Conversations with Bryn Tillman

Today we’d like to introduce you to Bryn Tillman.

Hi Bryn, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Ever since I was a young little lad, I loved using my imagination and creating with my hands (bless my mom’s heart who encouraged my creativity and cleaned up all the messes I would make with my arts and crafts). Throughout my teenage years, I struggled with confidence and feeling self-assured enough to create, however, I was put into an art therapy course that completely opened me up to this idea of art as a form of self-expression without any labels of “good” or “bad”. I learned that what I might consider “bad” art is still art and all of it is subjective. This allowed every feeling of unworthiness of creating to dissipate. I started to immerse myself in any art practice I could find: drawing, painting, collage, photography, calligraphy, paper mache, anything I could get my hands on. In the moments that I was making, every other concern I had vanished and I experienced my first moments of peace while in my creative zone. The clarity and energy it brought me was like a drug that I couldn’t get enough. 17 years old was when I decided I was going to be an artist. Fast forward to now, I’m a 24 year old interdisciplinary artist who concentrates on mediums like clay, epoxy resin, oil pastels, acrylic paint, and found objects like rocks, sand, shells, and crystals. I majored in art practices at CU Boulder where my studio emphasis was ceramics. All other forms were self-taught where I experimented and played until I achieved the result I wanted. I fell in love with the process of creating, regardless of the end result. I still feel connected to this philosophy, however, now I spend much of my time creating and also thinking about the ways in which other people may perceive the colors, strokes, movement, and composition, which emotions my pieces may evoke within them, and which memories may surface for them when gazing at my work. Art spawns a beautiful community which I an utterly grateful to be a part of.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
This question made me giggle a bit because being an artist is never a smooth road. I think as creatives, we tend to overthink and sometimes be self-depreciating. There is much doubt that comes with being a creative, especially because it is such a subjective field that naturally one may have the thought process of “What if people don’t like my work? What if they think anyone could make this? Can I even consider myself an artist?” let alone all the other doubts regarding pricing, marketing, artist statements, style, etc. These are absolutely feelings that I battle with. But I know that if I create with my heart forward, those that are meant to resonate with my work will. And those that don’t, well, that’s okay too because something I love about being in a subjective field is that there are no right or wrong answers… all feelings and thoughts regarding art are valid and deserving of being fleshed out. Much of the point of art is for feeling and those feelings urge communication. It is all centric to connection.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
As an interdisciplinary artist, I have a hard time sticking to one medium because my curiosity strays. I make anything from epoxy resin geodes with crystals and gems to emulate the natural masterpieces that are geodes, an ode to mother nature’s talent, to abstract expressionist acrylic paintings that are very gestural and emotive, to whimsical oil pastel paintings that reference childlike imagination, to sculptural pieces composed of clay defying gravity, to a textural 300-square-foot ceiling mural that boasts golden accents as the foreground to dreamy pinks and baby blues. I think what sets me apart is my pure excitement in discussing future projects regardless of the challenges they may pose as well as the wide range of disciplines I have experience practicing. Sometimes there is a competitive culture of artists, however, something I stay true to is my love, support, and encouragement for other artists! We are all creatives and that comes with some messy struggles at times so we might as well give our art friends all the support we can muster!

We’re always looking for the lessons that can be learned in any situation, including tragic ones like the Covid-19 crisis. Are there any lessons you’ve learned that you can share?
Doing something you love day in and day-out is so important. It really made me realize that life is too short to spend every day at a job that doesn’t fill your cup with love, joy, and passion.

Contact Info:

• Website: littlehillartist.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/littlehillartist
• Facebook: facebook.com/littlehillartist

Image Credits
Bird Tree Productions