Sheelagh Dalziel

I started taking my photography “seriously” during the summer of 2014, which I spent on Madeline Island living on my brother’s farm (Michael & Cindy Dalzell). I took a lot of pictures and shared them with friends I made on the island including Marina Lachecki and Gwen Smith Patterson, who said they were good and encouraged me to “do something with them.” Island resident, Barbara With, helped me self-publish my book, The Seasons of Madeline Island: A Camera’s Eye View, in 2015. Since then,

I have continued to take many, many pictures, delighting in the few I and other people really enjoy. Since I “retired” in 2019 I have been striving to turn my “hobby” into a vocation. I had my first “show” in 2019, and had my work accepted in three exhibitions last summer.

Because I live in a small city and do not have resources to travel to exotic places and take pictures of vast landscapes, my work necessarily portrays the everyday world around each of us.

What inspires me is the wonder of God’s creation – expressed in both the “natural” or “wildness” environment and the “man-made” or “urban.” I am happiest when a picture of mine speaks to someone, finds its way into someone’s office or home – bringing into their world something from outside that they are frequently too busy to notice.

My Connection to the Island and Woods Hall My brother and sister-in-law (Michael and Cindy Dalzell) invited me to come to the Island in the spring of 2014. I stayed the summer, moving down to the Madison area in the fall. I returned every month for about a year and frequently thereafter. I became a Woods Hall member in October of 2014, selling prints and note cards of my Madeline Island photos, and copies of my book when it came out. The last couple of years I have had framed prints for sale and added prints of my more recent work.

What I have liked most about Woods Hall is their willingness to allow me to retain my membership even though I no longer reside on the Island, with my connection being through my brother and my best friend, Gwen Patterson. Madeline Island is a magical place and I cherish my connection to it, however distant that may be.