So thanks to my lovely friend Tiffany, I DO have a name for this “new post every day” thing I’m doing this month- Daily Dose December! That actually does have a ring to it :) And the alliteration makes my heart rejoice lol.
Anyway today I have a super super special artist spotlight feature for you guys! This feature unintentionally fell by the wayside this year but I’m bringing it back to life and have lots of beautiful, talented people to share with you!
Today it’s my great friend Jackie! Jackie and I have been friends for over 7 years but just met each other in person for the first time this year! The magic of the internet ;) We became friends years ago via Flickr and remained in touch even through the changes in social media platforms. It has always been a pleasure keeping up with not only her beautiful work, but her even more beautiful personality. She has this calm spirit about her that transcends visibly in her work and she is just as warm and wonderful as her online presence would have you think.
So please sit back and enjoy getting to know her a little better! I really enjoyed her responses to these questions :)
What is your name?Jacqueline or Jackie, Jacks, J… whatever is good with you I’m good with ;)
Where are you located?
I’m currently located in Los Angeles, CA
What do you do?
I’m currently a full time college student pursuing an Art major and also obtaining my teaching credentials. Besides school, I also work full time as a freelance portrait and lifestyle photographer and also practice and create ceramic, mixed media, and some color pencil art. When inspired, writing poetry.
How long have you been a photographer?
I’ve practiced the photography medium for about 6 years. Wow! That’s a long time!
How did you become interested in photography and when did you know you wanted to make a career out of your passion?
Lets see, I first began to get interested in photography because I was gifted a point and shoot camera and started to casually photograph things around me. It wasn’t until I was then gifted a “professional camera” that I really started to think about what I was doing as a photographer (and by the way, both cameras were gifted from my soon to be husband. Thank you love!) I then began to flourish, but really began to dive deep in when I found the Flickr community. Being a part of such an amazing community with many, many, MANY talented people really pushed me to want to get better at something that was just something fun to do. I would log in and look at photographs daily and eventually join groups and start projects like the 365 project which involved doing a self portrait for 365 days! Yeah, that was bananas! Ultimately, I have to say that I will contribute my interest in photography to my amazing dude and to all of the amazing talent I met trough Flickr, besides dabbing into the 35mm format and darkroom in school. I didn’t really decide that I wanted to have a career doing photography, it kind of just fell on my lap and I went with it. Photography became and is in my everyday life and I really fell deep and didn’t see myself doing anything else besides teach that’s when I decided to merge them both together.
Who are some of your influences/inspirations?
Gosh.. I have so many influences and inspirations. First and foremost I do have to say that God is my number one inspiration. Especially God in nature. Everything that I see is created by the best artist EVER. Every color, every texture, every human. Everything. My other huge influence is my Mom she just says things that can move me in directions no one else can. My second influence is myself. Why myself you may ask? Well, if you can’t inspire yourself no one else can. It really is up to you to inspire yourself with your own work. It’s the same concept when someone says you’re beautiful but if you don’t believe or don’t think you are it doesn’t matter who and how anyone says it. I also have a mentor who helps me clear my mind on concepts and keeps it real when I think I’m the bomb and tell sit like it is. He’s definitely been an influence throughout. Photographers before my time like William Eggleston, Saul Leiter, Robert Frank, Vivian Maier, Julius Shulman, Gordon Parks, Dorothy L… to name a few other artists, writers, prophets and musicians who work in different mediums like Frida Khalo, Nina Simone, Sade, Bob Marley, Jill Scott, Lauryn Hill, India Arie, Ghandi, Ernest Hemingway, Saul Williams, 2 Pac John Coltrane and so many, many, many more! I also follow several photographers who are front and center doing amazing things with lifestyle work like Jose Villa, Elizabeth Messina and of course Danielle Finney.
What has been your favorite project that you’ve worked on so far?
My favorite project has to be my street portrait series. It consisted of a series of portrait done on the streets of downtown Los Angeles all photographed during dusk. It’s been my favorite because I would ride the train at least three days a week to the city and had to actively walk around and experience the city and it’s people. I would see it slowly go from an active tornado to a serene atmosphere by the time the sun was coming down. I also had the pleasure to meet many people who go unnoticed by many and had the opportunity to photographed them in the most beautiful light of the day.
What other types of creative work do you do?
I got ahead of myself on the first question! As mentioned before I experiment and work with ceramic, mixed media, color pencil art and sometimes write poetry.
What inspires you?
Besides all of the people I mentioned before, Nature is always my inspiration. Nature and good music combined that’s a double whammy!
What keeps you motivated?
It’s easy to fall off the motivation wagon. What I find that helps me stay motivated is just using ways to clear my mind whether it be talking to someone or taking a long walk/run. Also, looking at past work helps me, as well as my clients. Definitely my clients, they keep me working and constantly creating. They are a very good reason not to give up because they believe in me enough to pay me to create art for them.
Any advice to fellow creatives (in your industry or otherwise)?
I would say that first and foremost you have to create your work for yourself. Don’t ever create something based on what others might think of it or to please anyone else. Always stay true to your eye and create work that will make YOU happy and fulfill you most inner part of your heart. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes the more the better that only means that you are working and guess what? Creativity and inspiration comes to you the most when you are working. Take time to re-fresh, we aren’t machines that can produce constantly. Take the time to breathe and re focus. If you want something to happen, put it out there. Say it, write it, scream it, trust me it will happen if you really want it. Don’t fall in the scheme of what’s a great artist according to number of “likes.” Always, always, create with love for the love of the art. And Lastly, be good to yourself and others if you aren’t where you want to be it’s okay you will be give it sometime and work for it while being nice to people.
Any other fun tidbits we should know about you?
Well, I’m going to get married soon to my muse. eeeek!! I love meeting new people and learning more about them, I now LOVE cats. I used to cross the street and run from them before! haha… I make up songs and silly dances just to laugh, I’m a natural when it comes to romance… creating love poems on the spot mostly for my guy. After wanting to have my own veggie garden I finally made that happen this Summer and it has been both a learning experience and SUPER relaxing. What else? I am the thrifting queen I tell ya! I absolutely love going hunting yes, that’s what it is I’m a hunter of treasures. I love all that is old and holds nostalgia. Besides, it helps reduce waste and I get to have things in our home that aren’t made anymore and are well made all for a couple of bucks! Lastly, in order not to make this an autobiography, I recently started to get into herbs, herbal remedies, growing herbs and making things with them like salves, lotions, and other wonderful medicinal stuff. Most of all, I love creating, so anything that involves creating I’m so there!
Where can we find you online
tumblr: http://jacquelinefuller.tumblr.com/
instagram: http://instagram.com/beinuniversallove
I hope you enjoyed getting to know Jackie! Please be sure to keep up with her on tumblr and/or instagram to see more of her beautiful work AND check out her brand new ceramic art shop! I even have my own jackie original from when I was in LA a few weeks ago so I’m super happy to see her shop up and running :) Leave a comment and let me know what you thought of her feature!
I hope you have a great Thursday!
-Danni