Brianna Thaxton

Artist Brianna Thaxton's work as a pyrographer delves into allegorical themes, offering a unique perspective on storytelling through the medium of Pyrography (free hand wood burning).


Can you tell us about yourself?

I am Brianna Thaxton and I love horses. Surprise! I am also a farmer. Part time that is.

Yes I am an artist but when I’m not working as an artist I am employed at the family business, Nature Jim’s Sprouts, where I am the assistant warehouse manager. We grow sprouts! Hydroponically to boot. Pretty random, I know, but it’s meditative, fun, and I get a lot of brainstorming for artworks done there. I love percussion and reading books. I have a metal allergy so I don’t wear jewelry often, but I do enjoy making it. I’m married and we are celebrating our 10th anniversary this year which weirds me out. How time flies!
My husband and I have zero human children. Instead we have a plethora of fur and scale babies. From a rabbit and cat to geckos, tarantulas and poison dart frogs. My husband and I love that our marriage is multicultural. Through both our mothers. My heritage hails from Sweden second generation while his comes from Costa Rica first generation. No, we don’t speak Spanish or Swedish but someday we will learn both and it will be awesome!

When did your artistic journey begin?

I was a self taught artist as a child. I have been drawing since before I can remember. I taught myself shape, form, and shading. It was in High School that I decided to pursue a fine art education to make my skill feel like it was worth something and not just being wasted frivolously and to also claim the title of Artist that was bestowed prematurely on me by family and randos. I received my Associates degree from Snow College in Ephraim, Utah where I began my foundation courses and fell in love with art in a way I never thought possible. In my youth I couldn’t think beyond graphite and colored pencils. Acrylics were something only moms used and oils were something only grandmas used.
At Snow I learned to embrace creativity at its core which opened the door to so many possibilities. Specifically printmaking. I loved printmaking so much that when I transferred to the University of Utah and had to pick my major, I was torn between majoring in printmaking or in painting and drawing. I ended up going with painting and drawing. I figured I might as well finish what I started, ya know? Now I am a mixed media artist developing a body of work that represents the life and growth of the soul.


What are some of your long and short term goals for yourself or your art?

One short term goal I have is to complete a piece for this year's Utah State Fair. Only for the sole purpose of submitting a work alongside my colleague and great friend who is also an accomplished artist. My second short term goal is short term because I will achieve it this year, though it has taken over a decade to get to this point. I went to see Alice Cooper’s stage show 10x. I first saw his show back in 2011 right here in Salt Lake at the Usana Amphitheater. He is coming back to the same venue this fall and it will be The 10th Show for me. Rock on!
A long term goal I have is to visit all 50 states in the US. I want to see this country in its entirety and see how all we Americans live and spend our days. I’m nearly half way, 27 more to go. With that goal I’d also love to see every county in the state of Utah. I grew up here after all. I’d like to truly know my home state with all its gorgeous geography and vistas.

Do you use any tricks for dealing with distraction and procrastination?

Nope. Just true grit and self discipline. No one else can do the work but me and if I want my life to change and to be able to manifest my dreams I need to work consistently and open every door or window I can. Buuuut I’m not perfect and I do get distracted and still procrastinate. When that happens I take a nap and start again the next day.

Did you have any stops and starts in your painting career?

Oh yes. I had a set habit of drawing daily my whole life up until 2014 after graduating from the University of Utah with my Bachelor degree in Fine Art. After graduation I stopped creating for a few years. The burnout from school and the emotional turmoil I experienced from some professors telling us students we were wasting our time and would never amount to anything and so on, caused a hole in my chest to form and my mind just went blank. The thought of my literal life’s work amounting to nothing was crushing. It was rough getting my inspiration back and the drive to “put pen to paper” if you will. Once I did, I definitely hiccuped along the way and stumbled for a few more years. 

In 2019 I challenged myself to take each month out of the year and focus on a different medium. I allowed myself to make anything I wanted during the year. The only rule was to keep to the month’s assigned medium. This activity helped my mind reset and clear some of the brain fog. 2020 was a blessing in disguise. The pandemic lock down gave the gift of extra free time and zero obligations to anyone else. I was free again to create when and where and as much as I felt like doing. I haven’t stopped since. I no longer have a daily drawing habit but that doesn’t scare me. I have ideas that I work toward getting out of my head and when they are out I start thinking of more ideas and I just keep that flow going.

What inspires you?

Human relations. From family bonds to the social intercourse of complete strangers. Right now, the familiar engagements are at the forefront of my mind. Reminiscing about childhood, all the positives and negatives, help fuel the stories within my work. Music also inspires me. My current body of work centers on self therapy and inner well being. Lyrics that I’m drawn to get me to self reflect. Even the mushy love ballads. They also provide new ways of illustrating symbols in order to represent what is going on inside me. The best part though, is the silliness of some of the musicians.

Take Alice Cooper for example. At first glance his work comes across as shocking and crazy. Which it is. With a closer look, humor abounds and actually defeats the “demons” he sings about. That’s what I need and that’s what I want my art to do. Not so much to be silly, maybe sometimes, but to defeat the demons that threaten peace, hope and love.

What motivates you to create?

Honestly? Negative Nancys. I abhor when the jealousy of others causes them to speak unkindly about my work. Yet at the same time it fuels a need to prove them wrong. It always ends up boiling down to me proving to myself that I am capable of turning my art into a business that can thrive. Or the disbelief of others that what I’m working toward is actually important. Maybe not to them, but it is to me and that’s enough. Sure my pursuit of art can be labeled as selfish, but I know that it heals me every day I work toward my goals and that fact helps me help others and that is selfless. Also, anytime my peace or safety is threatened I work harder. If I can accomplish this artistic task, then I am powerful enough to guard my own and defend it too.

Innocence

What is your dream project?

I would adore to create a series of life size unicorns. Would that not be amazing? A symbolic representation of your soul, full of strength and courage, that is bigger than your whole body?!
It will happen.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve received as an artist?

A close friend of mine once told me, “the worst they can say is no,” so just apply to that event and come what may. Gina Devee in her book, The Audacity to be Queen, talked about the power of AND, never OR. For example: I can burn wood AND airbrush on the same piece. It’s ok. I can go to Stockholm AND Kalmar on the same trip to Sweden. It’s ok. When at a diner I can order a hot chocolate AND an orange juice for my meal. It’s ok! Basically she is saying, just do you and have the audacity to be queen.


How do you overcome creative blocks?

I sleep on it. It's ok to not create every single day. If I wake up still feeling befuddled then I ask a trusted art buddy to give their two cents. If, after that, I still feel at a loss, then I just start making whatever and see what comes of it.
Sometimes raw inspiration is juicier than over-thinking one theme.

How do you balance your personal life and your art practice?

I use a planner and I work on my priorities and setting personal boundaries both with other people but also with myself. When there are no boundaries it becomes very easy to say, “I’ll do it later” or “it’s not that important after all” and I find my spare time gets eaten up real fast because I was people pleasing or sitting on too many fences. Prioritizing my own being and goals is the key that opened my mind to finding balance in my life.

What are you struggling with right now?

The fear of success. I have a plan written down but I know if it works out the way I hope it will, I will be working more and even harder than I am now. Also with success comes more opposition. I’m not worried about negative critiques but I am worried about navigating the event of an unhappy colleague or client. That worry turns into the fear of failure. Which tells me the root of my struggle is my own self esteem and personal boundaries that, once set, need constant maintenance and diligent defending. Which, combined with opposition often leads to contention and simply overwhelms me. All I want is for my art to give a sense of validation and/or peace for the viewer. I know ultimately I have zero control over what other people think and feel and their response to my work is entirely up to the individual, so I also struggle with swallowing that pill and letting bygones be bygones. I have to just create what is for me and others who like it, will, while others who don’t like it, won't.

Chateau d’Orquevaux in Champagne-Ardenne, France                

What experiences have you had with social media?

I have found several opportunities to show my art from galleries and competitions to markets and fairs through social media. The best opportunity by far would be the incredible Artist and Writers Residency I found on Instagram. I thought on it for about a month and discussed everything with my husband before I dared to apply. Then I applied, because the worst they could say is no, right? They totally said yes. I freaked out and I began making the payments to cover studio space, meals, room and board and never once stopped worrying if it were a scam. I still didn’t believe it was real until I was standing on the property of Chateau d’Orquevaux in Champagne-Ardenne, France. I worked for four weeks in an open studio environment. I knew I would make unicorns but I had no idea how they would turn out or what stories they would tell. In total I made twelve pieces depicting unicorns in various environments. Each one represents me and my art journey. I met many fabulous people from around the world and learned so much from each of them. Their example showed me that they each have such big dreams and they each want to achieve these dreams and every one of them got out of bed and put in the work that led them to France. Witnessing this was simply beautiful. This residency taught me about myself and my art practice and how to set higher goals and even what those goals could be. All thanks to an algorithm.

What is the biggest challenge of being an artist?

Knowing if what I am doing, what I am working toward, is really worth it. After all, art doesn’t feed anyone. It doesn’t clothe anyone. Shouldn’t I spend my time working on something that will benefit people in a more stable and concrete way? Like keeping a roof over their heads? My reality check is to remind myself that my art is exactly that: mine. My work helps clothe me, it’s going to someday feed me and it will keep the roof over my head. Yes I make art to sell to other people and that’s the second reality check. My work will feed their soul, keep their heart warm and hopefully encourage a clear mind so they can work on their own self-reliance goals.

What are you currently working on?

I am currently working on a series of four pieces that will illustrate the hardship of death and loss, both within me and within my family. Acknowledging death and loss is one of many steps to healing the soul. As it has been said, art is therapy; therapy first and foremost for the artist.


Learn more about Brianna




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