We recently connected with Mercedes Oliver and have shared our conversation below.
Mercedes, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you tell us a bit about who your hero is and the influence they’ve had on you?
My hero is my mom. My mom is my biggest supporter as cliche as that sounds but she really has been there for me every step of the way. She instilled in me a strong personality and to work hard for every single thing I want. She taught me how to roll with the punches of life and continue to progress forward. She did not have an easy life but she has been the best mom. I mean she makes me chocolate chip pancakes when I’m feeling down to make me feel better. My mom taught me how to work hard and to put myself first. She taught me how to roll with the punches of life and also how to punch back. She taught me how to laugh at the things that worry me and not to take life so seriously. I think that is why I have come so far in my life. I just know how to adjust and adapt and pivot. I don’t get stuck in my linear course of action, I find a way around, through, over, or under. I don’t get hung up on what the journey should look like, I just take it as it is and grateful that I am even here. There are so many obstacles in life and I can’t crash and burn every time something doesn’t go my way, she has been a major contributor to this idea. Feel your feelings but don’t let them halt your progress. She’s pretty fantastic, she always encouraged me to be my most authentic self and to never change who I am no matter the space I am. I am proud of who I am because of her love and support.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your background and context?
Who is Mercedes? I love God, my faith is important to me and has been an anchor through good and bad days. I love anime, and read lots of comics and manga. I enjoy working out and love going for long walks at the park. I cry when I’m excited especially when Luffy awakened Gear 5 in One Piece. My hairstyle is inspired by my favorite characters, Storm. I have a really big heart and love to make people laugh so I’m known to tell a joke or 10. I am a brutally honest person but extremely nonchalant at the same time.
Creative is something I was born with. Everyone in my immediate family has some sort of creative ability. I have been around and raised by creatives so it was only natural for me to become one. I have always been interested in art and often drew my favorite anime characters. A lot of my inspiration came from watching Nike commercials, I loved the emotional drive and inspiration they cultivated. I remember watching the video “Find Your Greatness Jogger” and loved every second of it. I felt motivated and inspired. I wanted to push creative boundaries and inspire people, I said ” I want to make stuff like that” and so the journey began.
I think I have such a unique perspective on sports. My style isn’t traditional and I really have embraced that fact about me. I think that is what makes me extremely valuable, I will bring something so out of pocket to the set of images that it just works. It gives a different take on what we think of sports and focuses on the intimate and overlooked details of it.
I am most proud of my ability to stay true to myself. I think a lot of times people want to be like everyone else instead of being like themselves. I want to stay true to my style and how I express my art, even if people don’t understand it. I am proud of staying connected to that, it is really hard to find your path in the midst of so much greatness that is in sports photography. It’s a lot of patience and hard work but if you keep taking steps forward you will eventually forge your own way.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being creative?
The most rewarding aspect of being a creative is seeing how everyone sees one thing. How I see a football game is not how my counterparts see a football game. I always find the different perspectives intriguing. You also get a glimpse of the emotions that the photographer felt in that moment as well. There is a piece of us displayed in our art and I love getting to know someone or a glimpse of who someone is.
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
The artistic gap, between where you want to be and where you are. I had to learn this the hard way. I love art so much and consume hours of it everyday. For me it was hard to see such great pieces but not having the skills YET to create something as powerful as that. I remember there was a day I was viewing Ohio State Football graphic designs because I’m a huge fan of what they make. I noticed as I was viewing I started to doubt myself and my own skills. I was so frustrated because I wanted to make something so powerful but just couldn’t. I didn’t know why I couldn’t but I just couldn’t. I then realized sometimes our artistic taste change before our growth in skills does and that’s okay. It won’t be like that forever and that’s where patience and grace for yourself comes in. I had to accept the journey and couldn’t compare my day 20 to someone’s 5 years.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.mercedesoliver.com
- Instagram: mercedesoliver.jpg
- Twitter: M0G0tti