We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Julia O’Bryan. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Julia below.

Julia, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

I have always been artistic. My mother put a sewing needle and crochet hooks in my hands as early as 4 years old. I believe I’ve always known that I was meant to be a creative. I took my first pottery class when I was 16 and that launched into a great love of clay and process of making ceramic goods. When I began looking at college, it was a no brainer that I would be most successful and happy in a creative arts program.

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 story has a bit of a rocking beginning. I was diagnosed with an aggressive autoimmune disease when I was 10 years old. In the beginning, it was all I could do just to sit in my chair in the living room and crochet or embroider. My lungs had rapidly decreased to 20% function so I was unable to do the things I had done before. Art became my happy place. It gave me a way to escape while also connecting to other people in the process. I still deal with my health issues and art is still my way of coping.

My greatest passion is for creating works in clay. My coral sculptures create a metaphorical narrative about living in situations and environments that are difficult to survive in but doing the best to survive anyway, through either the bleaching of coral, or what my own body does to itself. It’s always my hope that my work with give hope to others in similar situations, whether thats a physical difficult or a mental one. Art can be healing for anyone in any kind of circumstances.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

For me, personally, I find the it most rewarding to watch as I take this bland lump of clay and turn it into beautiful works that others can enjoy just as much as I do. I am unabashed in saying that I love the works I create! I enjoy looking at them and holding them. I like displaying them and watching as other people are able to enjoy them, even if they don’t know what the pieces mean to me.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

There doesn’t need to be a big reason or political agenda behind creating art. This is still something I am unlearning from my time in college. There is benefit in creating just because you want to and it makes you happy, or you want to create something for the beauty of it. Throughout my whole college career, my professors were constantly looking for deeper meaning or a political view point, and would reject my proposals when they didn’t contain anything more than the need to create beauty.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @juliacreates

Image Credits
Julia O’Bryan