Stacey Irvin likes to be right in the middle of the action. Like most professional photographers, Irvin is a keen observer, but she also “wants to be more of a participant.” The Texas native and Vanderbilt graduate has been infatuated with photography since she was just 14 years old. Irvin claims that her eye as a photographer developed long before she ever held a camera in her hand. Her family took yearly road trips to visit national parks. On these long drives Irvin loved “staring out windows at landscapes.” Having discovered the joy of seeing the world, she wanted to capture her vision with fine art photography. Irvin’s parents built her a darkroom in their basement, and her dad taught her the basics of photography. While at Vandy, she majored in philosophy and fatefully applied for and won the prestigious Margaret Stonewall Wooldridge Hamblet Award in Studio Art before graduating. This grant allowed her to travel to China for two months to photograph villagers. Irvin knew that she had found her calling. Since that trip, her work has literally taken her around the world. Staceyirvin.com
Stacey’s work is on display in the Sarratt Promenade in Vanderbilt University, February 15 through April 9.
