About me — Emily Iris Degn

I grew up in a family that moved around constantly, thanks to a healthy dose of wanderlust.

However, most of my life was spent in the San Juan Islands in the Salish Sea. It was home, so we kept coming back to that little island in the north. It was here that I truly fell in love with nature, and felt close to Earth- there in the Pacific waters among the pines.

A lot of my childhood was spent in a little cottage by the sea there, filled with dried lavender bunches, yellow walls, and jars of sea glass. We grew our own garden, picked basket-fulls of wild blackberries, and were constantly playing in the icy waters and lush forests along the shore. When I think of the word “home”, that is still what floods my mind all these years later.

I wouldn’t trade it for the world.

Inspired by the natural world around me, I started creating art and writing a lot. I realized it came naturally for me, but more importantly, I learned that it ignited my soul. It was then that I decided that I would chase a life where I could create as much art and poetry and stories as possible- all honoring the natural world.

So here we are.

I’ve grown now, and have continued to explore many other places (often returning to the Salish Sea). Today, I write poetry, make art, and tell stories of wildness. I am in awe of this world and hope that through creativity, I can spark that feeling in others as well.

I believe wholeheartedly that in order to save our livable planet, people need to fall in love with it and get to know it. My work revolves around this goal, bridging the gap between people and the natural spaces around them.