Artist Spotlight:
Lindsay Griffin
Mississippi State Organization – Alpha Chi Chapter
Interviewed by: Janice Garrett, Eta, Mississippi, Arts and Humanities Jury 2024-2028
Tell us about yourself as an educator and artist.
I have been teaching high school math for 22 years at the same high school that I graduated from. I mainly teach algebra 1 but get a few classes of geometry some years. I have been interested in photography since high school and have submitted and been accepted into the DKG Art Gallery for several years.
Tell us what inspired you and how you developed the art you entered in the gallery.
As a child I remember taking pictures with an instant camera and my mother’s 1-10 camera. I just took pictures occasionally, until my senior year of high school. Mr. Hill, my chemistry teacher and photography club sponsor, had us make a pin-hole camera. We got to develop and print our own pictures in a dark room. After that I loved photography. The issue was the cost of buying and developing film. I would take pictures of special occasions or trips, but that was it. Then here comes digital cameras. They changed my world as far as photography is concerned. I could take as many pictures as I wanted and only print the ones that I liked. So far, I have filled up 2 external hard drives with pictures I have taken.
What is the best artist advice you have been given?
Keep taking pictures. Try different angles and change the time of day that you take them. Don’t worry about how you look, trying to get the picture. I have sat, leaned and laid in some very interesting positions to get the shot I wanted. Don’t be afraid to experiment with different lenses and filters. And of course, have fun.
What does the value of Creative Arts in Education mean to you?
I believe it is just as important as math. Being creative opens up doors that you would not know existed.
Do you have anything else you want to add?
If you do what you love, it never feels like work.