ZIGGY (MARY ELIZABETH) HARTFELDER lives in Massachusetts, has journeyed to Ireland may times over the last two decades.. She was born in upstate New York, where her grandparents emigrated from counties Galway and Kildare. As a member of an extended Irish-American family Ziggy was surrounded by those who taught her to celebrate her Irish heritage, as well as the beautiful landscape of the Hudson Valley and the surrounding mountains. She has always been inspired by stone, sea, sky, and the many variations of the green palate.
After attending college in Boston as a Psychology/Literature major, she emigrated to the wilds of Los Angeles, where she married, and worked in the fashion and entertainment industry for five years. Upon returning to New England to raise children, she was given, by her husband, a trip to Ireland with her 98 year old grandmother, Lilly Brady, her greatest friend. She was inspired by this journey "home" to share her love of the Irish landscape and its people through her camera.
Hartfelder is a winner of both the 2001 Marblehead Arts Festival Photography category, and the 2001 Boston Herald Irish Photo Contest. She has been a member of the Essex Camera Gallery and Cultural Center,the Marblehead Arts Associaton,and the Salem Arts Association. Her work has been purchased by several Irish pubs as part of their permanent collections . Having spent the last few summers on an island in Casco Bay, she began to build a portfolio of the Maine coastline, and became a member of Casco Bay Artisans and the GEM Gallery.When she isn’t photographing Ireland, Maine, and the North Shore of Massachusetts, Ziggy enjoys studying ballet, African drum and dance, being with her beautiful boys (Charlie, Miles and Jack-D’arcy) and her dog, Lulu. Like any true Irish soul, she loves singing sad Irish songs at Celtic music sessions wherever they can be found.