Jaden Bellamy, a third year student at OSU studying Ocean Science, was interviewed as a part of a larger interview series, focusing on highlighting student artists in Corvallis. Bellamy was born and raised in Oregon and is inspired by the beauty of the pacific northwest. She primarily expresses herself through photography and poetry, and aims to relate to others through sharing her own personal experiences in her work.  

“I am surrounded by such beauty that I hope to capture in my work.  I write and photograph the world through my filter and attempt to relate to others through it. If I can let another person feel as if they are understood, that we feel the same emotions, go through the same heartaches, love wildly, I feel as if my work has done all it was created for,” Bellamy said.

Though she utilizes both photography and poetry as an outlet to express internal thoughts and emotions, Bellamy views these mediums as being almost opposites of one another. 

“One is capturing moments without words, so you can see expressions of beauty visually, and the other is only words, so I find that I need to articulate and describe the feelings and ideas behind the writing more exaggeratedly,” she stated.  

Some of Bellamy’s favorite poets are Atticus, Rupi Kaur, R.H. Sin, and Justin Wetch because their work has a level of depth and complexity while still being digestible for the public. 

“I find poetry is more challenging to me, but ultimately the reward is unmatched. When I can capture an emotion with words, I feel as if I am bringing another level of complexity to the emotion. Often I write to understand and break down my thoughts, and I find it very helpful to me when I am in a challenging situation,” Bellamy continued.

Bellamy’s poetry and photography is not only influenced by her natural surroundings, but is also used as a method of processing her own emotions and experiences. 

“I feel things so incredibly deeply that I feel as if I didn’t have an outlet I may self combust. I love so fiercely and if I’m not careful I can be consumed and destroyed by it, so I find peace in understanding and analyzing my feelings by compressing them into coherent thoughts. I feel as if the human experience is unique to each, but overall we endure the same experiences: love, loss, heartbreak and happiness. To feel these things is intense and beautiful, so I feel if I can capture this condition in words and photos, I may be able to better live through them,” Bellamy explained.  

As an artist, Bellamy is not so much concerned with reaching a large audience or gaining recognition, but instead creates for her own well-being and to hopefully relate to even just one person experiencing something similar. 

“When my work gets recognized, it certainly does make me smile, but there have been so many unfinished poems and blurry photos that I have never shown another person, yet I have the same appreciation for those pieces as I do for my finished and published pieces,” said Bellamy. 

Bellamy is an advocate of self-expression through art, regardless of skill level. In the past, she has been deterred from sketching, photography and writing because she didn’t think she was good enough, but found freedom in letting go of this self-doubt and exploring these artistic mediums.  

“If the process makes you happy, the end result should have no effect on how you view the work. Enjoy the creative process, it just might reveal some things to you,” she said. 

Follow Jaden Bellamy on Instagram @bellamyjaden to see more of her work.

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