We were lucky to catch up with Camron Ware recently and have shared our conversation below.

Camron, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. I’m sure there have been days where the challenges of being an artist or creative force you to think about what it would be like to just have a regular job. When’s the last time you felt that way? Did you have any insights from the experience?

As a freelance/self-employed artist, it’s easy to sometimes fantasize about working for someone else when things get hard in the day to day, and it all rests on my shoulders. I think that’s normal, and maybe even healthy. For me, those thoughts of quitting my work as a projection artist and getting a job at Home Depot (my go-to fantasy 9-5 job) force to me to ask myself: “Oh yeah…Why am I doing this again? Do I actually like what I’m doing as a freelancer, or am I just going through the motions?”
I force myself to say out loud “all jobs/work/expressions have ups and downs”. I’ve worked hard for 15 years to be where I am, and I have to trust that the work and growth I’ve had as a person means something.
A specific story that’s hard for me to forget: I received an email this year from a person I had met 12 years ago, where we dreamed a little about projection mapping, but have never actually worked with. They emailed saying they had a conference in my city this year, and would love for me to do some projection mapping on the interior walls. The problem was that the interior walls were all painted black, and there were massive windows with no curtains. Their conference was during the day so the sunlight would wash out any projection, so I replied back and simply said: “Unfortunately, the surfaces in that room just won’t work with projection unless you can cover windows and re-paint the walls.”
I received this reply: “to be honest, you really suck to work with.”
Never mind that we haven’t ever actually worked together; that kind of language just kills an artist and I immediately had thoughts of how nice it would be to not have to fight for myself, and simply go get a normal job where I could both physically, emotionally, and mentally ‘leave’ at the end of the day.
Then, I reminded myself that being a creative comes with this territory, and that no job is perfect; because people aren’t perfect. I replayed in my head the recent fun and amazing projects I’ve been asked to do, and the email from that person started to feel smaller and lighter.
I think it’s important for freelance creatives/artists to hold true to their passions – it’s there for a reason.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I’m Camron Ware; a projection mapping artist living in Dallas, TX that’s been playing with projectors since 2005. Our company, Lightware Labs, has a large inventory of projection equipment, media servers, and digital content to digitally paint surfaces and objects to help bring energy and make things come to life.
Our clients largely consist of event planners, marketing agencies, theatre directors, wedding coordinators, school theater programs, bands/choirs…and the list goes on.

The best part of my “job” is helping clients and fellow artists see something they haven’t seen before. I often get told “Wow – didn’t think we could do projection on that!”

My brain is very much 50/50: half art/creative, and half tech/engineering, and I think that’s what I’m proud to bring to my clients. I don’t just have big ideas, but also have the best way to accomplish those ideas in a resourceful and creative way. There is not a one-size-fits all when it comes to projection mapping – it takes a huge figurative (and literal) toolbox to find something that works!

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being creative?

Seeing people’s reactions. I just love it! Seeing smiles, laughs, and people taking photos or videos of our work just bring so much joy to myself.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

I actually started my projection mapping journey in the ‘house-of-worship’ market. That’s a fancy way to say; “I started doing projection in my church when I was a kid, other churches loved it, and started to hire me to help their church.” So, in my early twenties, I was on a plane 2-3 times a week flying around to different churches in the country, helping design and consult on how to use projection mapping in their worship services.
The pivot came when finally, after about 10 years, I realized that I was no longer an artist; but simply a person who sells paintbrushes and canvas to other artists. I didn’t like that! I missed being the one that actually created projection experiences, and pushed the buttons to make it happen.
I stopped consulting others on how to do projection, and moved towards live events and experiences where I be directly involved.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.lightwarelabs.com
• Instagram: @lightwarelabs