I was first introduced to Ryan's work with the video of his conte animation for the song "I thought of you". An animation that had me hypnotized for the entire three minutes of it. Wether it was because of my passion for dancing and how it was depicted, or how the song just fit perfectly with the animation, I'm not certain, or maybe it was the combination of it all. From this moment on I become an affectionate of Ryans work. I find his work to be extraordinarily inspiring and humble. I'm not sure what that may mean but when I watch his work, it somehow transmits a feeling of simplicity and humbleness which finally made sense when I found out the type of person he truly is.
Ryan Woodward came to Ringling for three days to give us a one day presentation, and storyboard demo at the beach! Unfortunately for me it was impossible to attend either events because of job responsibilities, but I was fortunate enough to talk to a friend who did attend, and left absolutely no detail behind when giving me a summary of both events.
The first thing he said to me about Ryan Woodward, was how amazed he was of his simple and easy going personality. Of course when I first hear this, it all just comes into place as to why his work evokes that feeling; and I think this is one of the most incredible things about a real artist, is being able to transmit that through your own work.
He mentioned that the demo at the beach was incredible. The simple fact of being able to have a lecture by one of our favorite artists at the beach and get critiques and feedback instantly, was priceless. One thing that I cannot erase from my mind, was how calm and simple he is. I would think, that with the intense type of life he lives, it would be very difficult to find a balance between you, your work and your family. Nonetheless he is able to do it, which gives you hope to some extent to think that it is actually possible to be good at what you do, and have a balanced life.
"Never say no, just grab opportunities, even if you dont know how to do it, get in there and try it out and find a way to do it" This was a phrase by Ryan when talking about the different opportunities life may bring to us, and how no matter how afraid we may be to face a challenge that seems impossible; we have to give it a try. No matter how difficult it may seem, never say no. Give it a try, the worst that can happen is you fail, which will only make you stronger, but you learn on the way. These are key words that have stuck in my mind ever since; Because it's true. No one has ever reached success without failing first, or without taking risks. If we want the chance to succeed at what we do, we must give ourselves the opportunity to get that chance, and grab it as it passes by. I feel this is Ryan's moto and philosophy, and it's incredibly inspiring to see how someone has reached such success by following this simple idea of life.
Unfortunately although I would have loved to be able to meet Ryan personally and listen to his talk both at the beach and later that night; I'm grateful the school was able to give us an opportunity like this one, to be able to learn from one of our most admired artists, and even have the chance to sit through one of his lectures and learn from his personal experiences.
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