We were lucky to catch up with Blake Brodhead recently and have shared our conversation below.
Blake , so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?
In my opinion, the purpose for our life is unique to each of us and is individually designed based on our inner most motivations and aspirations. The purpose for my life has consistently been offered to me through signs, hints or whispers but I’ve come to understand it through thought and experience. What I’ve found is that the purpose for my life is to create and express through art and community.
Art as a purpose for me was birthed as I grew up on a cattle and crop farm in South Louisiana. My home was a rural piece of America with sweltering summers, dark muddy waters, and trees that grow tall and strong but still have enough humility to droop their branches to touch the ground. I can still clearly remember the day when I sat on my grandfather’s tractor and looked out at a scene full of billowy clouds. That day the sky grabbed my attention and seemed to communicate to me. The still and quiet of nature built my strong skill of observation.
Community as a purpose for me was also created out of the place in the world that I grew up. My hometown of Lafayette and my inherited hometown of New Orleans are both cultural hubs of the United States where community is a way of life. A deep passion for life oozes out of the streets and dancehalls, in the different languages and the songs celebrating every aspect of our experience. This is evident by the over four hundred festivals throughout Louisiana.
I have melded the two, art and community, through paintings, wood carvings, murals, a podcast, through being on the board of directors of an organization, serving and volunteering throughout the community, and simply being a humble person willing to stop to talk with anyone on the street. Life exists not for our benefit but for our participation and cooperation.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
Life drops blessings around every corner. We just have to stay attentive to their subtleties to recognize how life is really a miracle. I’ve been blessed with a deep imagination, a selective photographic memory, and a voice that tells me what to keep or discard. I’m constantly grateful for my perspective, my attitude, my beliefs and my faith.
The greatest asset of my home, and the surrounding areas, is the vast richness of culture. Culture can be defined as the practices, beliefs, behaviors and meaning of a given social group. Culture flows out of the deep sense of community from my hometown of Lafayette and oozes out of the streets of New Orleans.
My visual art business and the art brand that I’m building is a purposeful creation that was one of those whispers that kept buzzing in my ear for years. I knew upon graduating college in studio arts that I didn’t want to take the path of being a gallery artist because I’m not interested in trying to appease the taste of the art world to dictate if I’m a success. In order to make a living as a professional artist, the work must be fresh and unique yet communicate well. I’ve been selling my art at markets since 2016 but it wasn’t until the pandemic that I took it seriously to go full-time. This is when I got married and also our son was born.
The two major themes that my work focuses on are Culture and Nature. To me, these are the two largest aspects of life that create inspiration, awe and connection. The two main mediums I work in are mixed-media paintings and wood carvings. I start with the basic raw materials and shape them into a unique piece. The three parts of my approach to the work and how I operate my business is through innovation, boldness and simplicity. In the last few years I’ve started new mediums like wood carving which is very successful for me. The voice was calling me for six months to a year to try carving and it took off immediately. Always listen to that voice that urges you to try something new.
The art business isn’t the only thing I want to pursue in my career. As a mid-career artist, I really haven’t found my voice as an artist yet. That is a downfall of selling at markets, is that the work isn’t always a self expression. It could just have the right aesthetics for the right location. The way that I gain fulfillment through my art is by engaging in a multitude of processes instead of through a concept or story. But I’m ready to venture out as a solo artist perhaps in the gallery system. I’m currently applying for an art grant from my local art center. The grant is for new work to be created that moves a solo artists’ career forward. My project is a bridge between the work I currently create and my next goal as an artist.
The project I’m applying for is to grab with one hand what I currently create and build upon it hopefully into the next stage. I’m taking The Primary Alligator from a 2D form into a large movable public art sculpture that will be created for street performances in parades and festivals. An aspect of the grant that I’m excited about is the incorporation of professional development and entrepreneurial education. Things are really happening for me now and I plan to strike while the iron is hot.
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?
The three qualities that I’ve used to move along the path to better skill, knowledge and understanding are curiosity, intentionality, and perseverance.
Life will never be interesting or fulfilling without curiosity. Curiosity is the basis, the platform for what everything you hope for will come into sight. Cast a large net and you will always catch something. Always keep your eyes on the prize, the immediate steps ahead, and even the pathway itself. Lastly, never give up even when the steps become small because you will get the finish if you don’t. Also, vision is extremely important because if you can see what you want to accomplish, it will eventually happen.
As we end our chat, is there a book you can leave people with that’s been meaningful to you and your development?
The Creative Act: A Way of Being
Author: Rick Rubin
This very inspirational book is formatted like an ongoing poem that fuels the imagination with a philosophical approach. I’ve noticed since its release a couple years ago, there’s been plenty of negative criticism on it because it seems many people think it should be how to be creative but it’s quite abstract and allows for the imagination to wonder.
“Creativity is a fundamental aspect of being human. It’s our birthright. And it’s for all of us.”
“How do we pick up on a signal that can neither be heard nor be defined? The answer is not to look for it. Nor do we attempt to predict or analyze our way into it. Instead, we create an open space that allows it. A space so free of the normal overpacked condition of our minds that it functions as a vacuum. Drawing down the ideas that the universe is making available.”
“Art is a circulation of energetic ideas. What makes them appear new is that they’re combining differently each time they come back.”
“The imagination has no limits. The physical world does. The work exists in both”
“No matter what tools you use to create, the true instrument is you, the universe that surrounds us all comes into focus.”
“Without the spiritual component, the artist works with a crucial disadvantage. The spiritual world provides a sense of wonder and a degree of open-mindedness not always found within the confines of science. The world of reason can be narrow and filled with dead ends, while a spiritual viewpoint is limitless and invites fantastic possibilities. The unseen world is boundless.”
“Living life as an artist is a practice. You are either engaging in the practice or you’re not. It makes no sense to say you’re not good at it. It’s like saying, “I’m not good at being a monk.” You are either living as a monk or you’re not. We tend to think of the artist’s work as the output. The real work of the artist is a way of being in the world.”
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.primary-artworks.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/primary_artworks/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/blake.brodhead/
Image Credits
N/A
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