I don’t have any formal training to “be an artist”, but I didn’t need any to spend my childhood creating collages, paintings, drawings, collecting cool rocks and making things in my room. As a child growing up I was basically a boy scout, I took a lot of inspiration from hiking and camping and the vintage fieldguides that once graced my fingertips. As a young adult, I took a lot of inspiration from working on farms, foraging, planting, harvesting, caring for the animals. And eventually I took all that inspiration and my absolute love for learning and followed them to botany, alternative photography processes, upcycled fashion, graphic design, hand and machine embroidery, flower pressing, dried plant preservation artwork, stop motion. Hard to say what kind of artist I am. Mixed media? More like a maker, a doer of things, a creator. I feel a strong connection to flora and fungi and to the earth, which is apparent in my work. I’m a rather introverted creative, but I do love sharing what I’ve learned through workshops and classes. You can find my work on Instagram @wildfoxmedicine.
Who makes up your art circle?
My art circle is made up of a web of creatives. Creatives I have created with, creatives that I have spent days vending along side, creatives that fill the air I’m breathing with majestic sounds, creatives that I’ve connected with in far away lands through the internet. Closest to the center of my art web are creatives such as Jace Bergeron (boro glass artist – LahnYahpGlass), Macie Menard (collage artist – Kid_Cuti), Kitty M. (oddity artist, maker – The Slaughtered Pumpkin), Molly Judice (jeweler). I would also say anyone that inspires me to go outside is definitely part of my art circle, because I shift into my creative self out there. But my hermit mind forgets to go outside.
How do you expand your art circle?
I began my journey as a fulltime artist in New Orleans vending at 20+ art markets and that gave me a lot of insight and connections. When the pandemic brought me home to Lafayette, I felt a strong need to form the same kind of connections here and that’s what I set out to do. In that search, the Lafayette Art Market started in my yard. And I found that connection just beyond my front door. We continued to meet for 4 months until it got too hot outside, so we shifted to night markets downtown. I’m stoked to see where this year brings the market and all the new creatives it will bring into my art circle. Grateful the art market has connected me with creatives such as Syd Horn, Myron Saul (Lucid Dreams), Kellie Johnson (Loud Labyrinth Tarot), Tabitha Stone (painter), Danielle Bourque (Fleur Des Coteau Creations), and so many more amazing artists and makers.
What value do you see in having a creative community?
Running the Lafayette Art Market has put me in contact with a lot of creatives. And I’ll tell you it often feels a lot like therapy and venting, comforting and consoling between the artists at markets. It inspires me (and hopefully all of us) creatively and mentally. Advocating for creatives feels right in my bones. Connecting with creatives can take a lot of time. Artists are often growing, shrinking, expanding. Creativity doesn’t flow in every season. And artists are often mentally unwell. So support is so very important.
How does your artistic approach contribute to your community?
It’s an honor to do work in the community with projects such teaching art classes, my Art Box on the Evangeline Thruway through the ACA, Window Wonderland at the Lafayette Science Museum through Basin Arts and Downtown Lafayette, working with the Lafayette Community Fridge to create a merch design and to paint the fridge shelter (just picked up the paint from Kitty yesterday so be on the look out!)
The Lafayette Art Market is for artists by artists. Set up with artists in mind. The market had no artist vending fee the entire time it was in my yard. Since we moved downtown the fee has consistently been $10. Because we are artists, and we know that for artists anything more than $10 is a risk here in Lafayette. Our artists don’t need to be capitalized upon, they need to be supported. And so often we find that support among other creatives. Sharing opportunities. Uplifting each other. Helping each other move forward. Coming up together.
