Jocelyn Catterson

Jocelyn Catterson

Evergreen, Colorado

flickr

Freckled Cup: website flickr group

milk and cream for the eye

It was a true pleasure interviewing Jocelyn:

"drinking out of the freckled cup is a project to showcase the beauty of people, light, warmth, color, lack of color, skin, touch, mountains, exploration, and most things in between. "

Can you tell more about "Freckled Cup"? How did the idea develop?

Well the name is actually based off of a mug that I always drink tea out of in my house, which looks freckled on the inside. Ha. But the idea of the site is based off a weekend I spend with a good friend of mine up in Winter Park, and this bit of writing: "Your fingers upon my back connecting the dots. Drinking tea out of the freckled cup and waiting for you to come back home. Waiting for there to be a home outside of this one. Keeping warm under white sheets. Wanting to be closer than science will allow us." It made me want to find a way to showcase many of those things I experienced while on the trip, visually and emotionally. The little things, the big things, the in between things. Afterwards, I came home, and created the site. There are so many amazing photographers out there who are fantastic at capturing things in such a truthful but hauntingly beautiful way, I want to put them all together in one place.

What do you like most about living in Evergreen, Colorado?

I like the mountains the most. I like being able to walk out my back door into the wild, in a sense. Even though the town is really close to the capital, it's so serene in places. My friends and I climb mountains and picnic all the time. I love it.

One reason to choose film over digital?

When I use film instead of a digital, I'm more careful and picky about the pictures that I take. I don't have an unlimited amount of pictures, so I only take the pictures that I feel will truly look wonderful. Film is nice because I normally end up with better looking pictures. Film also has more honesty; there's no editing or photoshop involved, and that's what I love about it.

And one reason to choose digital over film?

I definitely prefer film over digital, but digital is incredibly convenient. It's also amazing what you can do with a digital camera now-a-days.

What do you do with the pictures that did not turn out too well?

I keep all of my film pictures. Even the horrible ones. I still have pictures from way back in 6th grade. Haha. They get put into various folders and cabinets. Some are forgotten and then I'll find them again years later. I never throw away anything. I'm sort of a pack rat. It's nice to be able to look back on them.

Is there a movie or painting which would fit into the concept of "Freckled Cup"?

Oh goodness. If you combined The Go-Getter, Everything Is Illuminated, and Wristcutters, the concept of "Freckled Cup" would be completely covered. As much as the site is about the visual aspect of things, it is about the feeling that those visuals create. Those three movies have wonderful cinematography and, for me, at least, they evoke the feelings that I want all the pictures on the site to create.

When you are unsure about submitting or exhibitting a picture, who do you consult most often?

My best friend Jeremy. I consult him about everything. I always get his opinions on the pictures I submit because it's nice to get a second opinion. He's also quite the photographer himself, though he would never admit to it. There are a few pictures of me that he has taken on my Flickr, actually. I know he has a good eye and good taste, so I always go to him.

If you were to do the photography work for an album cover and booklet, which artist(s) would you want to work with?

I like this question. Haha. The Black Keys or Sigur Ros, I would love to work with either one of those bands. I have recently become infatuated with the voice of Dan Auerbach, the lead singer of the Black Keys. His voice is like honey. I would love to do a album cover or booklet for them. Also, Sigur Ros is such a bizarre and wonderful group. Their music video for the song Gobbledigook was done by Ryan McGinely, who happens to be one of my favorite photographers, and is about four minutes of people running naked through the woods. They seem like they would be a wonderful group to work with.

For a day to be perfect, you definitely need...

Tea. Good music. Good company. And some place to explore.

If you got a space to curate an exhibition, which artists would you invite to participate?

Ana Cabaleiro (coquinete) would be the first person I would ask. I would also ask Hannah Davis. They are both phenomenal photographers and wonderful people. They lead fascinated lives and it shows in their photographs. But there are so many fantastic people on Flickr, and people who have submitted to Freckled Cup, it would be hard to choose. Ana and Hannah would definitely be at the top of my list.

Why do you think have paintings and photographs become as essential to human culture as they are now?

I like this question too. You have sent really good questions. Haha. I have actually spent a lot of time thinking about this, and I think it has a lot to do with the human race's fear of death. That sounds morbid, but the thing is that we want to be able to remember things and people long after they are gone, so we capture them in photographs and paintings. Art has become a way for people to make their memories immortal, in a way.

Do you have a favourite director/film maker?

I am actually horrible at remembering names of actors, film makers, producers, or anything along those lines. But I am absolutely fascinated with cinematography and may be trying to create some sort of documentary very soon. I really enjoy the way that Harold and Maude is filmed, along with The Go-Getter, which I mentioned earlier. The way that those movies were filmed and directed are fantastic.

Have some delicious sips; visit her flickr and be sure to also look at the Freckled Cup!