Realizing we all wanted tattoos after watching Mike Folden’s mini-documentary on Bryan Kachel, we knew Bryan would be an amazing speaker for our INK theme. Tickets for Bryan’s talk are available Monday, March 2! Be sure to grab ‘em while they’re hot!
How do you define creativity and apply it in your career?
BK: In tattooing and Art in general, Creativity is thinking outside the norm. Stepping beyond the expected and finding elegant and original solutions to the myriad of considerations and constraints a client might bring to the process. In tattooing the creative risks are rarely, if ever, done on the skin; it’s in all the behind the scenes time working out compositions that meet (or hopefully exceed) your client’s expectations. The only way to apply creativity is through [doing] the work: putting the time in to make all the technical aspects of your medium second nature, so when inspiration comes, your mind is free of obligation to the mundane and can explore the inspiration as it comes.
Where do you find your best creative inspiration?
BK: I am the most inspired by people that take their craft seriously. Take the time and energy to do your best. Every time. That’s inspirational! But, artistic inspiration I mostly find in nature. Its unsurpassable.
What’s the one creative advice or tip you wish you’d known as a young person?
BK: If you look at an acrobat, or ballerina that is preforming well, it looks effortless. It took so much practice and struggles to make that performance effortless. I wish I would have realized that everything worth being good at takes work. I wish I would have know that even in those moments when I felt I wasn’t growing or progressing as fast as I would have liked, to keep trying. The time you put in when its hard, that’s what’s really teaching you something. If it’s not hard, you’re probably not growing.
Who would you like to hear speak at CreativeMornings?
BK: Mike Folden! Not only does he have a ton of awesome insights, he’ll make you laugh while he tells them to you!
When you get stuck creatively, what is the first thing you do to get unstuck?
My routine when I get home from work: I put my two amazing kids to bed; talk with my wonderful wife about our days; then, rain or shine, inspiration or not, I draw. I draw till I’m too tired to draw any more and I go to bed.
I guess what I’m trying to say with that is, have a routine that doesn’t allow for “writers block”. Create! No matter what. Even when your stuck. Do it anyway.
What has been one of your biggest Aha! moments in life?
BK: I did a vision quest a number of years ago. There was lots of preparation. One of the things I prepared was to have questions that I wanted answered and expect clarity. I was young and like most people, I longed to know my place. I wanted to know that I was fulfilling my purpose. So one of the questions that I had was “Who am I?” The answer that I received was, “You are whoever you choose to be in this moment.” I try to never forget that. We define ourselves through our actions. Make those actions the acts of the type of person you want to be and you will be the person you’ve always wanted to be. Right now!
