Today we’d like to introduce you to Ellie Thorne.
Ellie, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
When I was at the age of 10, I was gifted my first camera. I became infatuated with photographing things I found beautiful and loved fabricating my own stories. In fact, I had bearded dragons at the time and even went to the extent of making tiny clothing and using toy props to create little life scenes, you know, like every average 10-year-old does. Little did I know, this was only the beginning of my journey story-telling through photography.
Thank God, at some point my subject shifted from bearded dragons to humans. I continued photography throughout high school and there was even a couple crazy enough to trust me to capture their wedding at 17-years-old. Around this time, I started my official business, Ellie Thorne Photography and really began to pursue photography with full force. Fast forward a couple of years, I began my bachelor’s at Baylor University in Waco, Texas, obtaining a degree in Studio Art with a concentration in photography.
The summer after my second year into undergrad, I had the privilege of interning with an urban missions organization, Kaleo Missions. Needing new material for marketing and hearing I was a photographer, Kaleo offered to fly me to photograph all of the main locations across the US, including: Dallas, Portland, New Orleans, Bushwick in NYC, and San Diego. I had the honor of capturing peoples’ stories who had been impacted from the heartaches of the world such as experiencing homelessness, gentrification, difficulties of immigration, the refugee crisis, and marginalization in urban areas. This was the first time I think I really began to experience the power of listening to one another’s stories and using our gifts to work together to be a voice of truth.
During my third year of college, I fulfilled a major desire of mine to study abroad in Florence, Italy at an art school named Studio Arts College International (SACI). Until this opportunity to study abroad, I always considered myself a photographer who happened to study art, not necessarily an artist. It was during my semester at SACI that I really fell in love with fine arts and developed skills in other mediums. Classic study abroad moment – I became infatuated with everything Italy: the culture, the art, the history, the language, you name it. That infatuation, however, never seemed to die to a simmer and I continued studying Italian language and art with hopes of moving back to Florence one day.
In my final semester of college, I had my BFA photography exhibition that showcased an intensive three-month-long project of documenting stories around the community of Waco, Texas that celebrated everyday lives of people who were seeking joy in the mundane. I cannot thank my professors enough for pushing me to new depths and heights as an individual and as an artist and I hope to pursue more projects similar to this in the future.
Now with a piece of paper in hand to prove my four years of schooling, I am off into “the real world.” With a lot of support from family, friends, and professors, I dived headfirst into my dreams and am now living in Florence, Italy teaching English and continuing to make art and document stories. I am working on several independent photo projects and have begun to do commissioned drawings/paintings/fabric pieces and I am excited to continue making art!
Has it been a smooth road?
This made me chuckle. Smooth? Absolutely not. It has been difficult and at times, static and frustrating, but I’ve begun to discover that with the lowest of lows come the highest of highs. When seeking advice for the next step after undergrad as someone pursuing art, a photographer friend of mine, Cocoa Laney, shared with me that this path is never linear, there is never a “next right step,” it is often having the courage to listen to that inner voice and take a leap into the unknown.
I am just entering adulthood and by no means “have it together.” To put things into perspective, just three months ago I found myself in Florence, with no job, and no apartment, running out of money and wondering what in the world I got myself into, and just having to trust I was where I was supposed to be and continue forward. Because I don’t think life is about absolute clarity. We are in constant growth, transition, and waiting. I think it’s embracing that reality of the constant push and pull of life and finding the joy and radiance in those in-between moments in the present.
To those 17-year-old Ellie’s out there, I encourage you to dream big. And I think in order to have the ability to dream big, one must be loved and love themselves and discover their worth and value as creative, created beings. To have this ability, one must also constantly let go of the idea of success. Failure is your best friend!! It is part of life and chasing your passions. To failure, I say, bring it on.
In a social media-saturated world, this can be quite difficult, but to the best of your abilities, let others inspire you but not be a mediator of your worth.
Lastly, pursuing anything, but art specifically, is a journey, hold your dreams with open hands, let it form into what it needs to be, be open to new experiences and change. On the other hand, hold dearly the truth that YOU, with your own story and your own gifts have an important voice to share with the world.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Ellie Thorne Photography – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
If you haven’t caught on yet, I am a photographer and mixed media artist. As of late, I have begun to dive more into the mixed media realm of art. I am discovering that my passions lie in authentic human connection, creating with my hands and being less in front of a screen. I am excited to experiment more with mixed media, continue independent photo projects and work on commissioned pieces.
I am in the process of creating an online shop that will sell my handmade fabric pieces and gestural drawings! A portion of these sales will go to an organization supporting women’s’ education. I am extremely excited for this to be up and running (keep your eyes peeled for this spring!!).
I am still very much figuring out what this looks like to pursue art as a career. What I do know is I want to be a voice of truth and light in the art world: to remind each other of authenticity and beauty within every day and to share people’s stories. And for me, this is to create art and I hope to do this with discipline and zeal and be inspired and inspire others.
Who have you been inspired by?
I am privileged to be surrounded by an army of badass, dream-chasing, loving, encouraging women in different walks of life and of all ages. I promise this is not a cop-out or just because I know she will be reading this, but the woman who inspires me above all and daily is my mom! She is constantly learning, always willing to change, and loving to all. She has taught me so much about the necessities of a rich life: empathy, forgiveness, and growth; and has always encouraged me to dream big. She is my biggest fan and I am hers.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.elliethornephotography.com
- Email: ellie.thorne1220@gmail.com
- Instagram: @elliethorne
Image Credit:
The gallery shot is by Bob Smith, All other images are my own!
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