Creators Of The Month

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! 2018 was a big one for daisie. We launched the platform in August and have continued to expand since, finding new, incredible creators every day and giving them a space to collaborate. Alongside building our community, we've also expanded the daisie team to 17, and have been heads down on building the product, the results of which you'll see in the first half of 2019 (hint: it's a new app and a shiny new web platform). The updates will make creation and collaboration a whole lot easier, helping us get closer to solving the number of issues that continue to be stumbling blocks for emerging creators.

December's theme for Creator of the Month was Colour. We searched through daisie to find pieces of art which effectively use colour to convey important messages. Here are our some of our favourites, along with a bit of information about the artists behind the work.

@ romy

Who are you and what do you do?

My name is Romy Searll. I am 18 years old and living in Cape Town, South Africa. I am a film photographer. I mainly shoot the people I am surrounded with and close to, focusing on the movement of the body and self expression.

What's your favourite thing about daisie?

Daisie has provided a platform to share creative work with authentic intention. It is a space away from that social-climbing culture, allowing connection, collaboration and inspiration to be drawn from fellow creators.

What inspires you?

I am largely inspired by the people in my community. There are countless unique characters and ways of expression - you just have to be able to perceive and capture it.

What are you working on at the moment?

I’m working on finding my voice, what I wish to say with my work - this is a time of a lot of experimentation. I am also doing modelling portfolio photography for people at the moment; portrait work.

What's your favourite thing about the industry?

There is an environment for constant growth and transformation in the industry. It’s deeply motivating because when the creative climate is morphing, it causes you to push yourself to change too.

Do you have any other creative interest?

I tend to be quite a generalist creatively, whatever is attractive to me at a time I will pursue. I mainly enjoy writing, illustrating, painting, and working with fabrics alongside photography.

@susanperrotin

Who are you and what do you do?

My name is Susan, I'm 22 and I come from the suburbs of Paris. I do photography/visual art, and I am a MPhil student in Art History.

Do you have any other creative interests?

I am interested in anything creative, really… Art, fashion, music, cinema, you name it. As for other creative practices, I do pencil drawing, watercolour, as well as contemporary dance and pole dance - I've also tried doing short films but I need more practice with that.

**How long have you been on daisie? **

I registered on daisie when the app launched and was lucky enough to be selected to skip the queue, so I have been there for a few months.

What's your favourite thing on daisie?

What I love about daisie is being part of something that is developing and growing. I also think that daisie is a fresh, free creative community, and I feel more comfortable sharing and explaining my work on daisie than on other platforms. It has given me more confidence in what I do, and now I'm planning on setting up a platform to sell my prints!

@jelloet

Who are you & what do you do?

My name is Carolina Ines, I work in oncology research at UCLA. Photography is my personal passion.

What’s your favourite thing about daisie?

I love that I’m not constantly being advertised to. I get to see the work people are making out of pure passion and not from being “influencers”.

What do you use daisie for?

Right now I am just sharing my photos. I love patterns, colors, and a good gradient, so I’m posting photos based on their colour to make my page aesthetically pleasing. I eventually would love to connect with other users for collaborations and photo outings, locally and abroad.

How did you get into the industry?

I had a DSLR when I lived in New York, but I sold it to fund my move to Los Angeles in 2013. I realised I still had a major desire to create and to photograph, so I began using my iPhone to capture everything I found interesting around me. Because the iPhone lens I was using at that time had a much deeper depth of field than the lens on the DSLR I was using, I had to shift the way I photographed to avoid having my work look cluttered. It altered the way I saw the world, and my photography became a lot more minimalistic, with a major focus on composition and negative space. It helped me gain traction on Instagram, where I eventually became a Suggested User. I think the experience has taught me to challenge myself creatively and to use the tools you have available to you.

What do you think is the biggest problem you face as a creator?

Creative ruts. Social media creates a world where you’re expected to be on point daily, but that’s not how my creative brain works. There are often lulls and periods where I feel creatively burnt out. At those points, I try to find other ways to release my creative energy through different mediums.

What inspires you?

At times, delving into historical artistic movements helps inspire creativity. Right now, I’m on a huge Memphis Style kick, and I love looking at the patterns and colours used during that time and seeing how I can incorporate them into my work. Additionally, I recently purchased a bicycle, and in contrast to sitting in a car, it’s helped me slow down, stop, and take in my surroundings, which inspires my photographic eye.

Do you have any other creative interests?

I’m definitely a creative dabbler, and I’ve taken up things such as watercolour painting, knitting, hand-lettering and polyform clay moulding. Even if you do film photography, the editing process is computer-based, so it’s nice to do crafts that require awakening other sensory paths. I’m currently learning to write with my left hand to develop some of the motor skills in my non-dominant hand. We’ll see where that takes me creatively.

@ andreabengeart

Who are you?

My name is Andi Benge, originally from Orange County, CA but I’m currently based in the Washington DC area.

What do you do?

I am an visual mixed media artist.

How did you get into the industry?

I originally started as a tattoo artist, but slowly moved into the fine art realm.

What do you think is the biggest problem you face being a creator?

I think exposure, finding people who want to work with you.

What inspires you?

I’m very inspired by camp and kitsch, but also pop culture.

What are you working on at the moment?

I’m currently moving into video and performance/installation art, but still surrounding my paintings.

What's your favourite thing about the industry?

I love the ability to evolve, to really find yourself through your own work. To be able to share something visually without words is very satisfying to me.

Do you have any other creative interests?

I do get bored of my process a lot so I jump around to a lot of different medias, I'm currently working to find a way to combine them together.

@ mattkerslake

Who are you and what do you do?

I'm Matthew Kerslake and I’m the creative director at Journeys Peak Creative. A 360° creative agency with an abundance of passion for design, social media, and growth. I work within branding, graphic design, photography and digital marketing to name a few.

What’s your favourite thing about daisie?

Being apart of a network of so many different creatives, from music, fine art, photography and writing. I fundamentally believe that in order for us to grow as creatives, we must surround ourselves with people who share the same passionate beliefs.

How do you use daisie?

I primarily use the platform to showcase the work that I’ve created from both my creative agency and my own personal hobby, and the feedback that I do receive helps fine tune these projects even further. Something I was unable to receive from other social media apps.

What do you think is the biggest problem you face being a creator?

For me it’s gaining the exposure and the network that's required to be granted opportunities to grow. I live in a small city, which means I rely heavily on social-media to get myself across to the right people. It’s tough, but nothing in life comes easy and I’m dedicated to make my passion something that I can do for the rest of my time.

What inspires you?

As cliché as it sounds, being surrounded by ‘life’ inspires me. If I’m able to travel, then that’s exactly what I do, to surround myself with new cultures and experiences that ultimately influence the way I work. There is nothing more empowering for a creative than widening your eyes to all that is around you.

What are you working on at the moment?

Currently I’m working on a few branding projects, a recent one was to develop an identity to represent a business that deals with suicide prevention workshops/training. An opportunity I felt humbled and honoured to be able to work on, given that mental health is such an important issue. 2019 is going to be a great year for more opportunities, collaborations and relationships to be made.

What’s your favourite thing about the industry?

We all share the same passion to create something, from nothing. That’s the beauty of what this industry is about.

Do you have any other creative interests?

I’m always wanting to try new areas that challenge my own knowledge, I mean, currently I delve within graphic design, animation, photography, videography and often games design. It grows all the time, and I’m hopeful that daisie will help encourage the current generation to collaborate more in areas that challenge their own creativity.

Next month's theme for our COTM is Perspective.

If you want to pick the theme for February's COTM, head to the daisie forum here and let us know what you’d like to see!