Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Daniel Jacobs. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Daniel, really happy you were able to join us today and we’re looking forward to sharing your story and insights with our readers. Let’s start with the heart of it all – purpose. How did you find your purpose?
After moving back to the U.S. from Australia when I was very young, I ended up growing up with my mother’s side of the extended family which was originally from South Carolina. For a long time I grew up in the deep woods of Jamestown in a small riverside house with my Nana, Papa, my mother, and father. The forest and river just outside the house, my great grandmother’s house and the other houses that belonged to parts of my extended family just down the rugged dirt road, the vast forestry that surrounded us, all of it was what I considered home. Nature was a part of my life and whenever I would step outside the door it was there, like a close childhood friend. In time we would end up moving away to make room for my brother and sister who had come along but we would still visit the riverside house often. But as time went on, things began to change. Sadly, my great grandmother had been diagnosed with dementia and a feud would begin to stir between parts of my extended family over the inheritance of the land I grew up on. After the passing of my great grandmother the thread that held my mother’s side of the extended family together, those I knew and loved, had snapped.
Part by part the land I called home was split up, my Nana’s house sold off, and all of it was lost. I would have no ability to return there and relive the memories I was so fond of. However, the memories I had were still with me and after my discovery of Norse Folk Music such as the band “Wardruna” I was able to find my way back to the woods and to my Nana and Papa’s house when I missed it most. This Music and video games with nature and Nordic themes such as “The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim” set me on a new path that would lead me to discovering the Norse and their ties to nature. I found all of it to be truly captivating. I had been an artist since I was young but it wasn’t until I discovered these things that I felt a roaring fire grow inside of me. I had to find inspiration in them and I had to do so through my art. Oddly enough, it wasn’t until after I had discovered the Norse that I found out my mother’s side of the extended family had come from Sweden and Germany, and my father’s side from Ireland to Australia which were tied to these ancient cultures. I felt as though I had to give back for the gift of this music like “Wardruna” and the games like “Skyrim” that so many times allowed me to escape and relish in memory. I had found my purpose, to represent and respect my ancestry, and to display their admiration of nature through my artwork. Now, I truly believe fate has brought me where I am and I don’t intend to stop creating soon. And I hope that I can give others the same feelings as my home within the woods once did for me through my art.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
Art has always been a huge part of my life. In fact, my Nana and my mother were artists since I was young and are still huge inspirations to me as they started me down that path. To me, art is about telling stories. Whether representational or abstracted, art shares a part of us as people in this world and always captures a fragment of each of our pasts. Within my artwork, I hope to not only share my own story but to also retell stories of those who are considered ancient today. I have a great interest in the Norse, Norse polytheism, ancient Anglo Saxon polytheism, and Germanic polytheism, their connections, and their perceptions of nature. Their high regard for nature is something I aim to represent within my own artworks. I enjoy representing this on large scales and hiding details that allow viewers to discover new things each time they look. My artwork is about providing a sense of something legendary, something that could be considered epic, or sacred. I want my artwork to echo stories of the past and to shed new light on them. I aim to provide means for new inspirations to take root and to create a higher sense of respect for nature and this world through the sagas of Norse and Germanic legends.
You can read more about me in the September 2023 issue of Charleston Magazine where I discuss more about myself and my background before my eventual art exhibit for the Under The Radar exhibition that was held at the Redux Contemporary Art center on September 22, 2023.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
When I look back, it was learning to accept change but also using that change as a means to develop my own inspirations that had been most impactful. Sometimes there are things in life that are outside of our own hands. Although such changes can feel rather devastating depending on the circumstance, my advice is to take the time that you need for yourself to recover. I for one believe that nature itself is one of the many paths that will aid you with open arms during these recovery times. If one learns to respect nature, as well accept the nature of this world, one can find comfort in such phenomena as something being out of your control. Then, use your past to fuel your own fire, and use that fire to light a torch that will brighten the way for ancestors to stand beside you proudly.
We’ve all got limited resources, time, energy, focus etc – so if you had to choose between going all in on your strengths or working on areas where you aren’t as strong, what would you choose?
I believe that it is always better to branch out and test yourself within areas you do not think yourself to be strong in. By doing this it can allow for the discovery of something that you never knew you would be able to accomplish. But that also doesn’t mean that you need to fully accomplish something every time you test yourself in a new area. There will be failures but such failures will help lead you to new heights and to discover interests and possible disinterests. But without first opening yourself to new things these discoveries may stay hidden from you. For example, during college it was my own mission to extend myself in the field of art to learn any and all mediums I could. Some mediums I learned to like more than others, and some such as pen and ink became my go to.
Something I would also like to add is that you have to “want it”. Sometimes it takes time for things to come to you but once it does you have to do everything within your power to keep it within reach. Don’t let it go and work as hard as you can to bring yourself to the point of reaching your own goals. Yes, there will be obstacles that our world sometimes provides but don’t let those obstacles halt the progress that you believe in. And although there are times when you need to give yourself a moment to recover from such obstacles, always return to the path you had tread on before. You may never know what you will find. Life has a way of providing things to you if you just keep yourself wandering the threaded path.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.danieljacobsart.com/
- Instagram: @danieljacobsartist
