go of the idea that anything is, except the perfection that is each human here at this time living out their journey making this big beautiful world the amazing place it is. Advertising tells you “you need this thing or that thing” and if you buy it it will make your life what you think you want because someone is getting paid to make it look that way. It’s all a lie. Energy is free and everywhere around us. We are each part of the source that is life and the creation here on Earth at this time. My goal is to help you see this and reconnect to yourself and the planet we all live on. The earth is responding to everything that happens here. We are not separate from it, we are it, and when we realize this it will shift for the better. We can change anything and everything about our experience now, it just takes work and dedication, and a conscious decision to do that. The more I know, the more I know I don’t know, and I am always being shown new mysterious ways of connecting the dots that are my life path and the journey to the moment I am writing this in now. My goal is to write a poetry book for children with my grandmother, she was a clown professionally for 17 years after my grandfather passed away. I intend to make an alphabet vegetable book too. I need funding and support to make this happen. I am a solo single human who is doing this work alone. There’s not a team of people. It’s just me and I have now put healthy boundaries in place for myself so I don’t experience burnout either. Having integrity though has stopped my commercial work. I called the union on a crew of humans who were breaking the rules and I got blacklisted. This work is how I have been supporting myself and I need more support to continue it. I have been ok with and learned how to live on and with less, but I still need to make money to fund my life. As for some reason we just don’t seem to take care of the humans that live in this country, we would rather spend gross sums of money, time, and energy on the war which just creates more disease and discomfort and suffering in the world. It is never too late to start over. I have many times and am doing this again now. I want to show everyone how beautiful your food is and how beautiful you and your soul are. The eyes are the window to the soul and part of why Native indigenous people do not like to be photographed is because they feel that part of them is captured, and in a lot of ways, they are right. After years of studying my subjects and the people who are in front of the camera, I can read what is going on even if you don’t say. I see it. This is my gift. I can see into future timelines and know if it is right for me or not. I have met my doppelganger’s in real life and even the ghost of Christmas futures to come potentially…

Do not believe everything you read or see as most of it has an agenda or a program… Even I do, as I come here to seek the support of my work so I can thrive, only I speak my truth of what I have known and experienced in my lifetimes however many there have been in this human form or another. There is a shift happening in our consciousness that is not visible to all yet. I have been documenting conscious leadership in the works for years and humans are waking up to the abilities they have to heal themselves and connect to a higher self that lies in all of us. The Divine is not just in some building you go to where they tell you the power lies outside of you. This is the biggest lie yet we have been force fed at our expense. It is time to wake up and take our power back. Forgive and love yourself first and then those around, you will also change as a result of your changes. I am here now to guide women who want to become more empowered in their own lives. I have been walking away from things not meant for me my whole life and if it leaves me on its own that’s ok too, it just makes room for someone or something else bigger and better than I could have dreamed possible to come in. I am only printing my work on custom orders going forward as I see having an inventory to “push” takes away from my time, energy, and resources. I am taking private mentoring clients on now to fund my life. If you would like to work with me or have a piece of my art in your space I would be honored. I was also given my mom’s art to sell to support myself when she passed. I see now why famous artists happen after they die. Some of them are too shy or not confident enough in their work to show it to others. My mom painted and made art her for over 50 years and many came to the funeral that had zero ideas she did. That was the saddest thing to me as she was a prolific painter. I see that me holding myself back because I was scared to show my work only leaves me in the same potential as her, a mistake I will not succumb to. If you would like a print of her work or an original please reach out, and please be patient with me. I can only do so much in a day and some days I don’t feel like checking my email, so I don’t. I honor and am true to my own needs first. I live by example and in my truth so you can too. I need your support right now, and I am beyond grateful for those who have supported me to get to this moment and will help me propel my work to the next level. I am grateful for anyone reading this who has been a part of my journey.

My teachers, friends, the family has chosen and blood who have stayed and left. No matter the choice you made. I am grateful for this beautiful mysterious life I have made for myself. I thank you for taking the time to read this if you got to here through my ramblings that may only make sense to me. But if one person who reads this is impacted in any way, I did my job. I am also now creating power totem pieces using my intuition and gifts to tune into you and create a piece of art just for you to meditate with and have in your space. Some of the Patrons of my work have told me that their mediations have changed as a result of looking at my work to meditate on. This to me is a success. To create something meaningful and unique in a world of fake bullshit. I am making Goddess Portraits for women to see how beautiful they are and help assist them to step into their voice and power. I am now taking on private clients to teach and mentor. If you want your work critiqued I can do that too. Need an Idea, I am a fountain of ideas, but all of this will come at a cost. I have been too giving of my time and I see that was my mistake for not honoring myself, my experiences and gifts I bring with me in this giant tool bag I have acquired my years here. I’ll end with my favorite three quotes from Alice in wonderland. 1. “If I had a world of my own, everything would be nonsense. Nothing would be what it is, because everything would be what it isn’t. And contrary wise, what is, it wouldn’t be. And what it wouldn’t be, it would. You see?” 2. “You,” he said, “ are a very real thing – in a false world, and that, I believe is why you are in so much pain.” 3. “Where should I go?” -Alice. “That depends on where you want to end up.” – The Cheshire Cat.”

Has it been a smooth road?
When you forge your path there are always obstacles and bumps in the path. Your choice in how you perceive this is what makes the difference. I have experienced deep grief and deep healing. Everything and anything is possible when you live in the quantum realm of potentiality. Huge losses and huge wins. This is part of the journey of life if you’re living it. If I die tonight know this. I regret nothing and everything and every choice have led me to this very moment. Now is always here. The present moment is a gift, that’s why it’s called the present.

Please tell us about your work.
My work is changing as I mentioned in my long rambling… I am now making custom nature mandala ceremonial totems with the person who is receiving it in mind after a conversation. I am offering a limited number of Goddess portraits per month. I am offering mentoring and coaching to those interested in being guided back to themselves to find their path. I am offering private photography lessons, critiques, can show you how to shift into a zero waste lifestyle, how to cook and nourish your body and soul, Mindfulness and meditation techniques, Cacao ceremonies, sound healing and art and color therapy with intuitive energy work, some reiki and crystal healings can be done distantly you do not need me to come to you or vice versa, though that is an option too. I know and recognize my gifts now, as I could not see myself before. I know who I am and I live my truth. I am the change in the world I want to see, I am a visionary here to shift the way the world operates. It starts with ourselves. I had to heal myself first to be able to assist others. I only pour from my over flowing saucer now and I recommend this for anyone who is reading this. I am most proud of myself for never giving up and living in my truth and integrity. I received my first solo art show in 2016 at the Tucson Metal Arts Village for the Harvest full moon festival my work was then shown in Portland Oregon at Koerner Camera for the debut of their new office and art space. I have been doing pop up’s at farmers markets. My work was in the Harvest Café in Ventura CA for a time, and most recently accepted to be shown in a group exhibit in NYC with the See Me community in the World Trade Center with 200 other artists. I was invited to exhibit in Italy this fall but due to travels and funds, I had to hold off for this time. I have self-published two books and edited the work of another photographer to make a book of her work for her. I have maintained Self Employment for over 15 years. My degree is in visual communication and I am proud of the career I had getting paid to play make believe in the world of film and advertising doing everything under the sun I could see that I had skills to be able to do. Everything from PA to producer/director/shooter. I have had my work published, shot famous people, worked for every major corporation out there it seems. At the end of the day, I would rather connect you back to you. In this world of disconnect, a true connection with yourself matters most and is the most important thing you can give yourself. I am here to assist anyone at this time who needs guidance with whatever they are overcoming. I have survived 100% of my worst and best days and I am here to assist humanity at this time.

What has been the proudest moment of your career so far?
Overcoming everything and everyone who tried to stop me from living my life of my wildest and best dreams. I have no regrets and I wouldn’t change a thing up to this point of what brought me to this present moment, watching the reaction of seeing my 97 year old grandmother get the book I made for her of her poetry come to life was the most meaningful and knowing that my art is unique in a world of regurgitated ideas. To create something no one else is doing or can do like me. Being true to myself and living with integrity in a world full of lies and manipulations. Knowing that I am here to assist humanity and support others in their journey so no one feels that they are alone and can manifest the life of their wildest dreams. All the ideas I have yet to produce that are swimming in my brain… My relentless desire to live freely in my path.

Pricing:

One on One mentoring sessions are $222 / hr
Quantum Coherence group – opening the 12.12.19 – 1.11.19 once weekly zoom meetings $444 for the month
Custom Nature Mediation Mandala’s – made with the client in mind to assist in their personal evolution – $777 with a one hr call to discuss the focus and intention for the mandala.
Private sound bath + healing in your home – $111 / hr per person ( travel charge for over 50 miles away added)
Intuitive Oracle Card reading ( choose between goddess or sacred vision deck ) $33 – done over email / phone
Goddess Portrait Session – $2222 (only 2 per month)

Contact Info:

Website: www.ericamontgomery.com
Phone: 6024300614
Email: [email protected]
Instagram: @soulofa_gypsy
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ericamontgomeryphotographs
Other: https://www.saatchiart.com/ericamontgomery

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