Woman Crush Wednesday: Tytia Habing
We had a huge, beautiful willow tree in our backyard until it got some sort of insect infestation and died as a result. Every summer I’d have to give it a ‘haircut’ so we could mow around it easier. This was its last trim before we cut it down in the fall. I loved that tree, and I wanted something to remember it by, so I took this shot to include in my Self project.
Images and words by Tytia Habing
Interview by Samantha Kern
Photo edited by Ece Yavuz
I noticed you have quite a few works coming in 2023, which are you most excited for?
For the last few years I’ve been laying low as far as my photography career goes. In the beginning of 2018 I had both my parents and my husband in the hospital at the same time for various things. While my husband recovered fairly quickly, both my parents were plagued with years of health problems, which in turn, meant years of me helping them through it all. They’ve helped me all my life, and now it was my turn to return the favor. While my mom is doing great with two new knees and having overcome kidney cancer, my dad will not be recovering. He was diagnosed with dementia and is now in a home for dementia patients.
While I’m excited for all my projects, because I’m so ready to get back at it after not being able to do much for so long, my project ‘Hambone’ is close to my heart. Hambone, or Ham for short, is my dad’s nickname. He’s called Ham because he’s always out to get a laugh or have a laugh himself. He’s one of the nicest guys you can imagine and has a number of community awards to prove it. Let me put it this way, during snowstorms, he would jump on his tractor and go up and down the roads pulling out vehicles that had become stuck in the snow because it made him feel good to help people and he would always refuse offers of any type of payment.
With Hambone, I’ll be exploring the cruelness of the disease, and how it turns a person into a complete stranger, and finally into a child that needs 24/7 care. It’s a heartbreaking experience for everyone involved, however, as a nod to my dad, I will attempt to inject a little humor into it all. Yes, it’s a horrible experience, but my family and I can always find the humor in difficult situations, because if you can’t laugh, you’ll probably cry.
I’m also really excited for my project ‘Entangled.’ It’s one that’s been on my mind for years now. This project is based on the theory of quantum entanglement which is ‘when two particles link together in a certain way no matter how far apart they are in space.’ Einstein called it ‘spooky action at a distance.’ I firmly believe all life is entangled in one way or another, including humans to each other. An example would be, you’re thinking of a friend and that friend suddenly calls you. It’s happened to me many, many times, along with other coincidences that can’t possibly be explained. I’ll be using mixed media for this project, as well as for my project ‘They’re Here.’ I get tired of being behind a computer all the time, so it’ll be nice to create something tangible with my hands. With both projects I’ll be incorporating gold and silver leaf into the finished prints.
My son and nieces went camping in a state park in Indiana called Turkey Run. This image is from one of our hikes.
How has the journey of photographing your son throughout his life so far affected how you recall your own childhood?
It makes me feel nostalgic for my own childhood. I grew up in a rural location on a working farm, and I consider my childhood fairly idyllic and the perfect childhood for me. I’m quiet and introspective and I like to sit back and observe things, so rural life suited me. I’d wander through the pastures and woods, discovering all kinds of wonderful things. Staring up into the sky, whether it was at clouds or stars was a favorite pastime, and still is.
When my son was born, we were living in the Cayman Islands, but as the years passed, we realized he’d be missing out on growing up with grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins close by. When he was three and a half, we ended up moving back to family land in Illinois where I was from. Now he’s growing up on the same land as I did, swimming in the same river, walking down the same paths, looking at the same trees and flowers and experiencing a lot of the same things I did as a child. He’s a lot like me, so it suits him. Now that I’m older, I can fully appreciate my childhood. I had a wonderful childhood, and I hope my son feels the same when he grows up and thinks back on his own childhood, and of course when he sees the oodles of images I have of him.
How did Cope help you move forward and focus on the sky from the hardships you were experiencing?
Nature has always been my go-to when I’m feeling down or experiencing hardships. It has a wonderful healing effect, and it’s not just me. It’s been clinically proven by numerous studies that nature is beneficial, from cognitive benefits to stress relief and the lowering of blood pressure, along with a whole host of other benefits. I believe it’s essential to our wellbeing.
When I was in the thick of it with my parents, my time was very limited, so most photography was out of the question. I did have time to at least step out my front door and look at the corn and sky above. It was different and beautiful every day. The whole experience prompted me to start a new endeavor called Cloud to Clover. With Cloud to Clover, I offer nature art for the healthcare industry, office or home. I already had thousands of nature images, so it was a no-brainer, and studies have shown, even viewing nature, as opposed to being immersed in it, has calming and health benefits.
It’s mid-harvest from my project Cope
Describe your creative process in one word.
Organic
If you could teach a one-hour class on anything what would it be?
Hmm, it’s tempting to answer with something about photography, but I’m gonna go with, ‘How and Why Everyone Should Travel and Live in Another Country for at Least One Year.’ We all need to be made more aware of the diverse world we live in, and speaking as an American, I think Americans need it more than anyone. It would more than likely be a real eye opener for most.
What was the last book you read or film you saw that resonated with you?
I recently read ‘Beings of Light’ by Peter Guttilla. It’s a fascinating book about Dorothy Izatt. Dorothy filmed hundreds of sequences of unexplained, yet authenticated, pictures of UFO’s and other anomalies on an ordinary 8 mm movie camera. There’s also a documentary out on her called ‘Capturing the Light.’ Fascinating! A book I’m very much looking forward to is ‘UFO of God’ by Chris Bledsoe coming out in March.
I do not like winter. I don’t like the cold, or the sicknesses that seem to come with winter and it’s just so brown and blah. I attempted to try and find some sort of beauty in the winter and while I think I found that beauty by photographing pond ice, I still don’t like winter. This is part of my project, Chryosphere.
What is the most played song in your music library?
I have a tie! Same Hurt by The Head and The Heart, & Inspired by Miley Cyrus (such beautiful lyrics) It was surprising to see what I had listened to most because I feel like it should’ve been any number of Post Malone songs, much to the chagrin of my son.
How do you take your coffee?
Double espresso, 2 teaspoons coconut sugar and a ton of frothed oat milk
