Upside-down Kingdom Collection release!
Embracing the Upside-Down Kingdom: My Journey of Vulnerability and Triumph by Erika Masterson
“Wandering through the passage between worlds to discover it flourishes upside down.” It's a realm of paradoxes and profound truths, where darkness serves as the canvas for the brightest light, and suffering paves the way for triumph. We need to experience darkness to appreciate the light… We need suffering to experience triumph We need emptiness to be filled We need to be broken in order to be mended We need to sacrifice to experience gain It’s about what you release and give away, not what you hold onto. I found my life when I laid it down. How upside down does that sound?! Basically, God takes all our logic, reason, and opinions and turns them completely upside down! This is the way of the kingdom. This is what I try to depict throughout my work. Become like a child again, trust and he will lead you to what is real.
My latest collection, "Upside-Down Kingdom," delves into this metaphorical landscape, exploring the transformative power of vulnerability and surrender. Each photograph is a reflection of my personal journey, a journey marked by struggle, but ultimately defined by beauty and triumph.
As an artist, I've learned that creativity is not just about capturing moments but about allowing them to capture you. It's about vulnerability, about allowing yourself to be molded and reshaped by the forces of inspiration and divine intervention.
Through my art, I've found healing. We all have struggles, some deeper than others. Through my art God has given me a way to heal from them, not just heal but to experience true joy. Like a potter at the wheel, Moulding the clay, God has done this to me through creativity, by allowing myself to be vulnerable, my imperfections exposed, I allowed the spark to come in. He does the reshaping from the inside out. He’s the oxygen that ignites the spark into a burning flame. We need the cracks because that’s how this light shines out of us for others to see him and the cracks keep it alive with a continuous flow of oxygen. Through my images, I try to unveil this vulnerability that ultimately leads us to refinement. When we’re vulnerable we’ll see beauty. We become mirrors of the beauty inside us. I see my work as a reflection of this beauty. So it’s almost as if it’s not mine, but his…
My images are more than just photographs; they are reflections of the divine beauty inherent in each of us. They are reminders that true strength lies in embracing our vulnerabilities and surrendering ourselves to something greater.
In a world that often seeks to hide its flaws and imperfections, my work stands as a testament to the power of authenticity. It's in embracing our vulnerabilities that we find strength, and in surrendering ourselves that we discover our truest selves.
So as you journey through my Upside-Down Kingdom, I invite you to set aside your preconceptions and open yourself to the possibility of transformation. For it's in the paradoxes of life that we find the deepest truths, and it's in the upside-down moments that we discover the true essence of who we are.
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Erika Masterson is a Fine Art Photographer, living her dream between two worlds, a lakeside cabin tucked in the Southern Appalachian mountains and a quiet beach town on Florida’s east coast.Erika and her husband Ed have 4 children and one granddaughter. Her children are often seen in her artistic works.
She received her degree in photography from the Southeastern Center for Photographic Studies in Daytona Beach, Florida in 1990. In 1999 opened her own commercial portrait business and has been working the past 20+ years in California and Florida.
In 2012 Erika expanded her Art including many exhibits and awards. Her most recent accolades; Solo Exhibition Soho Gallery New York; the Co-Jurors Choice award by Joyce Tenneson under the theme “The Intimate Portrait”; She was chosen as a Julia Margaret Cameron finalist for her series “A Message for my Daughter” and was selected as Black and White Magazine’s Portfolio Spotlight winner for her series Sara’s Sojourn.
Her quiet and soulful images have been published in numerous magazines such as Black and White Magazine 2014 & 2017, Victoria Magazine 2000 & 2016, Silvershotz Magazine, Shots Magazine, 5×5 Magazine, Bella Grace Magazine, Raine, Shadow & Light and In-Style Magazine. Erika recently has her images being sold around the world and on greeting cards with Palm Press and book covers. She has also self-published 4 books with her series of work.
