I had the great honor to be one of two faculty members at Crealdé School of Art (alongside Patricia Byron, an amazing abstract painter and teacher) selected to receive a scholarship a couple years ago to participate in Creative Capital’s Advanced Core Weekend. I had known about Creative Capital since 2008 when my mentor, Rick Lang, was going to his second Creative Capital program in Jacksonville. He spoke so well of his own development during the immersive program that I felt out of my depth within a room of artist I knew by name (but none that knew me).
From Friday to Sunday, approximately thirty artists (actors, painters, photographers, poets, printmakers, and writers) throughout Florida gathered to learn how to sustain and grow a career in the arts. The talented group of facilitators led us in group discussions, presentations, workshops, and role playing issues ranging from pricing, to gallery representation, fundraising, and how to stand out as art has become more competitive. The end of the workshop culminated with each artist having an one-on-one session with one of the facilitators. The information gleaned over the weekend from both the facilitators and other artists was not only insightful but incredibly motivating. Every artist has their ‘a-ha’ moments. I can count mine on one hand, with the experience from Creative Capital being one of them.
When I think of my work and the journey I have taken, it can both literally and conceptual be correlated with the childhood roadtrips that I have often credited with being the inspiration for my photographs. It is the journey on and off the fast-paced roadways that I covet. The explorer in me interested in finding something different yet familiar in those moments in between. I want to end this post with a quote from an icon in photography, Minor White, “……innocence of eye has a quality of its own. It means to see as a child sees, with freshness and acknowledgment of the wonder; it also means to see as an adult sees who has gone full circle and once again sees as a child – with freshness and an even deeper sense of wonder.”
Dinosaur World in Plant City Florida