Mobile Photography & Art – ‘Intimate Interview’ with Lisa Mitchell from Lincolnshire, UK
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 seventeenth interview, to read the others, please go here. Today, we are publishing this deeply absorbing, fluent and visual interview with talented mobile artist Lisa Mitchell from Lincolnshire, United Kingdom. Enjoy.
All images ©Lisa Mitchell
What was your childhood or earliest ambition?
I always had a desire to be a Fashion Designer as a child, and to travel the world.
‘Fragilities of the Unstable Mind’
First Recognition
I can remember vividly the excitement of my colourful Toucan bird painting being selected to be put on display in the main foyer of our Secondary school. I felt so proud of myself, as everyone would see it when they came in the main door.
First job?
My first job was as a waitress in our local restaurant. I loved it! It was a high end establishment and we had quite a few famous folk through the door, which was very exciting at such a young age.
Private or state school?
I went to both Private and State school. My primary school was a good school, and a Private school. My secondary school I loathed. It was a State school and I was bullied relentlessly for the first few years for being ‘posh’ and coming from a private school.
‘We do not sell Dreams here’
University or Work?
I went to University and took a Degree in Fashion & Textiles, specialising in Weaving. It was hard work, and long hours, but being able to immerse myself in something that I loved for 3 years was a fabulous experience.
Who was or still is your mentor?
I don’t have a mentor as such, but I have been supported along the way by a few stand out teachers and friends.
‘Solitude’
How physically fit are you?
I’m not as fit as I used to be in a sedentary job for many years and got out of the habit of going for a walk everyday. I also need to lose a few pounds….yawn!
Ambition or Talent: What matters more to success?
Ambition is necessary to push yourself forward in life, and I would like to say that talent is needed to achieve this, however this is not always the case!
‘Fragments’
How politically committed are you?
I don’t have a great interest in politics.
‘Shadows and Spiders’
What would you like to own that you don’t currently possess?
On a materialistic level, I would love to own more works of art from some of my favourite artists, be that my friends or my famous idols. On an emotional level, I would like to possess the ability to love myself and to give myself more of an emotional break.
‘Mute’
What’s your biggest extravagance?
My biggest extravagance these days would usually be the equipment I need to create, from frames to printing equipment, to hiring galleries and promotion.
In what place are you happiest?
I love the city, but I am calmest in the countryside, or by the sea.
‘Serenity’
What ambitions do you still have?
I would like to exhibit further afield, and travel the world, and to make a full time career from my art work.
What drives you on?
The fact that I am happiest and feel the most alive when I am creating.
‘Mirror Girl’
What is the greatest achievement of your life so far?
Firstly, becoming a mother, and all the joys and stresses that brings. Secondly, that I continue to produce art and exhibit all over the world. I have also had a piece of work used in a Channel 4 TV drama and my photography is regularly selected for Vogue Italia’s Photo Vogue.
What do you find most irritating in other people?
I don’t tolerate people that lie, nor think they are better than others. Arrogance and bad manners is also a no no!
If your 20 year old self could see you now, what would she think?
Thank God we made it this far! Well done for fighting on.
‘Free me so I can Fly’
Which object that you’ve lost do you wish you still had?
I had some fabulous clothes at University. In those days the charity and retro shops were full of amazing items. I bought some great things in that time period, including some fake fur coats, pvc dresses and purple flares….I wish I still had them.
‘Sunflowers’
What is the greatest challenge of our time?
To not lose the ability to communicate with each other through speech instead of an electrical device. To love and accept all sides of our human nature, to not judge others, and to not believe that everyone is happier than you, just because they post so on social media.
Do you believe in an afterlife?
I do yes. I believe our spirit lives in many dimensions.
‘Say Goodbye to your Soul’
If you had to rate your satisfaction with your life so far, out of 10, what would you score?
I am never satisfied….it’s not a positive trait to have, as I am always searching for something, and I may not find it. I have had a less than easy life, as have so many, but at the present time I am fairly satisfied…so maybe a 7.
Please help us…
TheAppWhisperer has always had a dual mission: to promote the most talented mobile artists of the day and to support ambitious, inquisitive viewers the world over. As the years passTheAppWhisperer has gained readers and viewers and found new venues for that exchange. All this work thrives with the support of our community.
Please consider making a donation to TheAppWhisperer as this New Year commences because your support helps protect our independence and it means we can keep delivering the promotion of mobile artists that’s open for everyone around the world. Every contribution, however big or small, is so valuable for our future.
Joanne Carter
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: [email protected]
