Charles Claudel Garrett I, is an artist based out of Lafayette, La. He is widely published and has performed in Texas, Louisiana, and Alabama. He is finishing his 3 debut works. A collection of poetry, a novel, and a screenplay. He is the recipient of the New Orleans Take Notice Fund and is playing Christian “Copper” Laurent in the CItes des Arts adaptation of Ernest Gaines short story, “Bloodlines.” When he is not writing or performing, he is spending his time writing copy for marketing teams, across a variety of industries and companies.

Who makes up your art circle?

My art circle is made up of those I have collaborated with. Other poets, writers, the like. Musicians, performers, the like. I believe wholeheartedly in collaborative efforts. Community activists, cinematographers, and so on. Interrelated roles, interdependent accessibility and accountability. We are only as strong as the individual to our left and our right. I feel a dutiful sense of ownership over my art. One that is representative of those that came before. Heard and unheard of artists that are woven into the datastream of my artistic inspiration.

How do you expand your art circle?

The expansion of one’s artistic circle is limited by one’s creativity and hustle. WIth typical channels, oversaturated with level upon level of use. With the desensitization of marketing channels, as a result of overexposure, through the internet and its many many platforms, creatives have to be creative in finding new ways to share the leaps and bounds made by the creative community. Fellowship promotes community. Setting an example with action and not just words is what is needed to facilitate expansion. Hunting out ways to be participatory within one’s community is keen here. Answering the call of the community’s artist, when needed is something of value. Being in service to your fellow man and/or woman is one of the oldest ways in order to contribute to the betterment of the community as a whole.

What value do you see in having a creative community?

As I stated earlier we create not only for ourselves, but for the other artists in the community as well. Community is good for networking, but more importantly it is excellent for accountability and to maintain an integrity threshold that promotes and fosters the facilitation of progress within the swell of each artist. Simply, community helps each artist grow. One artist ups the ante, and reaches a new level of growth or understanding within their chosen medium, and like wildfire, the next artist closest will undoubtedly feel compelled as if driven by the holy spirit to seek and overcome whatever obstacles need to be encountered in order to attain said level of understanding or growth. 

It reminds me of the Chinese Proverb/Mantra:

“The Tao (or the Way) gives birth to one, one gives birth to two, two gives birth to three and three gives birth to 10,000 (which is the historical and universal representation of mastery) things…”

How does your artistic approach contribute to your community?

I have always believed in diversification. Through and through my artistic philosophy follows in the same vein. I believe in the crossing over of attributes. Spiritual, mental, physical share a multitude of common threads that serve to strengthen what makes up the core of every being. I follow the psychological findings of greats like Carl Jung. Which I know adds to the depth of my writing, and the angles I pursue when delving into the mentalities and sentimentalities of my characters both on and off the page, perceived and otherwise.