Today we’d like to introduce you to Genevieve Lucas
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I really feel like I sit at an odd intersection between my passions for science and art. I am really fortunate to have found a niche currently in creative technology with augmented and virtual reality as my career. Sometimes it feels like I had a foot in two worlds, I grew up spending a lot of time in tattoo shops where my creativity and ideas were unlimited and my access to things horror and scifi were as well. On the other hand, my great grandfather had a strong role in impressing upon me the importance of science and the way knowledge enriches your life. Those very opposing forces I think shaped me into the software engineer by day and artist by night I am.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Not necessarily. I had fallen out of touch, and in ways out of love with making art starting around high school. I had this looming dread cloud over my head that I could not find a way to be creative and get a career in a field that interested me but would also please my family. I felt the pressure of expectation. I kept my head down and worked really hard to earn a scholarship so I could attend college. It wasn’t until around when the covid lockdowns occurred that I entertained drawing again, then painting, and the itch slowly crept its way into me. I wanted to experiment, research, learn new things about how I could apply it to what I was studying at the time. When I returned to my classes full time I took a leap of faith and got a position doing student research in Augmented and Virtual Reality and that really cemented my fire to show others that science and art truly inform each other and should not be necessarily separated into their own categories.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I work as an augmented and virtual reality software engineer, I specialize in interactive training! Currently I am a programmer who works with game engines and I also fill in as an artist for my team doing 3D modeling, animation, and level design. It has been nice to transfer those skills between work and some of my more personal projects like currently being the artist in residence for Westobou Gallery in Augusta, GA which feels really surreal because I have been attending the open studios for the past residents for a couple of years now! I am really proud of my tenacity, its not easy juggling so many irons in the fire, but without my will to find my courage to explore out of my comfort zone I would not be where I am now. I think my desire for knowledge and for chances to share what I have learned with others drives and sets me apart. Whether its sharing what I know about technology or software, anthotypes, film photography, or animation, I love to share the wonder that experiencing or learning brings.
Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?
Honestly, very quiet. I was very shy, very tomboyish, and found it hard to fit in with other kids. My love for horror movies, anime, and science fiction didn’t really help make me very cool, but I was very open to the others who felt like they also did not fit in. I was definitely playing warrior cats and vampires at recess. In a lot of my free time I would be drawing, sewing, and playing video games which are things I guess I didn’t grow out of.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://skullbelow.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/skullbelow/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/genevieve-lucas-216309172
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbDEJQW-dfDHeSLxaoG7LZw
