Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Becky Roberts . We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Becky, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Was there an experience or lesson you learned at a previous job that’s benefited your career afterwards?
My first career was in the floral industry in Los Angeles for the better part of a decade. I learned from some of the best in the industry, had a celebrity clientele, and owned my own floral events company. The most important thing I learned in this field was how to adhere to a strict deadline and problem solve along the way to make said deadline. When it comes to events, the start time is the start time whether you’re ready or not. So you’d better be ready! If a snafu arises you have to be quick on your feet to find a solution because time is literally of the essence. As they say, the show must go on.
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?
I am a Montana based assemblage artist. When people ask me what that is I generally say something vague about finding old things and gluing them to other old things. But it really involves so much more. I curate objects and use them to express an emotion or idea. I create small scale sculptures from almost entirely found objects. I give a second chance to the discarded. I celebrate age and patina. After a long career in a creative field I found I was lacking an outlet for my creativity. I combined my love vintage and antiques with art. I enjoy sourcing materials as much as I enjoy making the pieces. My followers and clients often describe me as snarky, unique, funny, and sometimes inappropriate.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
I live and create in the state of Montana where I also work as an art framer. Finding my niche locally had been a challenge. As an art framer I see what art is being purchased. Its mainly wildlife and other Montana themed subjects. I show pieces all over the country but starting out, my own community was hard to break into. I kept on pursuing local leads until I found a gallery that appreciated my work and exposed it like-minded folks. It took a good long while but I found that there was in fact, room for the weird in the Montana art scene.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
As I said, I had a thriving career in the Los Angeles floral scene when I decided to leave it all behind. It was time to make a huge change for myself and family. I had just had my son when we decided to move to Montana where I could be a stay at home mom. I didn’t realize how abrupt and jarring a change this would be. It was all brand new and a difficult adjustment. At the age of three my son was diagnosed with Autism. I was bored and lacking my own identity as a person outside of being a caretaker. In a feeble attempt to have a hobby I bought a diy miniatures kit. It was a little room with little furniture, a record player, and plants. I started out by following the directions and made one of the little flowering plants. After that one little plant I was inspired to ditch the kit and create my own flowers. I started making miniature versions of the arrangements I used to make for a living. From there I was off to the races. I found I loved working on a small scale. I loved creating scenes and sculptures. I loved finding materials. It all changed overnight due to a half-assed attempt at a craft store diy kit.
Contact Info:
- Website: postcardsfrombox39.com
- Instagram: @postcardsfrombox39
- Facebook: facebook.com/postcardsfrombox39