Today we’d like to introduce you to Stacy Luecker.
Hi Stacy, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Growing up, I spent a lot of time on the Near Southside in Fort Worth, Texas. A love for architecture, Arts and Crafts bungalows, and local history has always been a large part of my life. My grandmother would drive around DFW and point out places of historic interest to me. She taught me that history is important, how to see the world differently and to appreciate the beauty around me. Books by Elliot Porter and Ansel Adams were typical gifts instead of children’s books. I bought my first camera at eight years old at a garage sale. As a child, writing and the way words looked on paper was fascinating, and at ten years old I produced a neighborhood newsletter then hand-delivered copies door-to-door to my neighbors. During the time I was studying fine art, graphic design and photography at Tarrant County College (TCC), I volunteered for Historic Fort Worth and found work at TCC in their journalism department. I began photographing real estate listings and local events. Alongside freelancing, I found interest in photographing unique architecture – historic buildings in various stages of neglect and reconstruction. This documentation process became increasingly important to me, and I found satisfaction and some notoriety for my efforts. Today I wear a lot of different hats as photographer, designer, writer, historian and instructor while running my own freelance photography and design business. It’s a lot.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Life’s struggles teach you a lot of things, good and bad. When my husband suddenly passed away in 2017, it made me realize that life is too short to not experience new things and travel new roads. The past four years have brought personal growth, new creative goals and new love. I am grateful for all of life’s experiences.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I started a graphic design business in 1998, Essex Graphix, working primarily with African American self-publishing authors just entering the publishing world. It was an experience I really loved and it was extremely challenging…yet it afforded me an opportunity to play with the way words look on paper, to design book covers as a creative outlet, the unique niche gave me the opportunity to work with large publishing companies like Simon and Schuster. This was exciting and a few of my clients went on to have talk shows, become radio hosts authors, celebrities whose successes I was a part of, and this energy helped push my career forward. In 2003 I started a local magazine based on the idea everyone has a story. The magazine gave me the opportunity to meet interesting people, photograph them and write about them, and this was one of the best experiences of my life.
Fast forward to 2021. Today I live in a historic bungalow in the Fairmount National Historic District on Fort Worth’s Near Southside. As an appointed commissioner on the Tarrant County Historical Commission, I enjoy the opportunity working with others while helping preserve history. I still work at TCC in the journalism department enjoy passing knowledge and hard-earned experience along with a broad range of skills to talented student designers, photographers and marketing majors. Ties to my hometown are important, and the work performed for the City of Hurst designing City publications as well as photographing events – satisfies some part of me that loves the history of Place… My photography skills are often utilized by real estate agents and architects looking to document a renovation or make a record of a historic landmark. My articles and photography have been published in American Bungalow magazine and Old House Journal.
In addition to all of these things, during a time of continued change and reinvention, I have also found a special connection to the stars above and night photography. Being under the night sky renews my energy and helps me remember that we all play a tiny part in this universe. To stop and look up, to breathe in the night air, to see the Milky Way extending magically above us, and to somehow reconnect with the natural world that surrounds us, is an awesome privilege I stand in awe of.
In the end, not everyone can make a living doing what they love and I feel very blessed to have managed to combine a lot of interests into one great artistic endeavor and career path that is a continuous journey to an unknown destination.
What were you like growing up?
I was the quiet kid in the back of the class that liked to take everything in. I am still that same girl, but now I have a voice and I share it.
Contact Info:
- Email: fwbungalow@gmail.com
- Website: www.stacyluecker.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/biscochito_santafe/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/luecker.photography
Image Credits
Stacy Luecker, John Ladd
