GRETA WATERKOTTE

Overcoming the urge to compare and critique your art based on the work of others is a challenging, yet rewarding journey.  Though Waterkotte occassionally falls into the trap of social media’s negative influence, she has found confidence and comfort in her craft.  “I feel my best and most accomplished when I am creating...”.  Waterkotte hopes to keep her creative endeavors as a part of her life regardless of what field of work she falls into, expressing that “if I don’t have a profession in the arts or video I see myself definitely doing it on the side”.  Especially in this generation, the demand for digital content is never-ending, making it easy to keep crafts such as photography and filmmaking a part of someone’s career.  Waterkotte’s uniquely dark style echoes the work of creators from past generations.  Bringing older influences into her art creates a timeless body of work that can be relatable to a multi-generational audience.

Drawing inspiration from Quentin Tarantino and cinematographer Ernest Dickerson, Waterkotte has developed a cinematic photographic style, further integrating her interests in photography and film.  She has folded her interest in style and makeup into her digital work, organically practicing an interdisciplinary method of creating, and manifesting the power of multimedia art.  “I’ve always really wanted to incorporate my makeup into videos and make something really cool... I also really want to do something with earrings I think that would be really cool, like have models in my makeup and having them wear my earrings...that could be interesting.”  Utilizing the talents of her creative peers, Waterkotte expresses the inspiration she pulls from her friends, “People around me motivate and inspire me so much.”

With the accessibility and convenience that social media brings to this generation comes the tendancy to compare and compete with other artists.  “With social media, it is really easy to connect with other artists and see what other people are doing, but I also find myself comparing myself to other people and getting discouraged when I see how well other people my age are doing, but sometimes it does give me inspiration and motivation to create and share what I’m doing.”  This generation of artists has been given a balancing act of inspiration versus comparison, and has to develop a thick skin when scrolling through social media feeds.