Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Carol Patricia Paquet. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Carol Patricia, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

I grew up in Johannesburg, South Africa, and on weekends as a teenager, I would hang out with my friends. In South Africa, the legal driving age limit is 18 years, so there is a lot of time to while away with little to do and no way of getting around. My friends and I would walk to a nearby open field, where we would hang out for hours. They would smoke and get high. I would lug paints with me, a small canvas, and paint what I saw around me. I think it was around this time that I always knew I would be following the arts.

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

Following my passion for art at an early age, I went to a high school specializing in Art and then continued to Art College studying Graphic Design. This set me up for a career in advertising, working as an Art Director for nearly 20 years. During this time, I continued my Fine Art education with privately sponsored art classes with acclaimed South African artists. Moving to the USA, I was finally in a position to pursue my painting and creative path.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

Art education in schools, starting from Kindergarten, should be available for all students. Exposing young minds to creativity and exploratory thinking is the single most important thing we can do for the youth. Our society is producing a foot soldier mindset where people learn by rote but are unable to discern good information from bad. We are not taught to question. A curious mind is a creative mind.

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

I love Art 21.

Art 21 is a non-profit organization that supports the arts and produces in-depth interviews and excellent videos on contemporary artists.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.carolpaquet.com
• Instagram: @carolpatriciapaquet

Image Credits

Photo by Jennifer Olson