We were lucky to catch up with Brandi Utigard recently and have shared our conversation below.
Brandi, appreciate you joining us today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.
My parents raised me to be curious and always encouraged me at a very young age to follow my passions with art. They noticed my interests early on and supported me to freely express myself by making art supplies readily available at all times. Growing up I watched my mother exploring many art mediums, one of them being stained glass. As I grew, so did my curiosity. I began working on projects with her and learned the ins and outs of this technical art form. Her studio supplies were at my disposal and I was free to create whenever I wanted to. As the years passed, I too began to delve into many mediums of creative expression. I thrived in all of my art classes throughout the years. In my final school year I made the decision to take stained glass as an elective even though I already had experience with the medium. During this time, I built upon the Tiffany techniques learned from my mother and dove into lead work with the guidance of my instructor.
Upon graduation, life hit me in the face. The atmosphere in my family was quickly changing and I was in the process of finding myself. Over time, several health conditions began to emerge and hold me back physically, often causing immense pain and discomfort on a reoccurring and frequent basis. These aliments made daily life difficult to deal with. Over the course of eleven years, I had nine surgeries for various issues and was diagnosed with several chronic conditions that will affect me for the rest of my life. In the middle of all of this, I spread my wings and moved out on my own. I continued to draw and paint, but stained glass slowly became less accessible to me. I eventually sold the original equipment and glass passed to me by my mother because there was no time to create while I was struggling to make it on my own. The distractions of being in my twenties, dealing with advanced medical conditions, all while trying to hold it together got in the way. Art slowly became sidelined in my life, until it was pushed out all together. I would create occasionally, but the intense passion I had during my younger years had faded. I began to focus on building a career and a life for myself. For over ten years I worked in Product and Program Management for various Aerospace and Technology Companies. I would create from time to time, but mostly at the requests of others. Giving my art away and never creating for myself eventually killed my passion all together.
Fast forward to 2020 and my life in corporate America came to an abrupt halt when the global pandemic hit. It started with quarantine and quickly ended with me joining the millions of Americans who were laid off due to the economic impacts of COVID19. Until that moment, my weekdays were filled with bright lights, white walls, and a cubical fence. I was drowning in data and my artistic expression was suffocated by the mundane, day-to-day stressors of an office job. I would pack my time off with outdoor adventures, but at the end of the day I was stuck in the rat race, feeling uninspired and under appreciated.
I went many years without creating anything and then, BAM, COVID! I was presented with the unique opportunity to pursue my art again. I decided to not only bring art back into my life full time, but I was determined to dedicate all of my energy to it, so that I never had to return to my corporate prison again. The decision to use my unfortunate situation as a launch pad for selling my art was a big risk. I was leaving a career path that I was good at and opening myself and my art to judgement from the outside world. Whether they liked it or not, would dictate my chances of success. I was scared.
Initially, I batted around different business ideas and even started down a totally different path pursuing another love of mine, which is to own a fermentation and pickling company. My recipes were strong and my knowledge of this ancient form of preservation ran deep, but the obstacles of starting a company with the risk of food borne illnesses were overwhelming. I discussed my ideas and concerns in detail with my family and they proposed a question that immediately set my soul on fire. “Why don’t you just pursue your art?” They all knew how passionate I’ve always been for creation. I quickly began reflecting on my favorite mediums and in this moment, Refraction Lab was born. Glasswork stuck out as a major highlight in my life and something I deemed worthy of selling. I would be building a studio from the bottom up, but it was a challenge I was now ready to take on!
I started to get organized and slowly acquired the many tools required to execute my plan. During this process, I met several glass artists who helped support and encourage me along the way. I eventually established an at home studio based out of Washington in the Pacific Northwest where I could make and sell my stained glass art. Before 2020, I hadn’t practiced any art form, for an extended period of time, in over a decade. I quickly averted my attention to glass and started obsessing all over again. The works I’ve shared over the past few years are bringing back a part of me that I thought I had lost a long time ago.
Roughly a year and a half ago, I started working at a glass fusing studio owned by one of the friends I made on my journey back to art, who helped me get my studio up and running. Working there has expanded my learning and helped me to advance my techniques with glasswork. I am now starting to make unique kiln fired pieces, alongside my custom stained glass, with plans to mix the techniques in future designs. The marketing and operations skillsets I acquired in my corporate past are being utilized in my position at the studio, but because I’m working somewhere I love, that is aligned with where I want to be with my glass art, my work seems to have more purpose.
It’s been a relatively long road to get where I am at now, but I’m thankful that I was laid off during the pandemic and decided to take a chance on pursuing glass art as a career. Not only am I having fun and learning every day, but I’m a whole heck of a lot happier and healthier. If you get the chance to take a risk on something you love, I hope that you do!
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
I’m a contemporary glass artist based in the Pacific Northwest out of my home studio in Washington State. I have a very eclectic design style with a variety of pieces that range from modern minimal, to intricate and complex. Both traditional Tiffany copper foil and leaded stained glass techniques, as well as fused, kiln fired designs can be seen in my work. My pieces take an imaginative look at reality by experimenting with colors, textures, and creative display techniques. Color fascinates me and I am drawn to highly contrasted shades and unorthodox color combinations. As a Pacific Northwest outdoor enthusiast, I place a heavy focus on mountain landscapes, flora and fauna. In addition to this, my latest food fixation, fried eggs, has been making a regular appearance in my fused glass art. My inspiration is drawn from my memories, experiences, nature, and love for the outdoors.
We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?
My social media growth all boils down to one extremely viral moment, completely unrelated to my glass art. Many of my designs are centered around my experiences, hobbies, and lifestyle, which often take me into the mountains. So, in an effort to be more human and share content aligned with where my inspiration comes from, I randomly decided to post a funny video of me accidentally smacking my husband over the head with a ski lift safety bar. To my surprise, that video ended up getting 155 million views over the course of several days. It was a VERY overwhelming experience that gave my art some decent exposure online. While there is some drop-off after an event like that because everyone thinks you’re a comedy account, you do end up retaining a following of people who came for the laughs and stayed for the art.
The best advice I can give someone looking to build a social media following is to just be authentically you. Be relatable. Be human. Show the good, the bad, and the embarrassing.
Is there mission driving your creative journey?
I want my art to tell a story and make you feel something. My goal is to transport you to a place of reflection and peace. I hope that my art stimulates you to slow down and notice the world around you.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.shoprefractionlab.com
- Instagram: @refraction.lab
- Other: TikTok: @refraction.lab
Image Credits
Brandi Utigard