L.I.N.K
Anticipation/ Mentors: John and Paige Jackson
John and Paige Jackson are very famous and impressive artists. Both John and Paige make amazing leaf sculptures which is their main stream of cash flow while Paige is also an impressive painter.
John and Paige are technically my god parents being connected to my mother. After several weeks of searching for a mentor I was turned to John and Paige and will now be spending a full month traveling with them to Arizona, California, Pennsylvania, and North Carolina for some of the biggest art shows in the nation.
My job will include setting up, running general errands, learning to apply business to the art world, and creating sculptures with the artists.
I am very excited to help wherever I am needed and learn as much as possible.
John and Paige are technically my god parents being connected to my mother. After several weeks of searching for a mentor I was turned to John and Paige and will now be spending a full month traveling with them to Arizona, California, Pennsylvania, and North Carolina for some of the biggest art shows in the nation.
My job will include setting up, running general errands, learning to apply business to the art world, and creating sculptures with the artists.
I am very excited to help wherever I am needed and learn as much as possible.
First week
First day of traveling to L.I.N.K/ Meeting with family: February 29th
First day of L.I.N.K: March 3rd
First day selfie:
Today I head off to Arizona with my mama to meet up with John and Paige Jackson and then off to Palm Springs California for the largest art show in the United States. But first I have family in Arizona to Visit.
Meeting up for the first day with John and Paige Jackson in Scottsdale:
Riding into Scottsdale we hit our first destination at the AZ arts how where I meet John and Paige Jackson. The art was magnificent and after the show and my mother had left, I helped John and Paige pack up and head to California for our second art show.
Hitting the road:
First day in California for the La Quinta Art Show:
The day of set up was hard tedious work but when surrounded with kind faces and beautiful California is was reduced to being pretty easy.
We moved the tent and panels to display work in first and made sure everything was secure. We then hung the leaf sculptures on the panels for the public to see and buy the next day.
We moved the tent and panels to display work in first and made sure everything was secure. We then hung the leaf sculptures on the panels for the public to see and buy the next day.
Eating out every night!:
So far we have eaten out every night which is a rare treat for me and I am very happy about it.
We only caught a couple dinners with a camera:
We only caught a couple dinners with a camera:
Exhibition day!!!
The public has now entered the park and is looking at the many artists work while I help sell at our tent and meet other artists!
Meeting the several amazing artists:
I went to every tent and asked the artists if I could take a picture of them in front of they're favorite art pieces. I made a lot of friends and some became very close friends. These are connections i will have for a very long time going into my art career.
All the artists made me so sad because they were way better in their field than I was. It was definitely the most amazing art i've been able to see at the same time.
All the artists made me so sad because they were way better in their field than I was. It was definitely the most amazing art i've been able to see at the same time.
Working with shoppers:
John and Paige would reel back and let me have a go with working on the crowd. I did a pretty good job and sold a lot of merchandise. Talking to people was easily one of my favorite things to do.
Little Gabriel!:
Gabriel was a super funny kid and really excited about getting his first leaf sculpture from John and Paige. He runs inside of our tent and grabs his favorite little sculpture and brings it up to Paige telling her "Save this for me I am coming right back, don't let anyone take this, its my favorite". He then runs back to his dad and they both come inside of our tent to buy his leaf. Afterwards he found that my name was Gabriel and we got along right of the bat. He reminded me of me when I was 10. I then let him see a piece of my work and he started jumping up and down with excitement asking his dad if he could buy it. He Loved my art so much that I had no choice but to give it to him free of charge.
Celebrity Encounter: Lana Chromium (Painter) and Khalia Frazier (Model) Because of L.I.N.K I will be keeping in touch with these girls which is another, along a long list of connections I have been able to create for myself.
Lana Chromium is a very famous body paint artists and winner of GSN Skin Wars on TV. I was lucky enough to watch her paint her lovely model Khalia Frazier. Khalia is an esteemed Choreographer and model. After a few hours of watching Lana paint and talking to both of them, I will be a model for Lana in a few short months once I turn 18 in August!
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Break time!!!:
John and Paige knew that I was a rock climber and on a day off decided to let me go to a rock climbing gym to blow of some steam. I was very grateful that they treated me with such equality and rewarded me for a good job done.
First week Reflection:
The first week of working on the art shows and traveling with John and Paige has gone better than expected. My hopes were already high and I keep getting surprised with fun and creative tasks and conversations and relationships all over the place.
There was one artists in particular that I fell in love with and his work is what I aspire to achieve in my art career.
Tom Barnes, one of the most famous artists I have the privilege of knowing, is a water color painter with a passions for french style women. His paintings are different from others and show a kind of elegance to each woman.
There was one artists in particular that I fell in love with and his work is what I aspire to achieve in my art career.
Tom Barnes, one of the most famous artists I have the privilege of knowing, is a water color painter with a passions for french style women. His paintings are different from others and show a kind of elegance to each woman.
Behold Tom Barnes:
This man is a new inspiration to me with his words, actions and art. Most definitely one of the kindest people in this world.
Loading up and Getting out:
2 nights of packing up and getting out of Cali.
Second Week
Back on the road:
We have a four day trek ahead of us to get to Black Mountain, where John and Paige Jackson live in North Carolina, for a quick break and then we head off to Philadelphia PA for another art show.
From California to Vegas to New Mexico to Oklahoma to Tennessee to North Carolina
From California to Vegas to New Mexico to Oklahoma to Tennessee to North Carolina
On the way:
John and Paige wanted a really memorable night with me so we stopped at BB Kings restaurant in Tennessee!
The food was amazing and the live music was so fun to dance to.
I got to meet a couple famous country singers but the best thing was being able to see BB Kings drummer!
The food was amazing and the live music was so fun to dance to.
I got to meet a couple famous country singers but the best thing was being able to see BB Kings drummer!
Welcome to North Carolina!:
After 4 days of driving we finally arrive in North Carolina and Head towards John and Paiges house in Black Mountain.
The trees and flowers are just starting to blossom and the area is beautiful. Reminds me of home.
The trees and flowers are just starting to blossom and the area is beautiful. Reminds me of home.
Introduction to the studio:
I get to see the masters quarters in a giant warehouse. Cant even explain how jealous of this beautiful studio I am.
His Assistants Emily and Tanya show me around the studio and how to make large scale leaves and coasters. We talk about my life in Colorado and how they like North Carolina. They explain how to create the molds and different polymers to make the leaf.
I now know how to create beautiful leaves and will be making a few to bring back home before my internship is over.
Personal Chef:
Lately I have become to house chef and have been cooking for John and Paige. I have also been cooking for John's and Paige's friends.
John cant drive to save his life more than a couple times that i've been with him:
Four Parking spots!
Reflection of my internship:
John and Paige have been easily some of the largest influences in my life even in such a short span of time. I am so grateful for the chances I was given to create meaningful relationships that will prove helpful to my success later in life.
My eyes have been opened to the possibilities of being an artist on the road. My doubts had been proven wrong and surprisingly my hopes were fulfilled with endless fun eating out and finding activities to building glass in glass shops and sculpting with a master sculpture.
A noticeable amount of change has occurred in my personality to my view on the world. I no longer feel as if though everything needs to be taken care of. I feel now that with the amount of dedication I now know I can apply to making sure that I am happy and living the life style that I love, will take me further than I have seen myself traveling. I would like to give a big thanks to my mentors of course along with my L.I.N.K coordinator Janae Hunderman. I would not have been this enlightened as soon as I was if not for these amazing people.
With my final thanks to everyone who has helped me feel successful, this is my last post on my adventures of an artist.
My eyes have been opened to the possibilities of being an artist on the road. My doubts had been proven wrong and surprisingly my hopes were fulfilled with endless fun eating out and finding activities to building glass in glass shops and sculpting with a master sculpture.
A noticeable amount of change has occurred in my personality to my view on the world. I no longer feel as if though everything needs to be taken care of. I feel now that with the amount of dedication I now know I can apply to making sure that I am happy and living the life style that I love, will take me further than I have seen myself traveling. I would like to give a big thanks to my mentors of course along with my L.I.N.K coordinator Janae Hunderman. I would not have been this enlightened as soon as I was if not for these amazing people.
With my final thanks to everyone who has helped me feel successful, this is my last post on my adventures of an artist.