We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Christian Bradley West a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Christian, appreciate you joining us today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

I popped out of my mom making art and asking questions—a lot of questions. By college I decided being a creative was all I wanted to do. I was in school studying exercise science and went to an artist talk by photographer Mona Kuhn. I met the gallery she was represented by, and they asked to see my photography, eventually taking on a few photographs to sell. I already had a dark room, but needed a new camera. I went out that week and purchased one. At that time I was obsessed with photography, experimenting with antique processes. I finished my degree program, while focused on making art and entering into exhibits. But I quickly discovered that making a career out of art was not an easy choice. Art required money—more money than I was making—and being a starving artist has never worked for anyone.

A friend connected me with a textile design job, and after seeing my drawings and photographs, I was hired. This job expanded my experience with color, and all things design, adding another layer to what I had already taught myself over the years. And it gave me the resources to make art. But being a designer, or any creative, in the corporate world would prove stifling. I was instructed to become a fast follower and the research and design department quickly devolved into the rip off and duplicate department. What had started as a fresh, innovative approach to textiles—the reason I was hired—became a daily rut of copying what was already selling in the market.

I loved what I did, especially the trend research, but my creative spirit felt more and more wraith-like, and I became disenchanted.

During this entire time, I was writing and maintaining a spiritual practice. In January 2012, ( my design job would lay me off and both writing and spirituality would become central to how I express myself. Stories found me, and I felt the overwhelming need to tell them. I also started making spiritual memes, allowing my innate sense of humor to slowly weave its way into how I viewed the world. Eventually, I’d come out of the broom closet and let the world know I was witchy and intuitive, allowing another layer of my expression to shine.

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?

The wisdom gained from repeatedly falling flat on my face has been fortifying, while at the same time discouraging. The writer Jose N. Harris said, “Falling down is part of life. Getting back up is living.” I’ve reminded myself to get back up over and over again. What are the other options? I don’t like the other options. Being creative has kept me going, and one of my life’s missions is to keep going.

The challenges of life have given me countless creative ideas though.

One of these creative ideas came to me in 2017; it was a comedic, spiritual meme page called The Country Clairvoyant. I started making memes at one of the lowest points in my life. A long-term relationship was ending, I was moving to a new home, family and friends were dying, a potential book deal died. I was falling down. The meme page was me getting back up. I also felt inspired to offer intuitive sessions centered on relationships and expression—things I knew a lot about.

I’ve found that most humans are told how they should live from a very young age. I was constantly should on, being told how I should act, what I should be interested in, what I should say. What I was taught conflicted with the reality of who I was, who I am. It’s an age-old story: the quest to discover your true self, buried beneath the hype of other peoples’ expectations. My quest has involved exploring and expressing every piece of me, the dark, the light, the gritty, the elegant. I’ve been a teacher, a personal trainer, a multidisciplinary fine artist, astrologer, intuitive. I’ve had the courage that comes with curiosity to explore the pieces of my totality.

I carry this iterative process into intuitive sessions with clients. We review where they are, where they’ve come from, and what are the next steps that allow for a greater sense of expressive autonomy. The issue keeping them from expanding is always something they’ve learned from an authority figure, like a parent. We dive deeper, allowing them a safe space to explore their creative layers. And this is another mission of mine: to support others in getting up by becoming gracefully more expressive.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

I had to unlearn that I lacked capability—most likely a result of all the shoulds I was given as a kid. I was twenty when a dear family friend said, “You are capable.” I was stunned. I paused, unable to say anything. No one had ever said such a thing to me. It was so foreign I asked her what she meant. She repeated herself, adding you can do this and anything else you need to do. Feeling incapable was so ingrained in me that to this day I continue to remind myself that I am capable, regardless of the nagging voice that says I can’t. (DELETED- how I feel)

The way I unlearned this was constantly learning to do the things I wanted to do—that I was afraid to do. I wanted to learn photography, I did. I wanted to learn how to paint, I did. I wanted to learn how to be more intuitive, I did. And the list continues. I also took on projects that felt bigger than me, like gallery exhibits, solo and group shows. The solo shows were always the most demanding and challenging. I exercised a willingness to show up no matter what and do what I could do. And whatever I didn’t know how to do, I’d learn along the often-bumpy way. I was afraid and did it anyway.

I feel this holds true for anyone. We don’t leave our comfort zone; we expand it to include the things that are uncomfortable. Writing has been one of the most uncomfortable things for me to learn, but in the process of exploring my creative layers, I realized what I’ve been learning this whole time was how to use my voice, how to say what I wanted to say. Practicing this continues to give me greater confidence.

How did you build your audience on social media?

I have a love/hate relationship with social media. I love meeting all the amazing humans around the globe. I don’t like encountering all the hateful ones. I love sharing what I have to share. I don’t like the judgment that sometimes comes with it. And this is the number one reason I find people don’t show up on social media: fear of being judged. This is the first thing to address if you’re going to start being more active on social media. And if you’re at all creative, be prepared to have your stuff stolen, misused, appropriated for other people’s personal gain—another thing I greatly dislike about it.

I’ve been posting consistently since 2016, and I’ve had a lot of content stolen since then. Not just memes, but also quotes that other people have taken credit for. Other artist friends have had their art and designs taken and sold by large corporations. The only thing we each agree on is: address this audacity with all the resources we have and keep creating no matter what.

If you’re just beginning, understand what your motivation is. Mine was to reach people who were spiritual, but also people who were skeptical and ready to laugh at the absurdity that pervades our lives alongside the grief and uncertainty. I was also motivated to reach an audience who might be interested in reading my books. I continue to want connection and community, and I find it there.

Another part of building an audience is to show up consistently. Create what consistency looks like for you and continue accordingly. And don’t forget to have fun. You cannot believe everything you hear or see on social media. Allowing what happens in a virtual space to overshadow your reality will inevitably take away the fun. Approach knowing that it has as much power and truth as you give it.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.christianbwest.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thecountryclairvoyant/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thecountryclairvoyant/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/christianbwest?lang=en