Meet Deb Kreimborg | Photographic Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Deb Kreimborg and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Deb, do you have some perspective or insight you can share with us on the question of when someone should give up versus when they should keep going?
With the passing years I am no longer afraid as I seek a different message or lesson from falling down and getting back up Even now as I become a septuagenarian. I can look back and see the simple pleasure of learning from my mistakes and see the growth that has enabled me to succeed. I have on my computer a “Shit File” that is full of Images that I created in photoshop. Periodically I open that file and I no longer see the failure of my mistakes but the opportunity to evolve and process failure as a means of embracing life’s thread.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
One of the greatest gifts I have ever been given was when a friend of mine told me, “You are doing exactly what you were meant to do.” My journey to becoming a photographic artist was very circuitous. I started out in a nursing program and ended up becoming a high school teacher and gymnastics coach and choreographer. After marriage and children, I picked up a camera in 1984 and what started out to be a hobby became a business where I concentrated on children and family portraiture along with an occasional wedding. This was a time of inner growth. By setting goals I found that with each accomplishment it was not about the achievement but what I found out about myself that was the reward.
In the 1990’s doors opened as I delved deeper into the creative process as the digital age of photography exploded. It was at this time I realized how linear my thoughts processes were. When you are a portrait photographer, everything has to be planned.
Education and the desire to always learn along the way created opportunities for me to develop technical skills and the importance of finding ways to set yourself apart. Two very influential photographers had a huge impact on me!
My mentor for over thirty years guided me to a new level of exploring, letting what ever happens, happen challenging me to seek deeper meaning in my imagery. I believe this is when I became a story teller. Behind every piece of artwork is a true story!!
Life struggles are a part of life. Curious part for me is where is the lesson as you draw from a well of experiences.
A true awakening happened when I was diagnosed with cancer. Wrapped in a warm blanket of faith and family, I was in treatment for one year but during that time I researched historical love letters drawing inspiration and using photography to tell the story. Wanting to add warmth to each image I decided to print each image as an etching using an intaglio printing process, photo polymer gravure. This led to my first Solo Art Show, “ His Love Letters.”
Staying busy allowed me to not to let cancer rule my life as I walked towards healing embracing the changes in me as I drew from a wealth of emotions. My thought process was not to have a preconceived idea of what an image should look like but to let the image lead me as I played in layers of photoshop using symbolisms and textures to create my artwork.
In the ensuing years, I found a great satisfaction in creating projects such as Scents of Faith, Into the LIght, The Dead Tree Project, and Women with Scars. I love how it makes you feel when you start with something and it ends up being something entirely different!
In 2020 when the world as a whole shut their doors and confinement was a reality, I joined a world-wide photography group on FaceBook, Photographers under Quarantine. Our teacher that raised the bar for all of us and provided a platform to create artwork in the confines of your own home was truly one of the best and inspiring mentors I have ever had the privilege of learning from. For months she created ten minute challenges and bigger projects for us to photograph and share with the group eager for feedback. Imagine taking a cookie sheet or a corner in your house or create a still life from found objects and create an art piece. I fell flat on my face a few times but with each challenge, you feel a shift, a change that freed you to be more creative
The last four years I joined an all volunteer art league that has four themed art shows a year and opportunities to showcase your artwork in different venues. Answering art calls I have learned to ignore the voice of doubt and pursue my own voice, With each art show, each award is a way for me to give a shout out to all those that inspire me and share in my journey as an artist.

“You are never too old to set another goal or dream a new dream”

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
One of the favorite things my husband and I do is take serendipitous road trips. My husband is the pilot as together we provide guided tours to all of our out-of-town friends. The deal is there is no plan!!! We head south towards San Antonio hitting back roads and then head west right into the heart of Texas. What ever happens, happens, no pre-conceptions, just being surprised by what we find!! All you have to do is say stop the car!!
We have our stop off places… the Eleventh Street Bar in Bandera with cold beer and a saw dust dance floor and a jukebox full of Tammy Wynette, Berle Hagard, or Willie Nelson songs. How about kayaking down the Medina River where the water is crystal clear and the trees are your canopy. Stop off in Sisterdale for a wine tasting or see one of the oldest dance halls in Texas. Layover in Fredericksburg for best German food ever and see if your waiter ask you to polka. Spend the afternoon at some wineries before you save up for some real Texas Barbecue.
We hit our old haunt in Luckenbach as you sit around the old Post Office that now serves cold beer and food and sells souvenirs. Underneath the old oak trees, people of all ages tap their feet to the music to a lot of guitar picking from whom ever shows up. Night is not over until you learn to two step and line dance in their dance hall where the jeans are tight, the music loud, and the twang real.
If you are lucky and decide to see if Spring in Texas is real, then come in April and be blown away by the blooming bluebonnets in fields, or in cemeteries?, or around old white clapboard churches. But beware of rattlesnakes!
It is the unexpected that makes every trip amazing. One of the stop the car moments was seeing an old cowboy playing his fiddle on his front porch and then heading over to the town hall for pot luck and more picking, I think we were the youngest ones there. It was fitting to see the roosters dancing among the hogs( motorcycles) once or happening on a cattle drive in the middle of town, or oh, the stories you cannot tell!!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
With each art show and award is a way for me to give a shout out to all those that inspire me and share in my journey as an artist. My family has been my greatest supporters. Two very influential artists have had the greatest impact on my growth as an artist. World Renown Photographer Joyce Wilson channeled her energies to inspire and share her expertise and at the same time challenge me to seek a deeper meaning in my imagery. Her critiques could be rather brutal but thought provoking.
Jennifer Thoreson, a young multidisciplinary artist is one of the most inspiring teachers I have ever had the privilege of learning from. Her impact has allowed me to challenge my inner emotions and skills to see a shift and change in my artwork that has freed me to more creative. Her immutable voice still lingers.

Website: debkreimborgfineart.com

Facebook: Deb Kreimborg

Image Credits
All images were created by Deb Kreimborg, Photographic Artist.