When we last put the spotlight on 100 creative forces in Phoenix, it was no secret there were more than 100 individuals who were making waves in the local arts community. So as we count down to our annual Best of Phoenix issue, we're profiling 100 more.
We're talking painters, writers, sculptors, designers, architects -- Phoenicians who are digging into the local scene and adding their own creative elements. Welcome (back) to 100 Creatives. And while you're here, check out 100 Tastemakers on Chow Bella.
Jennifer Campbell is currently on a mission to set a yeti off on an adventure. The local artist recently raised enough funds for her first children's book, Yeti Leaves Home, which she wrote with Troy Harris and illustrated with her own watercolors (you can see the originals now on view at Practical Art).
Campbell moved to Arizona from the United Kingdom when she was 12. She says that exactly 12 years later, she's living in central Phoenix home with Harris and her puppy, Watson. When she's not at her day job in an adult recreation center, she's working on one of her many art projects.
I make art because . . . I wouldn't have it any other way. I know that every artist says that. The panic of having everything ready for an exhibition deadline, the satisfaction I get from seeing a finished piece come into fruition, and that anxious/excited feeling I get from sharing my artworks to a new audience...The combination of it all makes me feel really balanced. And I'm just so happy and grateful to be able to make art.
I'm most productive when . . . I drink way to much PG tips tea. I can't help it.
My inspiration wall is full of . . . Well I don't have a wall, but I do keep a ton of sketchbooks. I draw, and write a lot of notes and keep important links to art blog posts that inform or relate to my work.
I've learned the most from . . . other artists. Artists need to get out there and see other people's work. How do they approach displaying their work? What concerns the subject matter of their work? What is most important to them at that moment in time? I try to do this as much as possible, but more than anything I like to seek advice from other artists. Making artwork is tough; we have to help each other out.
Good work should always . . . automatically spring the viewer into a deep state of emotion. Whatever feeling that particular piece of work may evoke. It should inspire the imagination. I also think that work should have the ability to make the viewer think in a new way about the subject matter, or explore an idea they may have forgotten.
The Phoenix creative scene could use more . . . support. I think this is true of many different cities; the arts community is usually struggling. Phoenix, in particular, seems to experience small bursts of EXCITEMENT about the arts, shopping local, creative solutions and working together as a community. Just when you think things are about to make a drastic turn, though, the interest begins to dwindle or a setback occurs and people invested in the art scene suffer a little bit. It is up to us as artists to keep the community engaged.
The Creatives so far ...
100:Lara Plecas 99. Isaac Caruso 98. Brandon Gore 97. Kelsey Dake 96. Hector Ruiz 95. Caroline Battle
