Six years ago I was fortunate to cross paths with a man named Kevin Edgerton. I was working as the editor of a small magazine in Collegedale, Tennessee. I was three years out of school and my wife and I were eager to seek out on our own and find our fortune.
Kevin was the Director of Corporate Communications for a large healthcare company in Winter Park, Florida, and he offered me a job. I didn’t realize it at the time, but I learned quickly that Kevin was a true creative genius. A great designer, a wonderful writer, and a confidant presenter, Kevin was the complete package with all the tools for success.
For two years I worked under Kevin’s tutelage. Of the many lessons I learned from Kevin, two stand out.
1. Shortly after I came to work for Kevin, he told me that in order to flourish as a creative individual, it was important to allow oneself time to grow. He called this exercise “professional grazing.” And he encouraged me to take at least an hour each week to put work away and “graze.” Sometimes it meant playing with Photoshop. Sometimes it meant surfing the internet. And other times it meant going to the bookstore and reading.
2. The second lesson was how to walk the fine line between high-power corporate executives and renegade creative artists. Kevin was good at diplomacy. In fact, it was a big part of his job. And in the time since Kevin and I parted ways, I’ve seen many of my contemporaries miss out on amazing jobs and fantastic opportunities because of their lack of diplomacy and their renegade attitudes.
Today I look back on my time working with Kevin and I’m grateful for what he taught me. I’m continually on the look-out for opportunities to “graze” and when I’m presented with a difficult situation or opposing viewpoint, I try to see things from the other perspective and then seek to find common ground.
Even though we live 500 miles away, Kevin and I occasionally get together for lunch and the chance to catch up. Each time he inspires me.
Who are you inspiring and what skills do you have to share?
Someone needs you. Be a mentor.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Vulnerability and inspiration
One of the biggest breaks I ever received was the opportunity to interview Jim Marlowe. I’d seen his work and I knew his name, but I’d never made his acquaintance. That is, until the day he stopped by the marketing office to drop some photographs off for the magazine.
I introduced myself and we talked for a few minutes. I told him of my love for photography and he sat down. We visited for a few more minutes before he realized how much time had passed and then he left abruptly with minimal explanation.
A couple weeks later I called Jim and asked if he’d consider letting me write an article about him for the magazine. It would be a feature piece, a human-interest story, a personal profile. He considered for a couple days and then reluctantly agreed.
I visited with Jim in his home studio one afternoon. With my pen in hand and my tape recorder recording, I listened intently to Jim’s story.
He shared a story of hope and heartache, victory and defeat. As a boy, he tragically lost his father in a coal mining accident. His mother worked hard to raise the family on her own. When he was old enough, Jim enlisted in the army, where he served as an army photographer. Not long after, Jim experienced a spiritual awakening that lead him to return to school and earn a degree in biology. For more than 20 years he served as a biology teacher at an inner-city school during the week, and a photographer on the weekends.
A quiet and reserved man by nature, Jim went places with his story that I never imagined he would go. At one point his voice began to quiver, he lifted his head toward the ceiling as if he was talking to Heaven, and then buried his face in his hands and wept uncontrollably.
Never had I seen such passion and vulnerability and love from an artist.
Who was I, a 22-year old relative stranger? Who was I, who after a few vulnerable hours, he trusted to share his whole life story in print for 40,000 eyes to read.
The impact Jim’s story had on my life was enormous. Today, I’m still telling stories, but now it’s with my camera instead of my pen. And I’ve discovered what Jim taught me to be true, that whether with the camera or the pen, the story is still just as powerful.
Occasionally I bump into Jim at church or around town, but we haven’t talked in years. I’m pretty sure he has no idea how much he inspired me. I should go tell him.
I introduced myself and we talked for a few minutes. I told him of my love for photography and he sat down. We visited for a few more minutes before he realized how much time had passed and then he left abruptly with minimal explanation.
A couple weeks later I called Jim and asked if he’d consider letting me write an article about him for the magazine. It would be a feature piece, a human-interest story, a personal profile. He considered for a couple days and then reluctantly agreed.
I visited with Jim in his home studio one afternoon. With my pen in hand and my tape recorder recording, I listened intently to Jim’s story.
He shared a story of hope and heartache, victory and defeat. As a boy, he tragically lost his father in a coal mining accident. His mother worked hard to raise the family on her own. When he was old enough, Jim enlisted in the army, where he served as an army photographer. Not long after, Jim experienced a spiritual awakening that lead him to return to school and earn a degree in biology. For more than 20 years he served as a biology teacher at an inner-city school during the week, and a photographer on the weekends.
A quiet and reserved man by nature, Jim went places with his story that I never imagined he would go. At one point his voice began to quiver, he lifted his head toward the ceiling as if he was talking to Heaven, and then buried his face in his hands and wept uncontrollably.
Never had I seen such passion and vulnerability and love from an artist.
Who was I, a 22-year old relative stranger? Who was I, who after a few vulnerable hours, he trusted to share his whole life story in print for 40,000 eyes to read.
The impact Jim’s story had on my life was enormous. Today, I’m still telling stories, but now it’s with my camera instead of my pen. And I’ve discovered what Jim taught me to be true, that whether with the camera or the pen, the story is still just as powerful.
Occasionally I bump into Jim at church or around town, but we haven’t talked in years. I’m pretty sure he has no idea how much he inspired me. I should go tell him.
A great time to be a creative
(the following post was borrowed from our photography blog, www.garrettnudd.net)
Don't you think it is an exciting time to be a "creative?"
A couple years ago I saw a TED presentation online where Sir Ken Robinson talked about how after years of stifling creativity and art, society is slowly coming around to embrace it. In education, we push reading, writing and arithmetic, while the arts receives significantly less emphasis. And those who excel in art, but struggle with the Three Rs, are often labeled as challenged.
Robinson's presentation was three years ago, and it's pretty obvious that even in that short time period, things have changed. Today, all across America we see urban renewal as people are moving back to the cities to embrace a life of social and cultural awareness. Creative individuals are starting businesses left and right that yesterday would have never been possible. Now more than ever, the axiom holds true: If you can dream it, you can do it.
As I've spent the past couple months working with my alma mater on a long-term project, it has been exciting to see the changes that have taken place in the 13 years since I graduated from high school (wow, that hardly seems possible!). They have totally embraced the arts and added additional music programs to what was already a really strong music program. They have added an outstanding fine-arts lab and a really cool digital media lab. They have an amazing wood-working shop and a great life-skills lab. When I was a student much of the above seemed only an afterthought. I was excited to find the positive changes.
As business owners ourselves, Joy and I are passionate about watching others start and grow their businesses. There are few things as exciting as pouring your heart into a craft that you love and watching it grow into a flourishing business.
Another creative business that we're excited about is Chaviano Bridal Couture. When Annette Thurmon hired us three years ago to photograph her wedding in Atlanta, we were excited. We're always excited when a bride hires us. But what was especially exciting about Annette was that she was designing her own dress. She showed us a sketch and we thought, "okay, this girl is serious!"
Annette and Jared had a beautiful September wedding and we had a blast photographing them. Fast-forward a couple years and Annette was working as a registered nurse (remember when Joy used to do that?). On the side and in her spare time, she was working on a series of gowns so that she could launch her own label, Chaviano Bridal Couture.
In January, we were thrilled to be the first photographers to photograph Annette and her gowns. For the past few months these pics have been burning a hole in my computer screen, but we didn't want to share them until her website was live. All I can say is "wow!"
Now you couldn't tell by these images, but it was one of the coldest winter days I remember. The high was around 20 and the low around 10. The building we photographed in didn't have electricity, so no heat. Annette wore a thick jacket and every time I would set up a shot, she'd wait until the last minute before removing the jacket so we could shoot. Meanwhile, the rest of us stayed bundled. And I'm happy to report that everything went well and none of us went home sick.
Here are a couple behind the scenes pics.
Honestly, I can only remember two times in my life when I've ever been so cold. Once was one night in Chicago when Joy and I were walking along Michigan Ave in a snow storm and I was wearing penny loafers and super-thin gold toe socks...don't laugh...we were young and just married and I didn't know any better! And the second time was when I was in high school and we were snowed in and without electricity for five days, so I took a cold shower because I couldn't stand myself any longer. Anyhow, I digress...
Congratulations, Annette! We couldn't be more excited for you. We're thrilled that you're chasing your dream and we wish you all the success in the world. The timing is right and it's there for the taking.
I'll end with a quote from Annette's site: "There are many things in life that will catch your eye, but only a few will catch your heart...pursue those."
Don't you think it is an exciting time to be a "creative?"
A couple years ago I saw a TED presentation online where Sir Ken Robinson talked about how after years of stifling creativity and art, society is slowly coming around to embrace it. In education, we push reading, writing and arithmetic, while the arts receives significantly less emphasis. And those who excel in art, but struggle with the Three Rs, are often labeled as challenged.
Robinson's presentation was three years ago, and it's pretty obvious that even in that short time period, things have changed. Today, all across America we see urban renewal as people are moving back to the cities to embrace a life of social and cultural awareness. Creative individuals are starting businesses left and right that yesterday would have never been possible. Now more than ever, the axiom holds true: If you can dream it, you can do it.
As I've spent the past couple months working with my alma mater on a long-term project, it has been exciting to see the changes that have taken place in the 13 years since I graduated from high school (wow, that hardly seems possible!). They have totally embraced the arts and added additional music programs to what was already a really strong music program. They have added an outstanding fine-arts lab and a really cool digital media lab. They have an amazing wood-working shop and a great life-skills lab. When I was a student much of the above seemed only an afterthought. I was excited to find the positive changes.
As business owners ourselves, Joy and I are passionate about watching others start and grow their businesses. There are few things as exciting as pouring your heart into a craft that you love and watching it grow into a flourishing business.
Another creative business that we're excited about is Chaviano Bridal Couture. When Annette Thurmon hired us three years ago to photograph her wedding in Atlanta, we were excited. We're always excited when a bride hires us. But what was especially exciting about Annette was that she was designing her own dress. She showed us a sketch and we thought, "okay, this girl is serious!"
Annette and Jared had a beautiful September wedding and we had a blast photographing them. Fast-forward a couple years and Annette was working as a registered nurse (remember when Joy used to do that?). On the side and in her spare time, she was working on a series of gowns so that she could launch her own label, Chaviano Bridal Couture.
In January, we were thrilled to be the first photographers to photograph Annette and her gowns. For the past few months these pics have been burning a hole in my computer screen, but we didn't want to share them until her website was live. All I can say is "wow!"
Now you couldn't tell by these images, but it was one of the coldest winter days I remember. The high was around 20 and the low around 10. The building we photographed in didn't have electricity, so no heat. Annette wore a thick jacket and every time I would set up a shot, she'd wait until the last minute before removing the jacket so we could shoot. Meanwhile, the rest of us stayed bundled. And I'm happy to report that everything went well and none of us went home sick.
Here are a couple behind the scenes pics.
Honestly, I can only remember two times in my life when I've ever been so cold. Once was one night in Chicago when Joy and I were walking along Michigan Ave in a snow storm and I was wearing penny loafers and super-thin gold toe socks...don't laugh...we were young and just married and I didn't know any better! And the second time was when I was in high school and we were snowed in and without electricity for five days, so I took a cold shower because I couldn't stand myself any longer. Anyhow, I digress...
Congratulations, Annette! We couldn't be more excited for you. We're thrilled that you're chasing your dream and we wish you all the success in the world. The timing is right and it's there for the taking.
I'll end with a quote from Annette's site: "There are many things in life that will catch your eye, but only a few will catch your heart...pursue those."
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Just create...
Last winter, Joy and I made one of our rare visits to the movie theater to see the romantic comedy, PS, I Love You. I'm not sure if "comedy" is the right classification for the move, as those who have seen it will attest. But between the incessant sobs and sniffles, I suppose there was a good bit of laughter as well.
At any rate, as a side-bar to the primary story line, Holly Kennedy (played by Hillary Swank...who doesn't like her!) is a desperately creative soul, driven by wanderlust and passion. In one of the pivotal scenes of the film, Holly and Gerry, perfect strangers at this point, are walking along a beautiful road through the countryside of Ireland. Nervous conversation leads to philosophical discussion and Holly, in an effort to further explain herself, attempts to quote poet William Blake. She does a ridiculously insufficient job, but the result is something beautiful:
My business is to create...
All I know is if you don’t figure out something, you’ll just stay ordinary.
It doesn’t matter if it’s a work of art or a taco or a pair of socks, just create something new.
And there it is. It’s you.
Out in the world, outside of you.
You can look at it or hear it or read it or feel it. And all of a sudden you know a little bit more about you…a little bit more than anyone else does.
-Holly Kennedy, PS, I Love You
This afternoon we were excited when our dear friend and former wedding client, Annette, came up from Atlanta to put the finishing touches on our new studio gallery. Now every day we will be reminded to Just Create. I guess you could call it the "bow" on top of the package.
At any rate, as a side-bar to the primary story line, Holly Kennedy (played by Hillary Swank...who doesn't like her!) is a desperately creative soul, driven by wanderlust and passion. In one of the pivotal scenes of the film, Holly and Gerry, perfect strangers at this point, are walking along a beautiful road through the countryside of Ireland. Nervous conversation leads to philosophical discussion and Holly, in an effort to further explain herself, attempts to quote poet William Blake. She does a ridiculously insufficient job, but the result is something beautiful:
My business is to create...
All I know is if you don’t figure out something, you’ll just stay ordinary.
It doesn’t matter if it’s a work of art or a taco or a pair of socks, just create something new.
And there it is. It’s you.
Out in the world, outside of you.
You can look at it or hear it or read it or feel it. And all of a sudden you know a little bit more about you…a little bit more than anyone else does.
-Holly Kennedy, PS, I Love You
This afternoon we were excited when our dear friend and former wedding client, Annette, came up from Atlanta to put the finishing touches on our new studio gallery. Now every day we will be reminded to Just Create. I guess you could call it the "bow" on top of the package.
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