Today's guest submitted a query our way in February via FaceBook Messenger, and we were pleased to feature her in this World of Writing Author Interview.
Deborah Camp is a freelance artist, writer and art educator. She specializes in a medley of visual and written mediums from short stories and poetry to graphic design illustrations and custom murals for a variety of clients.
Deborah Camp is a freelance artist, writer and art educator. She specializes in a medley of visual and written mediums from short stories and poetry to graphic design illustrations and custom murals for a variety of clients.
Her passion for visual art derives from her great-grandfather. He loved to paint the landscapes of his motherland and horses. Her passion for writing stems from her mother’s childhood story writing musings. She became inspired in this artistic environment starting at the age of 3 when she first picked up a paint brush to embark on her own artistic journey.
Deborah invites our readers to connect with her via: https://linktr.ee/deborahcamp
Q: Since we are fairly new to each other, why don't we start off with having you tell us a little about yourself and where are you from?
A: I was born and raised in the suburban neighborhood of Woodhaven located in the borough of Queens New York in the United States of America. My family’s roots date back 4 generations of connection to the neighborhood of Woodhaven. They immigrated from Italy to achieve the American dream of raising a family in a loving home pursuing their artistic dreams. My entire maternal family’s side are artists starting with my great grandfather, my grandmother and my mother.
Q: Oh how interesting that artistic talent goes back so many generations in your family! I understand that you have a great deal of educational experience in the arts. Can you tell us more about your professional and educational background?
A: I am freelance artist, writer and art educator. I specialize in a medley of visual and written mediums from short stories and poetry to accepting commissions for graphic design illustrations and hand painting murals for a variety of clients in both the commercial and private realm.
I love creating a customized whimsical world for my readers and viewers to explore where the physically impossible can become possible such as in my painting and corresponding written piece “Whimsical Gallop of the Carousel Animals” where the animals come to life and take flight when no one is looking into the night sky. The surrealist movement is a huge inspiration in my work as well as the psychedelic era of the 1960s. Dreamlike worlds where one can transform into anything that they can imagine can set the viewer and reader free from the box society loves to impose upon us since we are not mere societal cogs in a wheel, we are all unique as the delicate snowflakes that dance in the wind of life.
Over the years I have heard her words echo from coworkers to acquaintances and never have taken them to heart because deep down I have always known what my mission in this world was it is to spread joy with my art. I am a resilient being and am actually grateful for all of the negative experiences in my life because without them none of my writing or art pieces would have come to fruition in my book to help others heal.
Q: What have you experienced re: sharing your poetry to a live audience (radio/podcast/cafés)?
A: I was able to glean the courage to go on stage for the first time at an open mic night in front of a group of strangers.
Deborah invites our readers to connect with her via: https://linktr.ee/deborahcamp
Q: Since we are fairly new to each other, why don't we start off with having you tell us a little about yourself and where are you from?
A: I was born and raised in the suburban neighborhood of Woodhaven located in the borough of Queens New York in the United States of America. My family’s roots date back 4 generations of connection to the neighborhood of Woodhaven. They immigrated from Italy to achieve the American dream of raising a family in a loving home pursuing their artistic dreams. My entire maternal family’s side are artists starting with my great grandfather, my grandmother and my mother.
Q: Oh how interesting that artistic talent goes back so many generations in your family! I understand that you have a great deal of educational experience in the arts. Can you tell us more about your professional and educational background?
A: I am freelance artist, writer and art educator. I specialize in a medley of visual and written mediums from short stories and poetry to accepting commissions for graphic design illustrations and hand painting murals for a variety of clients in both the commercial and private realm.
I have always focused on the arts throughout my schooling starting from elementary and then getting accepted into the art program in Bayside High School. I attended Queens College where I received my Bachelor of Fine Arts degree and graduated summa cum laude.
Prior to pursuing my art career full time, I was holding positions in various educational institutions instructing children in the arts from pre-k to 8th grade. Recently, I have also conducted programs for adult art classes as well in my local library.
Q: Wow that sounds like a lot of fun! Artists often struggle with finding a name or title for their work. How do you go about choosing a book or poem title, or art title?
A: Each piece beckons me for their title upon their completion based on their content and emotion that I would like to convey to the audience.
Q: Wow that sounds like a lot of fun! Artists often struggle with finding a name or title for their work. How do you go about choosing a book or poem title, or art title?
A: Each piece beckons me for their title upon their completion based on their content and emotion that I would like to convey to the audience.
My writing and painting process starts out with a sketch and a theme that I expand upon with verses and strokes of vivid color. I end up titling my pieces after they are finished.
Metaphors and symbolism that are portrayed in the visual and written pieces are often reflected in the titles to give the viewer/reader an idea of the journey that they are about to embark upon opening the book and interpreting the painting through their lens.
Q: What is the main focus of your poetry work?
A: My main focus of my body of poetry work is creating a whimsical world where anything is possible so that we can all celebrate the inner child in us and how important it is to nurture them and keep alive their sense of wonder of how they look at the world and find inspiration in everything around them.
Q: What is the main focus of your poetry work?
A: My main focus of my body of poetry work is creating a whimsical world where anything is possible so that we can all celebrate the inner child in us and how important it is to nurture them and keep alive their sense of wonder of how they look at the world and find inspiration in everything around them.
Childhood is a time when we are beginning to form our identity and discover our gifts in life. It can also be a turbulent time when bullying can occur. My poetry embraces the entire spectrum of childhood from the vivid and limitless imagination that all children possess and simple joys of playing with friends to the draining experience and emotional turmoil that bullying can cast as a shadow over a sunny childhood.
I intend for my work to help people dig deep down and find the inner strength and resiliency to overcome obstacles that were standing in the way of their dreams.
Q: How would you describe your artistic style? What makes you interesting, different, unique?
A: My colorful and whimsical artistic style beckons one to think and explore outside of the constricting and limited confines of the box of conformity to reveal that anything is possible within the realms of a piece of paper or canvas upon the first stroke of a pen and paintbrush.
Q: How would you describe your artistic style? What makes you interesting, different, unique?
A: My colorful and whimsical artistic style beckons one to think and explore outside of the constricting and limited confines of the box of conformity to reveal that anything is possible within the realms of a piece of paper or canvas upon the first stroke of a pen and paintbrush.
I love creating a customized whimsical world for my readers and viewers to explore where the physically impossible can become possible such as in my painting and corresponding written piece “Whimsical Gallop of the Carousel Animals” where the animals come to life and take flight when no one is looking into the night sky. The surrealist movement is a huge inspiration in my work as well as the psychedelic era of the 1960s. Dreamlike worlds where one can transform into anything that they can imagine can set the viewer and reader free from the box society loves to impose upon us since we are not mere societal cogs in a wheel, we are all unique as the delicate snowflakes that dance in the wind of life.
The vision that I have for my collection of written and visual work in Musings Diner Open 24/7 is to be able to connect with my readers that can relate to the life path that I have followed to pursue and achieve my dream of becoming an artist against all odds and for them to continue to write their life story so that they can rediscover something that they once loved to do and find their talents and gifts within their soul to share it with the world.
Q: What have been your most embarrassing or your most challenging moments, and what did you learn from them?
A: The ongoing challenge that has been interwoven into the tapestry of my life was that I was severely bullied as a child/teenager for being the teacher’s pet and for being the odd one out that just did not share the same interests as my peers. I was more of an old soul that would rather listen to the records of The Carpenters while I make a sketch than go clubbing.
Q: What have been your most embarrassing or your most challenging moments, and what did you learn from them?
A: The ongoing challenge that has been interwoven into the tapestry of my life was that I was severely bullied as a child/teenager for being the teacher’s pet and for being the odd one out that just did not share the same interests as my peers. I was more of an old soul that would rather listen to the records of The Carpenters while I make a sketch than go clubbing.
When my peers were into the latest fashion, they would tease me about wearing the same pair of pants since my single mother could not afford those types of clothing. I was ostracized for it and for being a sensitive child. I had a relative that tried to crush my dreams of becoming an artist ever since I was a child. She insisted for me to give it all up since it is a worthless and dead-end dream in her mind however I refused to listen.
When it comes to the arts, my stance is strong I refuse to bend and fold when others try to knock down my dreams. She was the first person to try to talk down to me about my abilities and how it is unrealistic to become an artist and writer and that it is “a waste of time” - to quote her exact words.
My adverse experiences with emotional bullying have taught me to view life through the lens of empathy and I want to help others heal from the emotional trauma that they have experienced through the arts. Expression through the written and visual arts became my beacon of hope in a dark world and it will continue to light the way.
Q: Do you attend coffee houses, open mic, type of events? If so, do you feel that hearing other people's presentations of their works ends up changing how you approach writing in this genre?
A: I have attended various open mic events over the years and relish in the experience of how diverse each night becomes with a plethora of talent showcasing visual, spoken and sung words. In addition to having the great privilege of hearing and seeing the performances of each artist opening up to blossom on the stage, I have also been chosen as the artist/poet feature of the night a couple of times.
Q: Do you attend coffee houses, open mic, type of events? If so, do you feel that hearing other people's presentations of their works ends up changing how you approach writing in this genre?
A: I have attended various open mic events over the years and relish in the experience of how diverse each night becomes with a plethora of talent showcasing visual, spoken and sung words. In addition to having the great privilege of hearing and seeing the performances of each artist opening up to blossom on the stage, I have also been chosen as the artist/poet feature of the night a couple of times.
"Open mic events inspire me to dig even deeper
into the experience of emotions that we all share as humans.
Watching my fellow poets and artists
inspires me to translate my written work into a theatrical performance
with visual props, screens to showcase my visual work
and explore various ways to interact with the audience."
Q: What have you experienced re: sharing your poetry to a live audience (radio/podcast/cafés)?
A: I was able to glean the courage to go on stage for the first time at an open mic night in front of a group of strangers.
At first, I felt apprehensive of how the audience would react to my written pieces that I have been creating since age 16. It was a cathartic release to verbally perform a story that I have written about my visual art piece called "Choice of Regret or Rejoice?" with the audience to help inspire them to dig deep down inside and feel comfortable to express themselves.
I could feel the energy of the room resonate as it started to churn with positivity as each performer got on the stage and shared a part of themselves. From then on open mic night became a comforting and energizing space that I continue to look forward to attending to hear, to see, to feel and to heal from poetry, stories, songs and visual performances in all forms.
We all have something that we are passionate about in this life. I asked the audience what was the thing they were passionate about in their life that wakes them up every day. Once they discover it, I encouraged them to pursue it full steam ahead. There are so many out there that have a dream and keep it hidden inside within layers of wrapping even from themselves.
"We all have the power to unwrap the gift
because it deserves to shine.
We each have a gift that can change someone’s life
and start a chain reaction of inspiration."
I have been following Deborah for awhile now.In the beginning I felt she felt her paintings ECT were at a standstill.I really wanted to encourage her to follow her dream & one day in her near future I felt that doors were going to start opening for her.I feel those doors are starting to open now for her.I love her energy that she perceiveds to others.Thank you for giving her the interview to tell the world about her passion & to make every person who sees her or reads ECT anything about will feel her passion for them to excel.Thank you Brummets.I read the whole interview you did with Deborah.
ReplyDeleteThank you for this very kind comment !!
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