Kimone Cotterell | XO.005

ΧΟ-005-Kimown

extraORDINARY Series

Kimone Cotterell

Kimone Cotterell | Interview

Kimone can you tell us about yourself? My name is Kimone Cotterell. I am 29 years old and mother to a beautiful 7 year old girl.I was born and raised in St Ann, Jamaica, I am an easy going person. I am generally not a woman of many words but if you get to know me you will find out I have a lot to say. I like to take long walks, eat fresh fruits or go to the beach. My passion is in the visual arts and my creativity is driven by anything of nature and my life. My talents became apparent to me at the age of 14 years old, since then I have explored various art forms such as painting, drawing, photography, graphic design and jewelry making. Visual arts also inspires me to teach. The aim is to share my experience and knowledge with others, young and old, in hopes of helping them to recognize their own talents. It is my personal belief that all human beings deserve to know and act on their God given talents. I try to contribute to this effort in every way possible. I always aspire to do my best. This makes me a perfectionist which can sometimes be a down fall to me for I am my harshest critic. I believe I have much further to go in exploring the dynamics of my work. It is a journey I look forward to every day. You talk about your passion and your creative driven nature, where do you suppose this passion for art comes from? Were your parents artistic? My passion for visual arts comes naturally. Both my parents are visual artist. I grew up seeing my father doing paintings and drawings. Visual arts was his first job. He has since then branched off into performing arts, touring the world as a reggae artist but still does some visual arts in his spare time. My mother is known locally for her interior decorating skills and at one point made handcrafted jewelry which inspired me to start my own line of jewelry. Did you study visual arts and the various creative disciplines you work with? I am a self taught artist. I've had no formal training in visual arts. Art comes natural to me. I simply enhance my skills through personal research and experiments. I hope to attend the Edna Manley School of Visual and Performing arts in the near future. You mentioned jewelry making, how do you approach a new collection? Where do your ideas evolve from? My jewelry ideas are usually inspired by nature, various cultures and people around me. Most of my pieces are one of a kind or custom made. I am yet to work on a specific collection. What are you working on at the moment? I am currently working on establishing a visual arts class for young children in Ocho Rios, St Ann. The Sun Kidz Art & Craft Class is only two months old and currently accommodates only two students. My dream is to turn this establishment into a full time Institution that is geared towards the exposure of young and gifted artist. I am also working on new pieces for my jewelry line which i will showcase in a couple of months. What are your plans for the future? I plan to further my studies in becoming a certified art teacher. I also plan to design my own materials for designing jewelry in hopes of creating a more consistent look for the jewelry line. Give us your thoughts about the future of Jamaica? I personally believe Jamaica will always have wonderful things to look forward to in the future. We are a nation that represents well in everything we do despite the issues of violence among our people. Who are the Jamaicans who inspire you? I am inspired by Jamaicans who make visual and performing arts their full time career. My parents were my first inspiration and still is. How do you feel about art and design development in Jamaica, what would you like to see improved? I think Art and design does well in Jamaica. What i would like to see is art being emphasized more in schools. Especially in the early childhood stages of a child's life. Is there a social or political issue you’d like to give special mention to? Something you would personally like to focus on ? I don't have much to say on politics. From a social point of view, I would like to see more youths exposed to the arts at a young age.I would like to see better art labs/studios in schools and communities. I remember in high school we had to use the school library for art classes. This created many limits on us as we could not explore the true dynamics of visual arts. You are from Ocho Rios, St Ann's parish in Jamaica, what makes this place special? I would say Ocho Rios, St Ann is special for its lush greenery. St Ann is known as the Garden Parish of Jamaica. It is also known internationally as top tourist destination. Many are fascinated by its rich natural treasures; rivers, water falls, gardens and beautiful beaches. If you had an opportunity to visit and explore another culture what county would that be? And why? I would like to visit Bohemia, Czech Republic. I am wildly fascinated with the patterns, prints and bold colors of the culture and also the term Bohemianism which is the practice of an unconventional lifestyle, often in the company of like-minded people, involving musical, artistic, or literary pursuits. Bohemians may be wanderers or adventurers. How would you like to change the world to be a better place? I would like to change the perspective of those who think it is not possible to do what they love for a living. I hope to be heard by those who were told that art is not a real career. I would like to help as much youths as possible to develop a strategic and productive mindset towards approaching visual arts as a full time career. Do you think art can make a difference in the life of ordinary people? Certainly, I do think art can make a difference in the lives of ordinary people. Art is a form of therapy. People are faced with many challenges everyday, art can be a means of escaping the harsh realities and issues that arise on a day to day basis. Who are your favorite reggae artiste? And what other genre of music are you interested in? I have quiet a few favorites to share, including my father, Prezident Brown. Others I really love are Ini Kamoze, Burning spear, Steele pulse, Rootz underground, Bob Marley and that is just to name a few. I am interested in various genres of music such as Dance Hall, Pop, Hip Hop,Jazz. I basically listen to anything that appeals to me.