We were lucky to catch up with Jordan Brooks recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Jordan, thanks for joining us today. Let’s kick things off with a hypothetical question – if it were up to you, what would you change about the school or education system to better prepare students for a more fulfilling life and career?

I think it is vital that institutions of learning prioritize “seeing” students for who they are and not how they fit a predefined narrative. It is vital that they also prioritize creating environments and experiences that support students improving their observational skills and “seeing” their self. The education-industrial complex could be a space where the unique yet community serving interests, desires, and passions of students could be nurtured and refined in a manner that encourages cultural ways of knowing, curiosity, creativity, and self-efficacy.

Being a creator came naturally. I chose to be an educator because  I have experienced and witnessed the type of spirit murdering, scholars like Dr. Bettina Love describe.

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.

My name is Jordan and my business, tag, purpose, and task is KNWSLF (Know Self). KNWSLF is an acronym for knowledge, wisdom, self-love, and fellowship. I identify as a creator. Creator of visual art, space, place, relationship, community, understanding, and the list goes on. By engaging in the creative and expressive processes, I intend to design environments that nurture the soul, spark the imagination, and advance the culture.

My primary creative mediums are pen & ink, digital and traditional painting, murals, and performance-based art. My academic research explores the way we curate environments that preserve and create culture.

I have always loved art in its many forms. I intentionally began the journey to KNWSLF in 2015, officially launching in 2017. Since then, I have created numerous works of personal works of art, public murals, apparel, reflective card decks, workshops, and creative events. Over the past three years I have hosted workshops for individual, groups, and companies on ideation and creative ways enhance the work and environment.

I send a weekly arts themed affirmation, mantra, or meditation in the form of a FREE text. Visit knwslf.superphone.io to sign up.

You can collect my art and learn more about my work at www.knwslf.com or at the Octagon Gallery in Ames, IA.

Have you ever had to pivot?

As a creative entrepreneur it is so important to cultivate and audience. Today we have so many tools and ways to engage people via social media, news, podcasts, mailing, etc. I started by just posting my artwork and workshop topics on social media. I learned overtime that my strength is not social media. I naturally don’t take a lot of pictures and videos so trying to create systems to do so for social media wasn’t sustainable. That meant I rarely did things long enough to truly reap the benefits of social media. However, after watching videos from different influencers, I learned that I am better off directing my audience to email engagement and later text. The beauty of email engagement is that it does not rely on any algorithm, just a person’s expressed interests. I used social media posts and messaging to drive people to join my Draw From Life email newsletter and found a lot of success. In the past year or two, my workload as an educator increased and I became less interested in emails simply because I receive too many at work. I realized that if I don’t even feel like typing an email, my audience won’t want to read it. That doesn’t mean I abandoned email marketing all together. I just changed the purpose from engagement to education. I send fewer emails with more opportunities for my audience to learn with menow. I switched to text engagement. Using a service called Superphone, I send a weekly affirmation to my audience and engage via text. I also intentionally message supporters who have expressed interest in knowing about new art, apparel, services, shows, and workshops. This type of engagement feels better and more sustainable to me which has been a great pivot. If you want to look into Superphone for yourself and potentially support me at no additional cost to you, here is my link to try out superphone: https://www.superphone.io/?aff=txtknwslf

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

Art shows and public murals have been my best source for new clients. First, I just love the energy of art shows and getting together with other creatives in the community to share our expression and support one another. The added benefit is that we end up sharing our audiences with one another and creating space for new people to engage with us. It is truly just a good vibe and way to spread positivity and love throughout the community. Public murals or just murals in general are great billboards. Growing up I loved graffiti so the idea alone that someone pays me to paint on a wall is already fulfilling. It is also a unique feeling to shape the aesthetic of a community and contribute to the environment in a meaningful way. Public murals allow people to engage with my art for free, reducing a barrier to arts engagement and hopefully inspiring other young creatives.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.knwslf.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/knwslf.art/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KNWSLF
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordan-w-brooks-62634413/
• Other: https://bio.site/KNWSLF