Meet Madison Gondreau

We recently connected with Madison Gondreau and have shared our conversation below.

Madison, thank you so much for joining us and offering your lessons and wisdom for our readers. One of the things we most admire about you is your generosity and so we’d love if you could talk to us about where you think your generosity comes from.

My generosity comes from my family. I was taught growing up that you should always leave a place better than you found it, and to always uplift those who need extra support. Regardless of who you are or where you come from, we all need each other. I try to always give more than I get and create a more positive environment whenever I can.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

My professional career is currently in renewable energy, particularly solar energy. The company I work for creates commercial solar fields that connects to the grid to power towns and cities. We do more than just solar, such as wind and power storage via batteries. I am most excited about new developments in green energy technology. Solar is not the perfect solution to our ever growing need for energy, but it’s a step in the right direction. My job allows me to afford my art practice and have a life that allows me to do things I never thought possible. We work hard so we can play hard, and I love it!

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

The three most important skills/ knowledge bases that impacted my journey are resilience, constant learning, and patience. These skills are things I still use and try to improve on a daily basis.

Resilience to me is remaining strong and pursuant of what I want, even when times are tough or people don’t believe in my vision. This goes in hand with patience.

Patience is something I always struggle with but am learning to take in stride. I have to always remind myself that things take time and I just need to take a deep breath. Time will work out whatever is going to happen, good or bad.

Lastly, constant learning. This is a key to the previous items I mentioned, and is crucial to anyone who wants to have a fulfilled life. Never stop being open to new ideas and opportunities. Keep pushing forward to learn as much as you can. I wouldn’t be where I am if I didn’t say “sure why not, I’ll give it a try”. Keep trying, keep learning. You’ll thank yourself down the road.

Do you think it’s better to go all in on our strengths or to try to be more well-rounded by investing effort on improving areas you aren’t as strong in?

I think it’s best to hone your skills but be able to flex and do other things. I strongly believe that people are only truly the most successful when they can be flexible and open to learning. If we stay stuck in one thing and never move out of our comfort zones, no positive change can happen. Its extremely limiting to only have one skill or one strong suit.

I learned this the hard way in college. I thought I was going to be a painter and just get away with doing as little as possible. That didn’t work. My teachers and professors pushed me to work outside my comfort zones and try new things, keep going down my sculpture paths, which lead to me falling back in love with clay. I still laugh at myself for even attempting to abandon ceramics, when so many options were available to try along side painting. We only have one life, might as well try everything!

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @mgonmakes

Image Credits

Alex Burgess
Mike Ross Portraits
Madison Gondreau (Artist)