A creative director is a professional filling a vital role within any visual arts or entertainment industry. Creative directors may assume the roles of an art director, copywriter, or lead designer, and are expected to guide a team of employees with skills and experience related to graphic design, fine arts, motion graphics, and other creative industry fields.

What was your motivation for taking this career path?

In high school I discovered a passion for graphic design while working on the yearbook. I majored in graphic design in college and art classes were part of my course. During my college degree we went on a tour of Europe which included some of the art galleries in Paris, London and Amsterdam. I realized that art could be more than a hobby. I saw art as capturing the idea of the sublime. It was a faith moment and back in Australia I worked on capturing the essence of what had so inspired me.

What do you do on an average day?

Design pays the bills so many days I am on my laptop working on graphic design projects. I collect ideas for inspiration for my projects using Pinterest boards. I research ideas, not to do what has already been done but to sharpen my ideas. I also find time for my art which often takes me out into nature.

How do you express your faith through your art?

In the last ten years, my art falls into three categories:

The first category is landscape. I focus on impressionism here, with light and color being paramount to the artwork. This takes me into nature which surrounds me in God’s creation. Being immersed in the colors and shapes of God as the master artist, also improves my mental health.

The second category is self-portrait. I have self-portraits from many years. At each stage I have been trying to understand myself – who am i? Also who God thought I was? When I understand the character of God I can understand myself. By tracking my self-portraits I can track my own spiritual journey.

The third category is large abstract paintings inspired by abstract expressionism. Studying artists such as Mark Roscoe, Clyfford Still and Willem de Kooning slowly crystalized my own art. Inspired by designs in semi-precious stone and rocks I have used the bright blue stone, Lapis Lazuli. Lapis Lazuli is mentioned at least four times in the Bible. It was a stone on the ephod of the High Priest, in Exodus 24:10 it mentions God standing on pavement of Lapis Lazuli and some scholars think that the 10 Commandments were written on this beautiful stone.

By using the color of Lapis Lazuli it reminds me of the manifesting presence of God. In every painting I see God as bigger than we can comprehend and want to reflect His presence.

Education: B.A., Visual Communications, Avondale College

Employer: Aesthetic Intelligence

Shelley Poole

Creative Director

Career:
Creative Director