We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Emily Bessette. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Emily below.
Emily, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?
I began to learn art throughout my childhood. I was always drawing with my parents and my artist Aunt Pat who taught me how to use colored pencils and zentangle. My mom loved to practice photography, so she shared her knowledge and supported my desire to learn photography by getting me a point and shoot camera at a young age. I learned the basics of photography and art in a couple classes and clubs in school as I grew older. Much of my progress has been self taught, but I do appreciate all the knowledge I’ve absorbed through the minds of my teachers over the years. My love for film sparked in my IB Literature class where film was luckily a part of the curriculum. Learning about how the different camera angles, film, script, and editing techniques have the power to deeply impact the viewers emotional state has since fascinated me. The education and filmmaking projects that implemented this knowledge secured my decision to eventually pursue film as part of my higher education. One fascinating year of architecture school at CU Denver, led me to switch my major to film. I had knowledge of basic editing apps from school which was a great precursor to learning Premiere Pro from the many great creators and teachers of YouTube. The most effective way that I learned how to use the programs was to jump right in and film and edit music videos. Working with my camera and experimenting with the camera settings and all the different effects and things that the editing software has to offer was a great way to absorb the information. Experimenting on my own is more helpful to me than watching or listening to someone talk about how to use the equipment. In 2019 I left Denver to go to Digital Film Academy where I could learn film in one of the most inspiring cities in America: New York City. I melted into the city and the hustle lifestyle of going to school and coming home to work on music videos outside of school while still sketching for my sanity when I had the chance. I was able to progress and learn the fastest during this time of always working with the equipment, brainstorming stories to film, editing for people, or simply exploring the city with my camera. Even with this immense growth, I can’t help, but look back on this experience with certain regret. I know I could have gone further if I didn’t limit my own potential by constantly thinking that I’m not good enough to direct, or even be an outspoken DP. I couldn’t see my own potential and if I did for a moment it was blocked by fear of being judged, and worse, the fear of my potential from certain associates. Being shy and naive in such a big city without the right amount of confidence and delusion can potentially hold you back. I wish I took more advantage of being there by prioritizing my own ideas and projects by fulfilling my visions full speed ahead. If I had the confidence in myself to execute my visions with the collaborative help of other artists and filmmakers I was meeting, my growth would have been even more rapid and my self esteem would blossom in turn making new projects and ideas flow even easier. I believe that this idea is true with anything; confidence is the key to progress. Giving it all instead of holding back due to fear, will get you where you want to go ten times faster because you will be sifting through your mistakes faster, learning from them faster and your progress will be clear and inspiring for others. Letting go of worrying about other people’s perceptions of you is imperative to becoming who you are meant to be and living in your purpose.
My year in the city ended prematurely in March of 2020 and I moved back home to finish school and dive deeper into my soul and what I wanted to accomplish as an artist. Doing so led me to realize my dreams of owning my own business which has been a whole new school of thought in itself with a whole new set of skills to learn and practice. I’ve had to teach myself how to screenprint, block print, build a website, run a business, apply for various copyrights and more. I am also in the beginning stages of learning how to sew, with the help of my mentor, how to airbrush and how to animate. Once you know how you learn and you have the desire to learn something new, nothing can stop you. Youtube will always be a go to source of information, then combined with action and practice makes me capable of all things I desire to do. Although, I cannot say it is easy. Consistency is what is going to make the information stick. Blocking out a realistic amount of time to work on what you are trying to learn every day as part of your routine is the only way to make real progress on learning something new. Sometimes I feel like there’s so much that I should be doing that it’s hard to pick one task and focus on it. It can be overwhelming which is why the simpleness of a checklist keeps me on track. I prioritize my goals for the day and be sure to also write out my long term goals to help me visualize what I am working towards. Another obstacle is experiencing the less favorable moments of the human condition and life itself. There are bound to be low points where you feel like what you are doing is not going to work out. This is where being sturdy and truly believing in yourself and your ideas is the only thing it feels like you have in those moments of time. That’s what I’ve had to remember because lately I’ve been feeling dissociated with the world and myself which makes it hard to make new art and maintain my progress at the same rate. This leaves me feeling like a failure because I start to see only what I haven’t done yet and that I am not where I want to be. As a creative or entrepreneur, these are the moments where you have to listen to your body and mind and take a rest. Map out your goals and list your accomplishments and what you are grateful for. The next day pick out a couple things you will do to reach your goals and be kind to yourself.
Emily, 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?
Although I am an artist of a few different mediums which are film services, editing, screen-printing, graphic design, painting, drawing, and airbrushing, my focus in the past three years has been building up my brand Bran3world. This is where I can put all my skills into one concept. The name of my business is Bran New World LLC, but the brand itself is called Bran3world that came about by putting the three words of my business name together, dropping the double letters, and adding a “backwards cursive E: 3”. It reads Braneworld which has an interesting meaning on its own having to do with space and different dimensions. Bran3world is about diving into new adventures, unknown and scary, and coming out the other side with a sense of self love and connectedness to everything in the world. These themes are shown in my favorite piece I’ve done entitled Bran3world that you can purchase on my website as a blacklight tapestry which is pictured here. I am extremely excited to bring everything I envision for the brand into reality. This is a slow and overwhelming process, but I am proud of where I am today compared to where I started. I have learned so much in this process from screen printing to learning how to sew. I want to create a brand that brings people together by authentic self-expression complementing our connectedness by means of unisex clothing while displaying themes of the harmony of life. My products don’t target one specific group which makes it fun to see all different types of people buying my products. I think my work speaks for itself which is interesting to see many people of all ages and groups do double takes or stare when they see my work at an event or show. When this happens it is a nice reminder that my work has a strong sense of individual style that I’ve seen grow and twist into new forms over the years. The harmony between dark and light themes in my work helps reach many different people. My work is sometimes based on my deep subconscious emotions that I need to express and other times it seems like it is the universe trying to express itself and the unique journey of life through my art. One of the biggest reasons I am dedicating my career to the creation of this brand is because I was blessed with the idea and it is my responsibility to see it through, so that other people can see that it is possible to make your ideas come to life. I think it is so important that people use the gifts they were blessed with because there is a bigger reason that these ideas and dreams exist that may be beyond immediate understanding. One reason is the pure joy and excitement it brings when you accomplish that thing that keeps popping up in your head or you always wanted to do. Using our gifts brings purpose into our lives which leads to happiness and love that spreads throughout the world. When you are doing something positive because you love to do it or simply just need to do it for sanity, only good things can come out of it, and it helps people find hope.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
When I was back for spring break in my first year of college my parents sat me down and my mom told me she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. I was absolutely broken. I just remember going for a run in the cold trying to process what she just had told me. I had to go back to Denver and continue out the year. It was very hard to cope with and I turned to unhealthy coping mechanisms for a long time. I knew in my heart she was a fighter and would beat it which she did multiple times while I went to school. All she wanted for me was to live my life to the fullest, so she helped me get out to New York for film school. I was working extremely hard on all the video content and school projects, but I went down a dark path of other thinking and self-seclusion. There would be times where I avoided talking to her when she would call because I was not doing well mentally which is hard not to painfully regret. I was ready to go home in May of 2020 after months stuck in my small New York apartment. I came back a different person full of hostility and dissociation, but I slowly grounded back to who I really am. I started my brand in December of 2020 with the support of my family when my parents bought me the basic equipment to screen print as a Christmas gift. While I dove deep into my work at home, my mom’s health slowly declined. I tried to spend as much time with her as I could for the next two years. We would talk together late into the night about my big dreams and how I would get there and what she was going to do to heal her body and beat cancer with foods and other alternative medicine. She always told me that she was my biggest fan. As she struggled with cancer, she made sure that I wouldn’t fall down a dark path of worry by being extremely positive most days. She always encouraged me to keep working hard on my art and achieving my goals. She would bring my stickers into work to sell to her coworkers and constantly share what I’m doing with her friends. Every piece I showed her she’d exclaim, “I love that!” She was so selfless and kind that many people turned to her for support because she was always there to be a listening ear or a shoulder to cry on. She unbelievably continued her work as a nurse as she battled with cancer and went through many chemotherapy sessions. She wanted nothing more, but to get better and to continue doing the things she would be doing if the sickness wasn’t always trying to slow her down such as exercise, gardening, cooking, spending time with her family, enjoying her pool during the summer and decorating the house during Christmas time. We’d go on many walks together in the heat of the summer days; I would often cut it short while she continued to walk to her special place by the old tree even though the weather was eighty plus degrees Fahrenheit. All we wanted was for her to get better, but at the end of April 2022 the cancer took her away from us quietly.
As her favorite season approaches, I am still feeling the loss of her heavy in my heart. It has been extremely hard for me to deal with as she was my best friend. I’ll have periods of time where I am extremely motivated and keep busy working on my art and business and other times where I am unable to get myself to do much of anything except go to work at my day job. It’s hard not having her here to celebrate my successes, show her new art and share in each other’s company. I know she wants me to continue on my journey with full force despite the grief that I am still dealing with. I am doing my best to work at a pace that’s going to bring early success in my life, but the best I’ve been able to actually do is take small steps forward each day while trying to take care of my other mom and my health mentally and physically. It’s important that I do at least one or two things to reach my goals each day and not be hard on myself that I’m not going at the same pace I used to go. It was easier to be happy and feel connected spiritually to myself and the higher powers when she was around executing her warm and loving energy. Being around her could put anyone in a good mood and she cared so much about others. I feel so disconnected now that everything has changed; it’s hard for me to be gentle and kind with myself and remind myself that I actually deserve to be proud of me because I am moving in the right direction even if it seems like I am not. My resilience is not giving up and continuing to move forward to chase my dreams and make her and my mom proud.
What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?
It is hard to beat the feeling of finishing a piece that you were not expecting to create and that is spectacular, but I think the most rewarding part of being a creative is seeing people’s reactions to what you’ve put your heart and soul into. It’s especially rewarding to see children being so drawn to my work because I do kind of create from a place of my inner child’s wonder. Their mom’s might pull them away because some of the work might be a little mature in the themes, but I love seeing the children’s eyes light up and their interest completely peaked by seeing my art for the first time.
It’s also extremely rewarding to me to think about how I could be an inspiration to other people to follow what they truly want to do. I am on this journey because I know that we only have one short lifetime and it’s so important for me to spend it doing something that I am called strongly to do. I hope to inspire other people to not worry about how they are going to achieve their biggest dreams, but to just spend their time working towards them because it’s what makes them happy. Yes, you will have to maybe work jobs that aren’t your passion to get money, but as long as you are working toward something important to you and that gives you purpose than it will eventually work out in the end. If I can get someone to throw their fear out the window and just do what they love or be who they are, then I will feel accomplished.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.bran3world.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bran3world/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bran3world
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emilybran3world/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqa98Q-GMe62h9rwrC6MHXA
- Other: https://www.instagram.com/emilyb.nw/ https://www.instagram.com/etvpes/