When we are kids all we want to do is grow up and when we are grown up we would give anything to be kids again. That being said I think being a kid is a lot harder these days. In my time growing up ( that would be before the time of social media, smart phones and the internet), life seemed much more simple. Of course there were still hard parts about growing up, such as teasing, bullying, self esteem issues, and finding yourself, but the main difference is it wasn’t put on display for the whole world to see. There was no “unfriending”, no blocking, no unwanted photographs shown to the world. The worst that happened was someone spreading a bad rumour about you , which in turn quickly died because there was no medium to keep it going. I think kids are a lot more intelligent these days as well. They are exposed to so many things much earlier in life and by this I mean good things as well as the bad. I am constantly blown away by the technical aptitude children as young as 2 years old show when they are in my studio. They know how to use a smart phone. It is incredible but also a little scary. I remember when we first go internet in our house. I was around 15 years old maybe. We had one computer in the family room and of course it was dial up internet, so the second someone needed the phone you had to get off the computer. There was no facebook, instagram or snap chat. The closest thing to social media in our day was maybe a chat room but it just wasn’t the thing to do. I think along with the age of the internet and social media, kids grow up facing this challenge of expressing themselves in the right way, not being influenced by everything the see online, or pressured by what is out there. Its hard enough to find yourself but when all these outside influences are bombarding them everyday and every minute, how do they know which path to choose? Along with all the challenges of this social media world, we certainly see a lot of negativity in the world. We see breaking news stories of tragedies on social media before we see it on the news. The socio-economical problems of the world are placed in our living rooms and the group of “mean girls” is now in your daughters bedroom via a laptop. I’m a lover of the news. I love the drama, I love the politics, I love the heartwarming stories and I am captivated by what is happening in our world. I did realize one day while watching the news that everything is pretty negative. Whether it be tragedy, unemployment, inhumanity or people just plain being mean. Im a big believer in you exude what you surround yourself with. This is how I came to start the Positive Artistry Project……..
As a creative person, our minds are always spinning, trying to come up with something new and inspiring. I also believe in charity and supporting those in need and research for those in need. So I have made myself a promise to dedicate myself to a project a year that is something meaningful,, near to my heart and in turn can do some good in the world. Last year we sold a calendar of newborn babies and raised money for cancer research. This year I decided to take a different approach. I really wanted to work with kids between the ages of 7-14. I photograph a lot of babies, a lot of weddings and a lot of families. For some reason it seems people stop photographing their children after they get out of the toddler phase? Why? Is it life just gets too busy? Is it that they don’t change as quickly? Well I hope this project inspires parents to photograph their kids at this age because it is a pretty awesome time in a kids life. I watched a few netflix documentaries this year including Bully, Just Like Her and Audrie and Daisy, and 13 Reasons Why. All of these documentaries are about struggles younger kids have and the consequences of some of the difficult things kids face these days. It made me so sad. I wanted to do something inspiring and positive. I wanted to give kids a chance to really think about putting positivity into the world and online. I wanted to show them that a simple photograph and quote can really make an impact and they all absolutely exceeded my expectations.
The Positive Artistry Project, has children between the ages of 7-14, come into the studio and we give them a letter ( usually the first letter of their name) and select two words that are positive, mean something to them and inspire others. They then wear their words for the world to see and we photograph them. I then decided to ask each kid why they picked those words or what it meant to them. At first I just thought it was going to be a fun thing to do. But then I saw kids, sitting down with their parents, and discussing these words and what it meant to them or why it was important. It is truly a remarkable thing. It brings parents and kids together. I also see these kids being a little shy at the begining of the shoot to bursting with confidence, and positivity at the end of it. The real impact of this project for me came after the shoots though. Over half of the parents of the kids involved sent me a message telling how much it meant to their kids to do this and how much they needed it. From kids coming home and saying they aren’t as pretty as the other girls, or that they have been struggling with their identity or they needed this because “kids can be mean”. My goal was to have these kids inspire the world around them, I didn’t think about how much they would inspire themselves. I am so incredibly proud of each and every one of them
The project will continue throughout the year and I hope to show you how amazing these kids thoughts can be. If we all took a moment and tried to instil every single one of these quotes into our lives, maybe we can really make a difference.
