Meet Kaila Coleman

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Kaila Coleman a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Kaila , thank you so much for joining us. You are such a positive person and it’s something we really admire and so we wanted to start by asking you where you think your optimism comes from?

I believe that optimism is one of the most crucial choices you can make in your life. Optimism is such a rare thing to find, and I think part of that is because it is easy to get overwhelmed with things that upset us and believe that things are always going wrong. One thing I started to live by that helps me remember there are good things is to enjoy everything or anything.

For years I saw and heard people saving their best clothes, most expensive jewlery, finest dishwear for a special occasion. and it got me thinking about what people thought a special occasion was. Thinking about what people were waiting to celebrate, made me evaluate what I considered something to wait for. That’s when I realized I didn’t want to wait for things to celebrate. I wanted to create moments and things to celebrate.

That is what I think optimism is, creating moments to celebrate everyday. The trick isn’t that my optimism comes from anywhere, it’s that I regularly choose to be optimistic and celebrate the moments that make life fun and bright. When celebrating the many things that I think are worth smiling about, I have a couple requirements. One I never let myself dwell on things for more than a day, but I also give myself a day to feel something completely. Two, I like to find something that makes me really smile, for example, the way the sunlight hits my mustard yellow sitting chairs in the late afternoon. And three, I always have a bottle of champagne in my fridge just in case I feel like celebrating myself and everything I have worked for or for a friend who needs celebrating.

I think it is really important to choose to be joyful and acknowledge the work that always needs to be done, but not get really drug down by the minutia of the day. I also believe that there is minutia that can bring joy but we have to choose to find it.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

My name is Kaila, and I am a black-and-white fine art photographer. I started exploring photography with black-and-white film in high school. The process of working with film was where I found the most inspiration and where I fell in love with the art form. While working with film photography, I was featured in the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art and the Dairy Art Center.

I started working with digital photography in 2015 and have been featured in galleries across the United States, from California to Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and had a long-term residency at the Walnut Gallery in Colorado. I also worked as a promotional photographer for several local theatre companies in Colorado and a Yoga studio in Connecticut.

As of now, I continue to explore shows around the New England area while I finish up law school.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

I think the biggest impact in my journey was just doing it. I had so many photos and so many ideas, and was so afraid to publish them. I got so trapped in comparing my work with other professionals and believing that I didn’t have the talent to be able to publish my work. This was the biggest lie I have ever told myself. I had to be convinced that I was good enough to put my work out there, and so I took a chance with zero expectations.

When I put my first piece out, and it was accepted for a show, I realized that the only person who didn’t think my work was enough to be in the world, and I continue to convince myself that I belong in the public sphere. So my best advice to someone just starting is that no one believes they belong there, but they took a chance, and it was worth it, so you should do the same.

The second thing is to trust your fear about putting a piece out there. My best pieces are ones that I am so scared of putting in a show or hanging in a gallery because they mean so much to me. I think there is an immense amount of vulnerability that it takes putting art in the world, and the art that you are the most nervous about putting out there should definitely be put out in the world.

The last thing is to continue to enjoy my work. There were times I was putting out more pieces than I was really producing, and it felt really difficult to stay relevant and appealing, and I lost the joy in my work. If you work hard to keep your work palatable and “marketable,” but you no longer love the work, it isn’t worth continuing. I pulled back and tried to stay true to not only myself but to the art I was publishing at a pace that was better for me.

Any advice for folks feeling overwhelmed?

When I feel overwhelmed, I take a step back and disconnect. It is really easy to sit down and continue to consume information or media and not rest at all while feeling like it is rest. My solution is to find rest in music, so i will cook while jamming or clean with music, or rest with something playing quietly in the background. Music for me is emotional and connects me back to who I am without having more media that I am digesting.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://charliekphotos.com
• Instagram: kccharlette
• Linkedin: Kaila Coleman

Image Credits

Charlie K. (myself)