Category: Artists Exposed

Something I am quite fond of seeing in people is when I see compassion, love & a genuine interest in wanting to help others better themselves. On Twitter I stumbled across a tweeter that has created a very nice concept.

Children + instuctions + Cameras + Develop + Print + Exhibit = Gift

Their concept is simple. To stimulate & cultivate creativity in youngsters through the power of photography. Now how is this innovative you may say? How is going to make a difference? There was a famous guy that you may have heard of, Albert Ironstein, that once said “Imagination is more important than knowledge”, which to some degree is very true, you can be extremely good at remembering facts and learning new techniques but unless you can put the facts and knowledge you gain together with the special ingredient of creativity then the experience remains quite useless.

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Sharing our world

For me, creative professions of all shapes and sizes try to make sense of the world through communicating our experiences to others in various forms hoping to improve the lifestyle or mind of the participant who is interacting to what we have created. By giving children cameras it allows them to communicate their view of the world to people and realise that their voice does matter.

Helping others live better without wanting anything in return is the most rewarding thing you can do

When you are a creative and you have been trained to be harness the creative potential of your mind ANYTHING is possible. I was trained for over 10 years to develop creativity. From the ages of 14 to 26 I pursued a greater interest in the arts. Beginning in Graphics, pursuing a dream of architecture when the big bad recession pushed the dream down & then realising that creative skill sets are transferable to just about any profession I retrained myself in the “creative” IT world.

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Why is what I am saying about my life experience relevant to the The Gift of an image scheme? I understand that developing young peoples creativity can vastly improve their lives and help them to dream, realise what they have to share matters & give them the skills to develop their creative genius.

View more about this scheme on Behance & see some of the images that the children have taken

[medium_button color=”dark” url=”http://www.behance.net/gallery/The-Gift-of-an-Image/5239267″ target=”_blank”]Read More[/medium_button]

Follow them on Twitter

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Please note, all Pictures belongs to Gift of An Image

Artist : JA Wilson

Location: United Kingdom

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Social Media

• Pinterest – http://pinterest.com/jawilsondesign/
• Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/jawilsondesign
• Twitter – http://www.twitter.com/jawilsondesign

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So what is your background?

Education :

As a young person I was always drawing, painting and creating cartoons, designing games and playing video games, a typical 1980s kid! Creative lesson were always my favorite at school ( as well as sport ) and I even won a creative writing trophy when i was 10 for my ability at using my imagination. Pursuing the art foundation and then studying an architectural degree, I dreamed of creating large artistically designed buildings but unfortunately graduated in may 2008 when the recession started.

Exhibiting

I have exhibited my work in Knowsley Open Art Exhibition, Liverpool One Shopping District & other areas of Liverpool. This was me starting to take my art work seriously. I also entered paintings into the John Moores Painting Prize, probably one of the most highly sought after prizes by any artist.

[image]http://www.jawilsondesign.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/545433_534703646544426_1097364434_n.jpg[/image]

What is your favourite medium?

I enjoy working and experimenting with any medium but my favourites are currently acrylic paint, ink,charcoal and chalk as well as Photoshop.

Do you have a common theme to your work?

Recession:

Architecture & Banking took the biggest hits at first (as usually happens in any economic recession) and so few job opportunities in the industry were available. This was the start of a very difficult and dark time for me in my life. Things went from bad to worse as I attempted tutoring but was unfortunate enough to meet some very nasty people in the industry that were basically bullies, plus the influence of government also made it a very restrictive profession creatively, it was hell on earth to me, another profession i felt i was failing at.

[image]http://www.jawilsondesign.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/lets-go.jpg[/image]

Not only this but my partner at the time was not very supportive towards me and was pressuring me all the time about bringing money into the house. Eventually, 3 years later when i was the lowest i had ever been in my entire life, she left me… on boxing day.

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Deep depression & finding path again

As stated earlier combined with the feeling of uselessness, being so far in debt. the pressure of my past partner to find work and the relationship failing, I became very low and didn’t know how to get out of feeling in this very dark abyss.

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My paintings depict my experiences of this difficult time, the challenges i still face, dreams i have had, coming out of the depression/suicidal thinking and how being close to death can help you rethink life and to value certain things differently.

What inspires you?

My art work is based on my experiences of life through the ups and downs, the dreams i had and the battle to regain my sanity.
[image]http://www.jawilsondesign.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/277232_267355946723940_590044038_o.jpg[/image]

Do any other artists or designers influence how you work, if so who and how?

I like the work of Jackson Pollock due to the emotional connection he seems to have with his work and I am also inspired by Salvador Dali for his surrealist type of painting and the theme of dreams.

Is your work available to purchase?

At the moment it isn’t available to purchase but I hope in the near future to make it available. If you are interested in any of my work, please feel free to contact me.