INSIDE

Edelman, who says she comes from “a long line” of fine artists and creative people, has always had a hand in the creative.

“I never thought it was unusual to think visually. I never thought it was unusual to make things.”

Today, when not photographing, Edelman might be making jewelry, painting or doing interior-design work.

She graduated from Connecticut College and with great interest in both sports and fashion went on to a career in media. An internship at Rolling Stone magazine was followed by editorial work for Seventeen magazine, MTV and Glamour magazine.

She went on to Sports Illustrated, reuniting her two loves, as a travel editor who coordinated everything from visas to props for the famed swimsuit editions.

Traveling the world, she worked with top photographers and soon realized she wanted to join their ranks.

When she married John Edelman in 1998 and they moved to Ridgefield, she began her own photography business focusing on portraiture work that “took a lot of my energy.”

One day, a child’s appointment was canceled and Edelman was surprised to feel relief and realized “this is not feeding me creatively.”

Encouraged by fellow students at the Silvermine Arts Center in New Canaan, where Edelman was working on printing, she began to share her work from Uruguay.

“They started to say to me ‘You have a story in here,’” she says.

And that led to the gallery show and book.

Looking ahead

While she can’t jet off to Uruguay all the time, Edelman says her trips there sustain her when she is back home.

She not only captures the images of the horses and creates her art, but also learns a lot.

“They’re regal and elegant and graceful and they’ve taught me so much,” she says. She has learned to “really be aware of the energy I bring. I’m responsible for the energy I bring into a room. … It’s so valuable with raising my children and having a family and just life in general.”

She is working on a new series and would eventually like to visit Uruguay in all seasons to round out her work, which finds her using “old-school” methods like film and a 1960s Rolleiflex camera she calls “a treasure.”

“I love to use film,” she says. Sometimes, she takes up to 100 rolls on each trip to Uruguay. “I like to bring a lot of different weapons. I like the grain of the film, but I also shoot in digital.”