Ask the Artist: Kelsey Erica Tran
Photographer, Writer and Unleash Contributor
Kelsey Erica Tran is an aspiring photographer and poet. After studying photography for two years in high school, she developed a passion for the art and hopes to turn it into a future career.
Some of her photos can be found here.
Kelsey Tran (KT): I started photography when I was a freshman in high school. It was my favorite class to go to because I was in the Home and Hospital program and it was one of the only classes that truly brought me joy every day. I was told by my teacher, Mr. Daigle, that I had “an eye for photography.” This is what led me to explore photography outside of the class and throughout the last five years. Eventually, I ended up being published here at Unleash, which I’m incredibly grateful for!
JK: What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever received as a creative person?
KT: The best advice I’ve ever received as a creative person is “to each their own.” Art is art because of expression and uniqueness from person to person. Just because your art is not appreciated by one person does not mean that your art is necessarily bad. It just means it’s your art. Your own specialness.
JK: Please share with us one (or a few) of your favorite lines, either from your own work or someone else’s work, and explain what strikes you about the passage.
KT: One of my life’s mottos comes from a poem called “Don’t Quit” by John Greenleaf Whittier. The last line says, “For all the sad words of tongue and pen; The saddest are these: “It might have been!” I’ve always thought about my fears and looking back on my life when at its end. One of my biggest fears is regretting what could have been. Now I live my life knowing I have done everything that could be questioned as a “what if.”
JK: How did you find your first publication?
KT: My first publication was a piece of poetry I submitted to Eber & Wein Publishing. I had written and submitted about 70 poems to various publishers, but after eight months of trying, I finally got my first piece of art published. I still have the book, and it was a piece called “Picture Imperfect.”
JK: Many writers can relate to the tales of rejection, but fewer to the fortitude of continuing to submit. What are you working on next?
KT: I am working on conveying my emotions through art. Challenging myself to make ideas some people may think are impossible into reality. I am also working on pinpointing the exact emotions I feel and conveying that in both my photography and my poetry. Who knows where this will lead me? But for sure it will feel good just to know that my art is seen and appreciated.
Thank you so much for your time, Kelsey. This was an inspirational interview.