We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Clayton Ballard a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Clayton thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.
The first big risk was jumping on a Chicago train and landing in Los Angeles. I was miles from home, alone and scared. My spaceship crashed on an alien planet and the aliens looked mean. But soon, new friendships formed, doors opened and opportunities presented themselves. The experience taught me to take chances and the rest will usually work itself out.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
My artistic career began as lead singer of the Los Angeles based rock band Jerel. The music and our theatrical performances eventually grabbed the attention of the album producer Jack Endino, so to Seattle we went to record. While there I graduated from the University of Washington with a degree in painting and drawing. That’s when I began painting murals at restaurants, bars and on college campuses. Viewers started commissioning me to paint family portraits, landscapes and the occasional peacock spider. I also used my music timing and stage experience to work on standup comedy. From there I was noticed by a show producer working for ESPN. He asked if I’d like to be the Public Announcer for the Seattle Kraken Expansion Draft. From that live televised gig I was offered other voice over work for various commercials and podcasts. During the pandemic I launched a virtual tour through Airbnb where I dressed as a New York detective from the 1970’s and had viewers track down criminals in real time. It was a live interactive performance that included props, sound effects and green-screen backdrops.
There’s no way to predict how the future will play out. The key is to be aware of the present moment and grab opportunities as they come.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
My fourth grade music teacher told me I couldn’t sing so I became a professional singer. A painting professor told me I couldn’t paint so I became a commercial muralist. A critic told me I couldn’t write so I published multiple books.
Take those rejections and failures and make yourself stronger.
Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.
There’s one paved road through the jungle and most people are on it. Sometimes there’s a creative who pulls out a machete and starts cutting their own path. Those on the main trail scratch their heads and scoff at the creative. “What are they doing? This path is paved. It’s easier. It’s predictable.” But that’s precisely the problem. Low risk equals low reward.
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