I’ve always been a creative person. All throughout school I took as many art classes that I could, but I really wasn’t that talented at any of the mediums I worked with. That all changed when one of my biggest role models and then high school teacher Mrs. Fry (shout out to you Amanda!) decided to bring a photography course back to our small high school. I picked up my moms digital camera and the rest is pretty much history. I always knew I wanted to go to art school but I never really knew what to study. I liked taking photos but I was afraid to take the leap and actually get a degree in it.
I then ended up at Herron School of Art and Design. I can honestly say that all of my creativity stemmed from this school. I had amazing professors (Ben Martinkus is another one of my role models) that challenged me not only as an artist and photographer but as an individual as well. There I learned my love for film and alternative process photography and how to develop my style and technique.
After graduating I interned for a local artist Quincy Owens for the summer, which led me to finally give in and apply for a PATTERN internship. I’ve always looked up to PATTERN but I never thought that I would qualify or be chosen to be an intern. They were doing big things in the city and it just seemed like it wasn’t tangible for me to be involved in something so big in Indy. I was working two shitty jobs, averaging 80 hours a week and felt completely drained and unmotivated to make anything art related. Quincy taught me a lot of things through my internship, but the main thing he taught me was to never doubt myself. The worst they can do is say no, so I tried and I somehow managed to snag an interview. Being the Virgo that I am, I overthought the whole situation and wasn’t expecting an email back saying I got the job.
My whole internship experience has been kind of surreal. I’ve worked with more models than I can count, been published in the printed magazine and have made so many connections in the city. I’ve lived in Indy for nearly five years and I thought I knew nearly all of the art community but I’ve worked with so many new creatives and models that I had no idea of until now. My biggest take away from PATTERN is learning to build relationships with literally anyone and everyone. You never know when an opportunity is going to pop-up.
