Today we’d like to introduce you to Maria De Jesus Berry.
Maria (formerly Chapa) began her modeling career at age sixteen after graduating at Page Parkes Center of Modeling in 1996. She went on to sign with several National and International modeling agencies. Her modeling works have been published internationally for a little over a decade. It is during her professional modeling career that Maria began fashion styling as well as assisting photographers in Ottawa and Montreal, Canada part-time.
Maria actively pulled from showrooms, designers and boutiques for magazine photo shoots and local modeling agencies. Maria worked closely with Angie’s Models and Preston Catalogue based out of Ottawa, Ontario until moving back to Houston three years after living in Canada. Maria’s modeling, styling and photography assisting career continued in Houston, Tx and other cities until 2010. In 2011 Maria opened her business, Berry Arts and Photography. Berry Arts and Photography is operated by Maria and her husband John.
Berry Arts and Photography is focused on photography, art, blogging, product reviews and brand ambassador work. The brand ambassador work has only been something they started under two years ago. They’ve collaborated with amazing brands and individuals and look forward to connecting with more creatives and amazing brands!
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I believe there are struggles and challenges that everyone faces in life. I ensure to RISE UP and speak on behalf of all Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Survivors. Raising awareness on Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Mental Health is an important part of my life. I was sexually assaulted as a teenager and developed severe mental illness afterwards.
Unfortunately, I could not turn to anyone and my trauma was faced alone with only my best friend knowing of it all. I later went on to get married in my early 20’s and faced horrendous domestic violence and sexual assault at the hands of my now fugitive x-husband. I escaped with my life in 2009.
I say to others who are deeply uninformed about domestic violence when they ask why I stayed… “I stayed because I wanted to live, I left because I wanted to live.” The experiences survivors have are vastly different. Every survivor deserves to be heard. <3 I will be starting a personal photography project for survivors in the coming year.
Berry Arts and Photography – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Berry Arts and Photography focus on photography, art, blogging, product reviews and brand promo work. Our photography primarily focuses on horticulture, lifestyle, fashion, beauty, travel and photojournalism photography.
Maria’s current obsession is symmetry and mixed media works involving photography and digital painting. After a few bad storms in Houston and losing our equipment three times over, we’ve slowly launched again this year and will be offering photo sessions and have our online shop up by the end of this year. Determination is key to pursuing your dreams! Never let ANY obstacles stop your passion.
We plan on producing some stunning horticulture and mixed media prints this year. Stay tuned!
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
This feature is our first, so we’d say, this amazing feature has been our proudest moment thus far. <3
Contact Info:
- Website: https://berryartsandphotography.blogspot.com
- Email: mariadjberry@outlook.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/berryartsandphotography
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BerryArtsandPhotography
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/Berrysicles
- Other: https://www.linkedin.com/in/berryartsandphotography
Getting in touch: VoyageHouston is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
