Jeff Burns

Lets start to get to know our Redbubble friends a bit more.
I asked a few questions to Jo O’Brien cause she is an amazing person.
She came up with an idea she shared with me and I interviewed a few members.

Feel free to take these questions and ask some people that inspire or intrigue you and post them in your journal.

Also feel free to check out her Portfolio….... Jo O’Brien

How does being a creative person and pursuing your creativity affect other aspects of your life?

I’ve started making origami out of toilet paper. When buying paint, I choose “Easton Ellis” red because of the name. My real estate agent came over to inspect the house and left with armfuls of redbubble cards and my encouragement to take up singing again. I have no money but piles of stuff that I plan to use for a photo shoot ‘one day.’ The creativity has invaded every last inch of my life, and is starting to spread to the lives around me. Better not let me breath on you. You might catch it.

Tell us about one person or moment that has made your time on redbubble particularly special or meaningful?

Being offered a job with redbubble has been a ‘quality of life’ changing experience. I was at a point where my photography, day job doing gallery work, and redbubble didn’t fit into 24 hours. Something had to give, but instead, I’ve been able to merge them all together and now spend every day in an exciting and challenging environment doing what I love.

Show & tell us about five works on redbubble that have moved or inspired you?

My Greatest Love by tonilouise

This work plunged me into a bout of nostalgia that was promptly followed by polaroid cameras, photos of children and revisiting places I’d neglected for years.

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Each Time We Touch… by Shall

Reading this, every syllable made perfect sense. It was as though I could have been writing it myself and I was overwhelmed with this feeling that someone out there felt things the same way I did.

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Concealed Hurt by Elvina-Mae Farkas

After seeing the lighting in this work, I spent weeks experimenting with every lamp, window and candle I owned. The result being some of my favorite self portraiture taken in my home.

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Tales of the GGB #36 by juliejulie

A beautifully crafted story that reminded me of so many things in the best and worse ways.

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Her Charm is Fleeting by AKAtokyo

As someone who has always struggled with drawing faces, this immediately appealed to me. After seeing this, my drawings became faceless and I decided that I liked it that way.

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Where do you feel your creativity comes from what are some things that motivate you?

Mud, water and fire were the most available toys as children. Boredom resulted in performances for the neighbors and Mum would help us cut and paste our own board games. I can’t recall many of the toys I owned but I have numerous memories of Mum saying “entertain yourself.” Usually followed by fun adventures, new cubby houses, games with evolving rules and plenty of neighborhood friends to be audience members. If I wasn’t creative by then, I learned it by necessity.

Now my art is motivated by human reaction. The moment that terrifies you, or awakenings you, or makes you embarrassed to be human. I play with bodies and instinctive reactions and petition others to do the same. I can only hope that by confronting everything I have ever hated or feared, I will become someone better and will be proud of myself.

Name 3 artists that totally inspire you and have a great respect for?

Gregory Crewdson
Harmony Nicholas
Chuck Palahniuk