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Interviews,  INTERVIEWS,  IntImate Interview,  News

Mobile Photography & Art – ‘Intimate Interview’ with Kerry Mitchell from Seattle, United States

We have decided to launch a new intimate style of interview into TheAppWhisperer – the world’s most popular mobile photography and art website. We feel it is important that our community feel close to each other, as it is this support that helps us to nurture one another, gain confidence and continue to grow.

This is our twentieth interview, to read the others, please go here. Today, we are publishing this effortlessly brilliant interview with Kerry Mitchell from Seattle, United States.

 

 

All images ©Kerry Mitchell

 

First Recognition

I was in many art shows sold my work to individual collectors and taught in workshops in my late 20’s and into my 30’s and 40’s. Then I got Lyme disease and was in bed for 18 years and my art career came to a halt. 

First job?

My first job was as a teenager, wrapping packages at Christmas time. I did this every Christmas through University. 

 

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Private or state school?

I went to a public school through high school. 

University or Work?

I went to the University of Washington where I was an Art major. I also attended a private Art school.  After school I worked part time in law and did my art part time. 

 

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Who was or still is your mentor?

I looked up to two women who greatly influenced me politically.  Over the years I have been spiritually influenced by others also. Mostly I have been spiritually influenced by the books I have read on Eastern philosophy. This has taught me to take a different look at life than the way I was raised. It taught me a different way of looking at life and seeing that the material things are not what is important. 

How physically fit are you?

After spending 18 years in bed, it has been a long come back to get my muscles back. I take long walks, use weights and have recently started physical therapy for muscle conditioning. 

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Ambition or Talent: What matters more to success?

In my own life, and looking around at others, I would definitely say that ambition is way more important than talent. If you don’t have a burning fire in your soul and gut to do something, than all the talent in the world will not help you. I believe it was Einstein who said success is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration. He was right. 

All photography and art is learning and practice, practice, practice until you start to get it right and learn it. 

How politically committed are you?

When I was young, before I got sick, I was very politically active.  Now, I am focusing on getting my health back and do not have time for politics. Given the polarisation right now in politics, it turns my stomach. When I see what is occurring in the US, I am so frightened, and I don’t know what to do. People don’t seem to really understand what is actually occurring. 

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What would you like to own that you don’t currently possess?

Artwork by the impressionists or a Kandinsky or any other modern early 20th century painter. 

What’s your biggest extravagance?

Anything digital. My computer, my new iPad and always a new iPhone every year. 

 

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In what place are you happiest?

I am happiest in my home with my husband that we recently had completely remodelled. I have my own art studio and everything how we want it. I am also happy when we go to Hawaii every year for six weeks. I consider it my spiritual home. 

What ambitions do you still have?

My ambitions are to constantly improve my art and photography and grow and change in those. To become as professional and accomplished as I can be. I also work at eating as healthy as possible and staying as physically fit as possible so that my body can support me in a long and healthy life. I do not want my life to become riddled with diseases that I could have prevented. 

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What drives you on?

Right now my ambition for art and photography. I do both on a daily basis. I own a page on Instagram that features artists. It is called BPA_Arts. I have four moderators and we have so much fun putting this page out seven days a week. I also have a page on Facebook with another woman and we put out a free video tutorial of an iPad app every month. That page is called IAG-IOS App Group. I feel it is important to stay involved in these type of things after one is retired. 

What is the greatest achievement of your life so far?

Having stayed alive.  I have had serious illnesses in my life that nearly killed me. I am extremely grateful to be alive right now and able to be living the life I do with the wonderful husband I have. I couldn’t ask for anything more. 

 

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What do you find most irritating in other people?

I try not to make judgments of others. But it concerns me when others seem to take advantage and appear to manipulate. 

 

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If your 20 year old self could see you now, what would she think?

Good job!!!

 

Which object that you’ve lost do you wish you still had?

When I remodelled my house, I let go of almost everything I had collected over my life. I miss none of it. It feels so good to be free of all those objects I didn’t need. I kept what was special and let go of the rest. It was a year long process and not easy. But it was so freeing. 

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What is the greatest challenge of our time?

Climate change. Politicians seem to have no sense of how critically important this issue is. Which brings me to my second concern and that is the lack of critical thinking in politics. The polarisation in politics is ridiculous and frightening. Nothing positive is getting done. The right-wing agendas are not building an America, they are tearing it down. My heart breaks. America is now owned by corporations. I saw the beginning of this in the 1980’s. No one paid attention then when something could have been done. Now, it’s probably too late. 

 

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Do you believe in an afterlife?

Not the one up in heaven. I believe our afterlife is what we leave behind us in how we acted while we were here on earth. Did we have a kind word for others?  Did we practice love? Did we try our best to be our best self?  

 

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If you had to rate your satisfaction with your life so far, out of 10, what would you score?

I think I would score an 8. Things have not always gone my way. I lost a huge chunk of my life to Lyme disease. But I’m better now. I love my present life and things are going very well. I’m very grateful to be getting my health back. I’m able to do photography and art most days. I’d have to say life is good and hopefully getting better. 

 

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Contact Details for Kerry Mitchell

Please Read…

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Joanne Carter, creator of the world’s most popular mobile photography and art website— TheAppWhisperer.com— TheAppWhisperer platform has been a pivotal cyberspace for mobile artists of all abilities to learn about, to explore, to celebrate and to share mobile artworks. Joanne’s compassion, inclusivity, and humility are hallmarks in all that she does, and is particularly evident in the platform she has built. In her words, “We all have the potential to remove ourselves from the centre of any circle and to expand a sphere of compassion outward; to include everyone interested in mobile art, ensuring every artist is within reach”, she has said. Promotion of mobile artists and the art form as a primary medium in today’s art world, has become her life’s focus. She has presented lectures bolstering mobile artists and their art from as far away as the Museum of Art in Seoul, South Korea to closer to her home in the UK at Focus on Imaging. Her experience as a jurist for mobile art competitions includes: Portugal, Canada, US, S Korea, UK and Italy. And her travels pioneering the breadth of mobile art includes key events in: Frankfurt, Naples, Amalfi Coast, Paris, Brazil, London. Pioneering the world’s first mobile art online gallery - TheAppWhispererPrintSales.com has extended her reach even further, shipping from London, UK to clients in the US, Europe and The Far East to a global group of collectors looking for exclusive art to hang in their homes and offices. The online gallery specialises in prints for discerning collectors of unique, previously unseen signed limited edition art. Her journey towards becoming The App Whisperer, includes (but is not limited to) working for a paparazzi photo agency for several years and as a deputy editor for a photo print magazine. Her own freelance photographic journalistic work is also widely acclaimed. She has been published extensively both within the UK and the US in national and international titles. These include The Times, The Sunday Times, The Guardian, Popular Photography & Imaging, dpreview, NikonPro, Which? and more recently with the BBC as a Contributor, Columnist at Vogue Italia and Contributing Editor at LensCulture. Her professional photography has also been widely exhibited throughout Europe, including Italy, Portugal and the UK. She is currently writing several books, all related to mobile art and is always open to requests for new commissions for either writing or photography projects or a combination of both. Please contact her at: joanne@theappwhisperer.com

One Comment

  • Carol Wiebe

    Kerry, looking at the vibrancy of your images, it is hard to imagine that you spent 18 years in bed. That would have broken many people, or at the very least, dimmed their light in the world. You have done just the opposite. You have sent your work out, to inspire and delight others. I am in awe of your indomitable spirit, clearly shining through your work. Thank you so much for sharing your journey with us. You have had a lot of letting go in your life, but what you have held onto has made you what you are today—a strong spirited, marvelously expressive woman.