Today we’d like to introduce you to Jeffrey DeCristofaro.
Hi Jeffrey, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I was born in Tennessee on August 31st, 1985, currently living in Asheville, North Carolina, and my life to say the least has been busy from an early age.
Formerly homeschooled, with the exception of a few dual-enrollment courses at Asheville-Buncombe Technical Institute and one 5-week Student Summer Filmmaking course at NC-School of the Arts in 2003 (where I wrote and directed my first short film at age 17 while rotating cast and crew positions for other students’ shorts), I later enrolled at the University of North Carolina-Asheville and eventually graduated with both BA (Literature) and MLA degrees.
At present I work part-time at Centering On Children, a 501c3 non-profit that designs, manufactures and packages Shoebox Tasks ® for children on the Autism Spectrum ages 5 and up. As one diagnosed with Autism With Preserved Intellect – signs which first appeared at age 5 in 1990 along with other disabilities including hypothyroidism – I didn’t even know until I had a professional diagnosis at age 28, and while there were many prior advances in autism research, I regret that there wasn’t anything like Shoebox Tasks to help me much earlier in my childhood.
But from a very early age I was also involved in many activities – many tied to my growing interests in arts and science. While living for a brief period near Charleston in South Carolina, during which I became homeschooled starting in the 5th grade due to my Autism, I also took dancing classes held by the Robert Ivey Ballet, acting classes in Children’s Theater – with a few plays performed at the Dock Street Theater – junior cooking classes at Johnson & Wales, and visual arts classes at Gibbes Art Museum. During my undergrad and post-graduate years, I became involved in the regional arts scene both within and outside the UNC-Asheville campus, including but not limited to:
– Singing for several choirs including the Asheville Symphony Chorus.
– Stage acting including open readings for the Autumn Players troupe downtown
– The 48Hr. Film Project, several years for which I was a team leader as writer-director-producer on several shorts and acting in others.
– Bit work as a crew member and/or extra/supporting player in shorts, low-budget features and music videos.
– Modeling for local designers, most recently for En Vogue AVL.
– Photography and a few poems published in regional magazines and websites including Mountain Xpress. At present I have been internationally published as a photographer, with work featured in Artego, GENZO, GMARO and others.
In addition to my artistic achievements, I have also done volunteer work for various events, movements, non-profits and organizations including Manna Food Bank, Our VOICE, Rotarians Against Hunger, Indivisible AVL, Sunrise Movement AVL, American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, etc.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Most of my struggles in life have to do with my health, although there were others that had to do with traveling and financial limitations. My physical handicaps/disabilities, most especially Autism and Hypothyroidism, held me back in a lot of areas, particularly social interactions, during which I usually had to be accompanied and/or aided by my parents in certain things like childhood activities, homework.
With a language processing disorder, it was difficult for me to learn in regular public school settings and pick up on social cues, hence the reasons for my having to be homeschooled, and later taking dual-enrollment courses at AB-Tech – namely Student Study Skills and Public Speaking – to prepare for college.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I’ve dabbled in many arts over the years, although so far my biggest success has been in visual arts. I like working on both sides of the camera in photography and filmmaking – it’s an enriching, enlightening process that has allowed me to explore and discover many subjects, venues and individuals with specific skill sets – some suffering serious setbacks and handicaps along the same lines as myself – and learning not to be defined by my limitations, but rather the unique talents and degree of perseverance that have kept me going while making contributions of my own to society.
In terms of the arts, I have an eye for composition, capturing each shot I take like a painting. My main focus in photography is people, wildlife, and landscapes, each category with its own subtopics that gives me chances to expand my horizons and experiment with the medium. While I’m always happy when my work is published, I’m especially ecstatic when I get the chance to work with others on projects in the field that I follow.
Do you have any advice for those just starting out?
First start with the things that you enjoy most – or which at the very least you can relate to more than anything else, regardless of how it may contradict with the mainstream – then, after you have gone as far as you could in your chief interests, begin to venture outside your usual comfort zone and look for loose connections to your main interests – places, people, subjects, ideas, etc. – that assist in the expansion of your perceptions of life and refinement of your craft. And above all, don’t just use your work to promote yourself, but to support one or more causes within and outside the arts.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @jeffrey_decristofaro_official
