JULIE WILLIAMS DIXON

I hail from the Blue Ridge mountains of southwest Virginia. After decades in Raleigh, NC, I have returned to Appalachia, near Burnsville NC. My home is now at the end of a long road up a beautiful valley and on up the side of a small mountain. It so obviously was always going to turn out this way, but of course I did not know that until I did.

I spend my days working in a couple different community gardens, making sense of what Hurricane Helene did to my little piece of land, and planting edible things. I eat what the deer don’t. I also continue my passion of photography and occasionally make a short film. I volunteer at a few places where I can help make a difference in other lives - humans and animals. Turns out that makes a big difference in mine.

My working career was spent helping organizations tell their stories. I did that with content creation including writing, video production and photography. I was good at it, and I always had more work than I could do. I studied Communications and Marketing at Virginia Tech, where I made my first few short films. Later I obtained a Master’s degree in Radio, Television and Motion Pictures from UNC at Chapel Hill. I’m ever so thankful for my access to formal education. However, much of what shaped me was my upbringing in the mountains by parents who worked hard, grew a big garden, and then occasionally got to enjoy a long ride thru the countryside on Sunday afternoons. That’s where I learned to observe and tell stories.

I walk in the woods alot, practice yoga and tai chi. I try to sit with feelings as they come in. My experience is that even as I cultivate gratitude for the good things, there will always be some melancholy or anxiety that’s part of this human journey. Yin and yang. Light and shadow.

 I’m glad you’re here reading this, and I hope you’ll peruse my photo essays. Comments are wildly appreciated.