The Art of the Personal Project is a crucial element to let potential buyers see how you think creatively on your own.  I am drawn to personal projects that have an interesting vision or that show something I have never seen before.  In this thread, I’ll include a link to each personal project with the artist statement so you can see more of the project. Please note: This thread is not affiliated with any company; I’m just featuring projects that I find.  Please DO NOT send me your work.  I do not take submissions.

 

Today’s featured artist:  Gabby Jones

 

Many families in Western society have been personally affected by divorce. In fact, 40% to 50% of marriages in the U.S. end in divorce, according to the American Psychological Association.

 

This is something photojournalist Gabby Jones has experienced firsthand. Growing up as the child of divorced parents, Jones felt a sense of resentment and instability. As the divorce was finalized, the custody agreement arranged for Jones to live with her mother. However, as she got older, she realized that she and her mother didn’t see eye to eye and were having a hard time understanding one another.

 

“She got the brunt of my wrath. I was your typical angsty, hormonal teenager; quick to judge and tough to please … Our relationship was tumultuous to say the least,” she said.

As the pandemic took hold on daily life this past year, Jones had an opportunity to mend her relationship with her mother.

The island of Saint Thomas holds a great deal of importance to Jones’ family history, but Jones had rejected that part of her family heritage. It was an important part of her mother’s life growing up, and as Jones got older, she began to realize the importance it could hold in her life as well.

 

So, when the opportunity to go visit with her mother presented itself this year, she couldn’t say no. In January, Jones and her mother spent a month together living in her great grandmother’s house on Saint Thomas.

This was the longest amount of time that they had spent together in years, and Jones decided to document it.

 

To see more on this project, click here.

Original article by Mhari Shaw

 

APE contributor Suzanne Sease currently works as a consultant for photographers and illustrators around the world. She has been involved in the photography and illustration industry since the mid 80s.  After establishing the art-buying department at The Martin Agency, then working for Kaplan-Thaler, Capital One, Best Buy and numerous smaller agencies and companies, she decided to be a consultant in 1999. She has a new Twitter feed with helpful marketing information because she believes that marketing should be driven by brand and not by specialty.  Follow her at @SuzanneSeaseInstagram

Success is more than a matter of your talent. It’s also a matter of doing a better job presenting it.  And that is what I do with decades of agency and in-house experience.

 

 

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