Meet Martha Retallick
Rhymes with “Metallic”
Although many people ask which Eastern European country my family came from, the Retallicks hail from County Cornwall. That’s at the southwestern tip of Great Britain.
What does my name mean? Like many Cornish names, it describes a place. Retallick is derived from “res-talek,” which translates into English as “ford across a stream at the base of a short, steep slope.”
So, call me Martha Stream Crossing. And don’t slip on that slope!
Modern-Day Victory Gardener
When I meet another Martha, my first question is: What elderly relative were you named after?
Usually, it’s a grandmother, an aunt, or some long-departed ancestor.
I fall into the “ancestor” category. I’m named after my great-grandmother Martha. She was my mother’s maternal grandmother.
From her Victory Garden in Buffalo, a city with long and brutally cold winters and a blink-and-you-miss-it growing season, great-grandmother Martha fed eight people. According to Mom, those people depended on great-grandmother’s produce.
And now here’s this Martha, on the other side of the country, tackling urban agriculture in another challenging climate. In Tucson, the growing season is year ‘round, but it includes the five-month inferno we call summer.
Do I garden during the summer? You bet! Do I succeed? Yes! The above photo shows me in my backyard garden.
Life-changing Discovery
While I was in high school, I made a discovery that would change my artistic life. Simply put, I just wasn’t good at drawing or painting. Sculpture? Forget it. Ceramics? Meh. Printmaking? Nope.
Photography? Well, that was a different story. I felt like I was born to do it. In photography class, I was introduced to professional-grade cameras. What a difference! Through the viewfinder, I could see what the lens was focused on – and my skills took a giant leap forward.
Since high school, my photographic journey has taken me on bicycle adventures through all 50 states, to Tucson events that range from weddings to car shows, and right back home to the ever-changing plant life in my yard. Some of my yard photos are displayed in the banner images atop these pages, and others are in my portfolio.
Another Site to See
This site provides an overview of my work as a photographer, designer, writer, and publisher. But, as the late-night infomercials say, that’s not all. Here’s another stop on the Digital Martha Tour, Tucson Event Photography, featuring my images of local happenings