Meet Theona Frazier-Ardieanson

Growing up as a native of the beautiful city of Savannah, Ga., being an artist was a gift that I was given. I remember running to my mother, showing a portrait that I drew of a stranger or a cartoon character that I starred at long enough to memorize the technique of the art. And If you ever run across my uncles, they would certainly tell you that I was a hustler since kindergarten. It's quite funny actually and having the competency of being an all around people's person has molded me into the greater creator I am today.

Believe it or not, my career started out with graphic design. I'm not sure where you were in 2006, but I was downloading Photoshop on the family's desktop. Myspace was pretty popular around that time and people wanted their pages customized; something that no one else had. It was me! I was one of the few who learned to do the back end coding and create something great from it. I was always getting paid to draw portraits, cards, etc but designing edits seemed to suit me well. I felt as though I was growing a new passion for something special. But, hey! I was in 6th grade at the time and there were a lot of things that I thought I was passionate about.

Senior year in high school and everyone who knew me was bragging about my graphic skills to the photographer who was visiting the school on picture day. He was somewhat impressed and asked if I wanted a job at his studio. Without consulting things with my parents, I said yes. It was my first job, and I was actually doing something that I enjoyed doing. The assignment that he gave me was to create a banner for my school's boy's basketball team. It took a while to do, considering that I needed for it to speak volume and show not only my boss what I was capable of, but the entire school. None the less, it was completed and greatly appreciated. I believe it's still in the school's building today. 

Fast forward to thanking J. Gardner for issuing me my first dslr camera, a Nikon d90. 2016 was the mark of being a photographer for the Savannah area. During this time, photographing may not have been the best job for me because I was constantly traveling. I found myself literally flying overseas and waking back up in the states. I did try to shoot landscape and scenery, but it was the human interaction I was craving for. I love a live subject that moves! I settled for a while and transitioned my parents' garage into a studio. It worked out for a while until I found out that a past client had been stalking me, so I then started back traveling and made my way to good ole Carroll County. I didn't meet many people there, but I surprisingly gained more clients from back at home. Atlanta was not too far from neither Carrollton nor Savannah; people were traveling a great distance to get photographed by me.

2017 was filled with short term accomplishments. I was offered a graphic design position in New York, Ny and in Richmond, Vancouver 

In 2018, I placed a hold on photography and went back to studying biochemistry. I found myself stuck for a minute because I knew for a fact that working a regular job was not for someone with a personality like mine. I wanted to be around people who were like-minded as I was and who were interested in getting what I could give, photoshoots and graphic designs.

In 2019, I was pregnant, booked, and busy. I was traveling, photographing events, at daycares, and in studios that I would rent out. I was in and out of Savannah and it had honestly put a toll on my life with missing family and not having friends nearby. I moved back to Savannah in May, 2021. I started completely over with nothing on site. Prior to moving, I had no vision of where I was headed. I leased a studio for photography before getting a home. Were my priorities messed up? I then announced that I had gone back to what I knew how to do best, photographing people and making them smile.