We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Angelika Brewer. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Angelika below.

Angelika, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What do you think Corporate America gets wrong in your industry?

Creativity is one of the most valuable skills we have as humans. Without it, art, music, architecture, math, science, literature, film — nearly every modern advancement we know, ceases to exist. New ideas do not happen without creativity. Without new ideas, we never grow and develop as a society. Corporate America, the public school system, the workforce — they all have strict methods for halting creativity.

There was a creativity test developed for NASA intended to measure the creative potential of rocket scientists and engineers. It was an effective measurement for NASA, but it sparked questions about creativity in humans. The test was then administered to children, ages 4-5, and the results showed that 98% of those children scored “creative genius.” This inspired a longitudinal study. They tested them again at 10 years old. The results showed the number of creative genius scores reduced to 30%. They tested again at 15 years old: 12%. Then as adults: only 2%. A drop from 98% to 2% is more than drastic and these results have been replicated over and over. We “train” children for the world. We use instruction and testing and I truly believe that is one of our greatest downfalls. I visited an elementary school once for a poetry reading and workshop. When I arrived, the students were learning about “expertise.” Their teacher used this as an attention grabber to regain focus before the workshop. She asked them what an expert was and then followed with, “What are you an expert in?” One child raised his hand and excitedly said, “Using my imagination!” He was exactly right. We are experts in creativity until we are taught not to be.

Angelika, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I spent my earliest childhood years creating and learning. I loved to draw, write, read, build — I always said I wanted to be an artist and an author when I grew up. I didn’t really have the answers to the questions I was asked about specifics. I didn’t know what kind of artist or author, I just knew I had ideas worth exploring. I was a first hand example of being taught to halt your creativity. I was told by teachers and people of authority to be more realistic and to remember that with those goals, there is no money to be made. My mom and my grandma always encouraged me to ignore what they said and to trust myself, sometimes to their own shock. I was shy-to-the-bone and chronically embarrassed, until my pre-teen years. I was dealing with some stressful and traumatic situations and I didn’t know how to handle that. I rebelled. I started getting myself in trouble. Lots of it. All of those aspirations I had to change the world started minimizing themselves and I went into survival mode. It stayed this way through my teen years. I stopped going to school, I struggled with mental health issues and substance abuse problems, and I saw no out. I found solace in creating, particularly writing. I wrote constantly. When I finally returned to school, I had an English teacher named Cassie Cox. I returned to an alternative school, where the environment was different from public school. Cassie would read my English journal and she would talk to me about things I wrote. She encouraged me to continue, as my mom and grandma always had. She introduced me to Spoken Word Poetry. I tried my hand at talking in front of a group for the first time. This was completely out of my character and absolutely terrifying, but I did it. In that very moment, the spark in me reignited. I found light again. I was supposed to create. I ended up making up all of my high school credits and even graduating early. Two months after my graduation, I was invited back to Cassie’s class to teach my peers what I had learned. I started venturing to new schools, events, and gatherings to share what I had figured out about the power of creativity. I explored new art forms and stopped limiting myself to one craft. I tried EVERYTHING. I became a “yes” person. Over the years, my life has changed drastically. I am 26 now. I am most passionate about inspiring others to nurture their creativity. I love people and my community, and I am bringing everyone I can grab with me on the way. I wanted the stage so I could share it. I want the opportunities so I can pass them along. I want us all to feel fulfilled and I truly and honestly believe that community is the most incredible part of being a social creature. We can do so much more when we work together. I am a proud, avid supporter of local arts and small businesses.

I am the current Poet Laureate of Ogden City, a professional writer and a tattoo artist. I write for various magazines and publications, teach creative writing classes at the Boys and Girls Club with the Ogden Contemporary Arts “Artist Factory” program, organize and develop community events, and run art booths for children at various events and programs. I am profoundly excited about my most recent community project, the Ogden Ar(t)chives Mailbox, which is an oversized mailbox installation built and decorated by Daniel Christensen, my parents and myself, where passersby can submit their creations to be historically archived through Ogden’s Historic Union Station. Historical records rely heavily on the written word, photographs and art from applicable time periods for information and I wanted to provide a way for the people in my community to accurately depict their experiences and lives here. I wanted everyone to have an opportunity to leave a mark and have their story told. It currently sits in front of the Union Station building, but will be later moved back to its intended home at the corner of 25th Street and Washington Blvd.

Any advice for managing a team?

Let go of the need for control. Your way is not the only right way and the people on your team are the most valuable piece of the puzzle. You have to treat them that way. Listen to their ideas and take their feedback. If you spend all of your time telling people what to do, how to do it and micromanaging their work, you are not a leader, you are a dictator. And a team with a dictator is not a team at all. I think Corporate America gets this wrong every day. We have these people in power who treat the people in their companies like they are beneath them. You have to remember that they don’t work for you, they work with you. The people at the so-called “bottom”: of the made-up hierarchy are most often the only reason your business even operates. We have created systems that are to the detriment of the majority. It is amazing how much can be done when people feel included, appreciated and acknowledged. If you can’t trust your team to meet expectations, there is probably an issue with your ability to set boundaries. When you set good, professional boundaries and let go of the micromanaging, the team operates better, the morale is boosted, and you leave room for your team to have their own creative thought.

Alright – let’s talk about marketing or sales – do you have any fun stories about a risk you’ve taken or something else exciting on the sales and marketing side?

I stopped in to see my good friend, Deann Armes’, at her work. She is an incredible community organizer, activist and started the most amazing center for local news called “The Ogdenite.” While we were chatting, another friend of hers, Sarah Glass, stopped in. I learned that Sarah worked with many of the people and organizations Deann and I had worked with and we all got to talking. We were having conversations and joking around and Sarah had casually mentioned that she always wanted to do a poetry event in the area. I was absolutely stoked to hear that and told her that I organize poetry events and I would totally love to help if she needed extra hands. Deann agreed that this was a great idea and we all talked for another hour planning a large scale, mixed-media event, in rapid speed, detail to detail. By the end of our conversation, we had planned an entire event, picked a date and found a venue, but the date we picked was only weeks away. It was a wild idea, but we were sure we could pull it off.  It was a sold out event, with people even trying to resell tickets. There were several reasons this serendipitous and spontaneous event called “Speak-Easy” worked as well as it did. First, everyone’s ideas were considered heavily. All three of us contributed with the skill set, connections, and ideas we had. Second, we were confident in the idea and others recognize when there is uncertainty. If we were uncertain about something, we found a solution we were positive about. And the most important part – It was a perfect mix of people and skills. It was the epitome of a team. We all had different knowledge in marketing and planning. We all had different connections throughout the community, with different specialties. We all had something to offer. Networking is CRUCIAL and this was an accidental, networking miracle. Imagine how many accidental networking miracles are out there that you missed because you didn’t shoot your shot, have a conversation, expand your circle, or take the risk.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: Signed_a.b
• Facebook: Signed, A.B.
• Linkedin: Angelika Brewer
• Other: The Ogden Ar(t)chives Mailbox has an Instagram under Ogden_Mailbox and Facebook page under Ogden Mailbox. I work in the tattoo shop, Sacred Rose Tattoo Sanctuary, which is also available on social media.

Image Credits
Jess Knott