We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Brooke Fischer a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Brooke, 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?
I knew from a very young age that I loved art. I was discouraged by an art teacher when I was in elementary school. Looking back now, all of these years later I don’t remember what she said to me exactly, just that she took the wind out of my sails and I gave up on art for a long time thinking I wasn’t good at it. It wasn’t until high school when I was looking for a class my senior year and the only class that fit my schedule was an art class that had prerequisite art classes. My counselor told me to go and talk to the teacher to see if he was open to having me join the class. He asked me to do a sample drawing and when I returned with it the next morning he looked up at me said this is wonderful and I would be happy to have you join my class. Words matter. What teachers say and do can change a students life. My confidence was restored and it has been my journey ever since. I love dutch master artists and have had a deep passion for botanical images since the age of 10. This love has always been at the heart of all of my work.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
I am a graphic designer, fine art painter, women’s rights advocate, protector of bees and monarch butterflies, but my most important job is being the Mom to my precocious 10-year-old daughter. My paintings typically celebrate a single plant specimen and I usually include an insect of some kind. I want the viewer to really see and appreciate these small but beautiful forces of nature and really examine the beauty of the microscopic world. I think that when we look closely at something and truly appreciate the details it opens up a whole new perspective. In 2016 I created “Let Equality Bloom” poster art for the Women’s March. Let Equality Bloom is now officially an historic document in the Library of Congress as apart of Amplifier Art’s collection of works from this event of Posters For The March. “She” has taken on a life of her own and traveled around the world carrying with her my message of equality and I am SO PROUD of that!
As with all things in life, unexpected turns happen. My husband asked me to paint flowers on his guitar which became the inspiration for a new single for his band Lazlo Bane (known for the Scrubs tv show theme song “I’m No Superman”). The single is called “Like A Flower” and from that guitar I’ve had many request which have now turned in to a series of painted guitars. One of which is for Colin Hay of Men At Work soon to be completed. It’s been really fun to find a new canvas for my work and I am super inspired to do more as art and music have always gone hand in hand in my life it feels like the right track.
I am also always advocating for protecting honey bees and monarch butterflies and their declining populations due to climate change. This summer I have so far raised 37 chrysalis that are days away from becoming emerging Monarch butterflies. I have been doing this for a few years now and have learned so much about how much effort it takes for nature to create these tiny miracles. My fascination with metamorphosis will keep playing a huge roll in my work. As artists, we have the unique opportunity to help bring attention to these important causes. I also donate a lot of my time to create artwork and materials for our local schools and help with their events. I am happy to volunteer my time to help our wonderful local community and schools.
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?
I would say first of all try to make a career out of the thing that you love to do most. I am a totally self taught graphic designer in spite of going to school and studying visual communications. In the early 90’s computer graphics were just taking off and my school had not caught up to that curve so I bought myself a computer and taught myself everything, Photoshop, Illustrator and QuarkXpress. This lead me to a long career working at ad agencies. I would say to people starting off don’t let anything stand in your way, obstacles will come at you and you have to find a way to overcome them. We have technology at our fingertips every second of the day now. There are so many things we can learn online to grow and enhance ourselves and add to our repertoire of skills. I would also say that as an artist it is important to look for inspiration everywhere. In life, love, nature, other artists etc. Keep filling your cup of inspiration and it will pour over into your work.
What is the number one obstacle or challenge you are currently facing and what are you doing to try to resolve or overcome this challenge?
Let’s start off by saying I am a huge over-thinker. I think one of my biggest challenges is trying to quiet the noise, the noise of my daily life, the noise of the world, the crazy political climate, the actual climate, the internal self criticism that rears it’s ugly head from time to time. Over-thinking and not allowing myself to focus is one of my biggest challenges. I would love to truly conquer this someday, but I also recognize that the noise that is nagging me in my head can become the work. Certainly the noise of politics has been manifested in my work. When we have deep feelings about issues that face us and humanity and all life on this planet the greatest gift you have as an artist is turning that feeling into a visual and then send your message out into the world. Giving it a voice to use to educate people. Equality, freedom, democracy, love, life, live and let live. There is so much negativity in the world that I want to combat with positive messaging. I think when I can focus on it helps me find my focus knowing that what you’re creating has meaning and hopefully will speak to people.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.brookefischer.com
- Instagram: @brookefischerart
Image Credits
All images created by Brooke Fischer.
