Today we’d like to introduce you to John Glover.
John, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I believe that I have always been an artist I use the visual arts to communicate. In my mind, it’s much like a writer telling stories using words. The distinct difference is I use images. So as a child in school, much of my notes were images drawn in my notebook. This wasn’t always favorable to teachers throughout my early childhood.
My family was mostly musically inclined. My father was a pastor and he also had a singing group. Had I been interested in music, there would have been a large amount of support. However, I had an older sister who was very creative. She could draw, make clothes, cook, etc. Which inspired me and allowed me room to grow in something that was just natural to me. As a child, I never thought that being a visual artist was a reality. But what I did know it was very important to the way I communicate and live my life.
Throughout my pursuits of life as a teenager and later on as a young man, I knew that I would have to use my strongest skill to find my way.
When I was in high school, my history teacher found room for me to use my creative skills. During that time, I did a lot of the bulletin boards for her and some of the other teachers. At that time, I had never taken and art classes. I’ve never taken. That I think is what motivated me to pursue art as a career while only taking one art class in high school.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Being seen. Not having a foundation for the fine arts as a child made me very unprepared for the real world and its offering. From the jobs I was working to making very poor education decisions, I found myself being pushed further and further away from my strength. Although I continue practicing my artistic ability and doing freelance work. The book of my time was spent working in a field that I had no interest in. I would often get noticed in the art world and sell quite a bit of work just before some unknown tragedy happen. When I look back, it wasn’t nearly as great as it seem, but not knowing how to handle certain situations can leave you helpless in those. And not being around the right people can place you so far away from where you want to be until something that is a reality can seem like a dream far far away. There is a saying life keeps living… lol.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
My work is a variation of techniques. I think creativity is the process of developing a way of doing things on your own. Although we are human and we work with a lot of the same materials. Someone may be able to come to that conclusion at the same time as you did or years before or years after you. But I find the most important part is doing the work. The experimental work is developing your process. And having an understanding of why you do things the way you do them is just as important.
I do several things. But most of the work that I do have always been based on my drawing abilities. Everything is planned out through drawings. I would say the footprint of my work is the way I draw even the thickness and thinness of the layers of material that I use are planned out based on the drawings that I do.
What do you specialize in?
My specialty is my ability to translate written information (or words) into images. I use images to create stories or literature.
If there’s something that I need to say, regardless of how complex it may be, I believe that I can explain these things with images. And the material that I use is based on how complex the information that I’m translating is.
What are you known for?
Even through all the work that I’ve done. People seem to enjoy stuff that’s easier on the eye. And convincing the viewers through other techniques is sometimes difficult. However, it resonates. I am known for the “Elevation Work”
What is the”Elevation Work”? This work is images of people with long necks, but the remainder of their bodies is a normal proportion.
That being said, the work that I’ve been doing lately only for the last ten years which is called “Contain Abstraction” is gaining a lot of popularity. And there are a lot of ways I can go with this work. Which opens a spectrum of opportunities. I’m excited about it.
What are you most proud of?
I am most proud of my growth. Over the years, I’ve learned to share with other artists. I learned that this is not a competition. We are ourselves. Living in a competitive world, we often feel like we have to compete with each other. Today I don’t believe that I compete with any other artists. I’m just being me.
What sets you apart from others?
Being free. I’m most proud of not having to be handcuffed to any particular thing to be free in my creativity. I often speak with other artists who gain a specific amount of popularity in one style of work and who don’t feel like they can grow. I’m not handcuffed to any one particular thing. When someone purchased my work, they will know that the work came from my full ability to create, not manufacture things.
If we knew you growing up, how would we have described you?
As I try to explain this, it will seem somewhat contradictory. (I think). As a kid is similar to how I am now, I’m a very private person who does very public things. As a kid, I was very outgoing. I was interested in being involved in activities in school and outside of school such as volunteering, field trips, summer programs, Sports, etc. However, when those things were not available, I didn’t miss them. That gave me time to study things and be creative. I often study the things that were around me whether it be bugs, plants, the environment, etc. During these times I would draw images of these things and test their durability. I’ve always been interested in how some of these things work and breaking them down to where I can understand them. I also was interested in comic books. As a kid, I had my comic book of a cool dude that I later named Jay Blue.
I never had to fight much as a kid. I think that was partly because I had this interesting ability to convince other kids that there were other options. The best way to describe this is a farmer co-worker said, “The way you talk, I bet you used to get beat up as a kid”. What I told him is the kids that could beat me up weren’t smart enough, and the other ones I didn’t worry about.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://vidaartwork5.wixsite.com/johngloverart?fbclid=PAAaZvfbdgLO3pN9Xp-jKIPH-6kd5wcFdLxnRCqiPOYGZfMm3d1tY8UiwkAtc
- Instagram: @johnglovertheartof
- Facebook: John Glover
- Linkedin: John Glover
