My name is Barnia (Barney) Scruggs, Jr. I am an artist and photographer, living in the middle Tennessee area. You may know me from my past work as a designer, illustrator, animator or from seeing me in my zebra-striped Xterra (GOZEBRA).
Having always loved the African experience, I created and named my studio, Safari Studio Adventures, to reflect my passion to explore, discover and capture great images. "Safari" is a swahili word for "journey". I believe our lives are a journey with a God-given purpose to discover. I invite you to grab your khakis and sunscreen and join me on this adventure.
Photoshop allows me to specialize in mixing art and photography. Digital technology allows me to produce uniquely beautiful images that stand out from the rest of the herd, much like a zebra in a migrating herd of wildebeest, hence, my zebra logo.
Of course, with the advent of digital photography and the availability of cell phone selfies, images are now everywhere. But, I believe, images should be creative, beautiful and produce personal interest, whether it be riding your motorcycle across the surface of your pool, capturing your shrunken sister in a jar, or, maybe, you might seem to stand in front of exotic wild animals (like above). Almost anything is possible. My images have been used for personal, business, as well as, commercial purposes.
And, now, you will notice a new gallery titled "Sculpture". Safari Studio Adventures has gone 3D. This gallery will include images of upcoming sculpted works of art. Caution as some works may depict nudity. I am currently creating a series of sculpted works of women of various African tribes. These women dress very differently than the women from the outside world. After hours of meticulous study, I found myself in awe of their amazing strength and beauty. Before creating this category, I created a group, a sort of Safari Studio Select, to critique the first of this series named "Himba". I was pleased to receive very positive reviews; "Pictures are beautiful, but your sculpture is mesmerizing.", "...phenomenal!! Absolutely beautiful.", and, "Wow!!...The detail and symmetry are both incredible." My hopes are that you will discover the same beauty that captured me.
But, Safari Studio Adventures is much more than an art or photography studio.
We are a Christian-based philanthropy, helping those in other lands that just may need a hand-up, not a hand-out. We help provide wells for clean drinking water, food, medical and surgical needs and school fees for orphaned children of Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda and India. Check out our photos on our "Safari Friends" tab. Our hope is to educate and involve others in these efforts as we celebrate the amazing beauty and design of our Creator in the process.
We are stewards of family heritage, helping those in search of their past discover who they really are. With now over 60,000 entries in our own personal family tree, we have put our ancestral research experience to work to help others uncover treasures of relative importance. I guess you can say, "we dig history". We are always amazed at the connections we find.
We strive to be a sustainable, responsible and "green" organization. We are globally aware of how we affect our environment and are involved with those with similar beliefs, protecting wildlife and our planet. We love solar and wind innovations. We make our own compost and harvest our own rainwater. We are not "hippies", just enlightened nerds or geeks.
Speaking of geeks, in an effort to become more green, Safari Studio Adventures' website is now hosted on the GreenGeeks platform, a recognized EPA Green Power Partner. GreenGeeks works with environmental foundations to replace 3X the energy consumed by the company, thus, making our website 300% green. In effect they not only wipe out their carbon footprint, but, also, negate the carbon footprint of two additional companies of their size.
Our images and designs have reached the fabric printers at Spoonflower. You can now view our near 500 designs by clicking the "Spoonflower Safari" link. There you can view and choose our designed fabrics for your pillow, comforter, pajama, and tote bag projects. Spoonflower is another environmentally conscious partner, printing only the amount of fabric needed for any given project and recycling any scrap fabric in an eco-friendly manner.
Printing our designs on fabric has allowed us to expand our offerings. Please note the new Gift Shop tab. Under that tab you will see a gallery of new custom neckties. Although still under construction, this will allow us to fulfill necktie orders of our own custom designs while reducing waste and controlling inventory and production costs. A portion of the proceeds will help us support our international projects mentioned above. More to come soon.
We believe that to those much is given, much is required and that with God all things are possible. As you can see from our blog, we have BIG plans. And, this is just the beginning. By Entertaining, Educating and Exciting others, we Engage them to participate in our Experience. We invite you to come along on this adventure.
Ideas? Questions? Please feel free to contact me at: [email protected].
What is Your Adventure?