*Disclaimer/Trigger Warning* This episode may not be appropriate for all ages and audiences as it contains candid conversations about sexual assault, abuse and trauma.
Join Kosta and his guest: Justin Blackmon, President of Art Round Tennessee, Independent Artist, Educator, and Activist.
Today, we're talking about shaping your artistry, how to support the creativity and development of our next generation, and the importance of art for mental health.
Better Together with Kosta Yepifantsev is a product of Morgan Franklin Media and recorded in Cookeville, TN.
Every 68 seconds, an American is sexually assaulted. And every 9 minutes, that victim is a child. For resources, confidential assistance and advocacy information:
https://www.rainn.org/
Find out more about Justin Blackmon and Art Round Tennessee:
https://www.antwoodworkshop.com/
https://www.artroundtennessee.com/
Find out more about Kosta and all the ways we're better together:
http://kostayepifantsev.com/
*Disclaimer/Trigger Warning* This episode may not be appropriate for all ages and audiences as it contains candid conversations about sexual assault, abuse and trauma.
Join Kosta and his guest: Justin Blackmon, President of Art Round Tennessee, Independent Artist, Educator, and Activist.
Today, we're talking about shaping your artistry, how to support the creativity and development of our next generation, and the importance of art for mental health.
Better Together with Kosta Yepifantsev is a product of Morgan Franklin Media and recorded in Cookeville, TN.
Every 68 seconds, an American is sexually assaulted. And every 9 minutes, that victim is a child. For resources, confidential assistance and advocacy information:
https://www.rainn.org/
Find out more about Justin Blackmon and Art Round Tennessee:
https://www.antwoodworkshop.com/
https://www.artroundtennessee.com/
Find out more about Kosta and all the ways we're better together:
http://kostayepifantsev.com/
The idea of expressing yourself from a mental health standpoint is crucial. I mean, it's so crucial even people that don't necessarily get into the arts, they still enjoy the arts, whether it be drama, music, dance, visual arts, to get engaged is to understand what art means to the people making it.
Morgan Franklin:Welcome to Better Together with Kosta Yepifantsev, a podcast on Parenting, Business and Living Life Intentionally. We're here every week to bring you thoughtful conversation, making your own path to success, challenging the status quo, and finding all the ways we're better together. Here's your host, Kosta Yepifantsev.
Kosta Yepifantsev:Hey, y'all, this is Kosta. And today I'm here with my guest, Justin Blackman, president of art round Tennessee, independent artist, educator, and activist. Today, we're talking about shaping your artistry, how to support the creativity and development of our next generation, and the importance of growing the artists community of Middle Tennessee. Now, before we get into the episode, I want to talk about one of your mediums - pyrography. What is it? And how does it work?
Justin Blackmon:So pyrography is a really technical term for woodburning. Very fancy term.
Kosta Yepifantsev:Sorry, I butchered that, by the way,
Justin Blackmon:it's okay. It's okay. We could just get say I could have just said wood burning and made it simple for everybody. But basically, it's like a pan, you can buy one at a hobby store. They're very inexpensive. It's like a pin that gets hot, like a soldering iron. Okay. And then the ones that like I have are more commercial base for artists. And they're, they're like the size of an actual pin. So you can really like hold it like a normal pen and kind of draw with it base.
Kosta Yepifantsev:And so you like create designs in pieces of wood using this pen?
Justin Blackmon:Yeah, it's no different than like taking a pen and in writing on paper, except you're doing it for blood. And the cool thing about that is it lasts so much longer. It's just one of the things you can rub it and touch it, it doesn't it doesn't fade, or you know,
Kosta Yepifantsev:how'd you get into something like that?
Justin Blackmon:Somebody gave it to me as a gift. But to be honest with you, like woodburning was a good hiding place for me. Just visually, I didn't have to use color. So it was really good practice to be able to draw and then not have to worry about color so much.
Kosta Yepifantsev:And you've made a transition from a woodburning to there's something that you do now. Yeah, so
Justin Blackmon:I'm painting now. Regular painting. Yep, just regular painting. Right now. I'm doing acrylic, but I've kind of bounced between oil and acrylic. No, there's not one that's better than the other. There's different types of paint. Yeah, I used to paint and then the woodburning thing came along. And it was kind of a safe hiding place for me just to kind of grow artistically in practice, and, you know, not be so loud. I mean, as soon as I started painting, and then color came into the picture, everything kind of changed pretty rapidly. And that's been since June.
Kosta Yepifantsev:Wow. And so when you paint the you paint like landscapes and part and when I talked to Bri, I also had to preface all of my ignorance. So I'm just gonna go ahead and give my disclaimer now, like art is is so interesting for me, but I don't know a lot about it. So if I say something, and you're like, Man, this guy's an Indian. Just Just bear with me.
Justin Blackmon:Yeah, no, I think we can like tie kind of art and not just fine arts, but like all art, from music to drama to visual arts, we can kind of tie it all together.
Kosta Yepifantsev:When you paint. Do you paint like landscapes? Do you paint portraits, what's kind of like the area that you focus on?
Justin Blackmon:So as far as receiving technical training, we kind of went over everything. Like in art school, we kind of go over every subject, and we didn't kind of stay away from anything. So when I painted earlier, it was a lot of form based, did a lot of hands and like body parts. And then now I'm doing landscapes, specifically. And they're very, very unique. So they're coming directly out of my imagination. So I'm not referencing like photos or anything like that, just kind of going off a memory.
Kosta Yepifantsev:Wow,how long does it take you once you start a painting to actually finish it.
Justin Blackmon:So I use a style that's like Vincent van Gogh, Claude Monet, called impressionism so it's very fast. And I'm moving very rapidly. I don't like to get stuck on artwork for very long. Okay, so I like to get in there and like, get it done. I've got some pieces that are like seven foot long. So they're much bigger, much larger pieces. And they take about a week to make because I have to build the canvas and then paint it. So frame it
Kosta Yepifantsev:fascinating, by the way. Okay, you build the canvas, you're ready to paint you sit down. I mean, seven feet of Canvas is a lot. So like, do you break it into sections? And you try to like paint in one section a day? Or do you just sit down and you don't get up until you're done? Yeah. And
Justin Blackmon:so like, it's very unconventional, like I'm very unconventional and I would probably make a lot of even my art teachers in college just absolutely stressed by watching me but like I started with like a horizon line, which is like, that's the fundamental line of like, where the sky and the ground are gonna meet. I start with that line and then just kind of explode outwards from there. So it's, it's always it's pretty freeing, you know? There's not a lot of limitations when you start like that. That's
Kosta Yepifantsev:amazing. Wow. Growing up and into adulthood, what motivated you to pursue your creative passions? And how did you maintain the confidence to pursue your art as a career?
Justin Blackmon:As far as art goes, it was the one place that I felt really normal, like a, you know, when you think about like sports and activities, and academics, I didn't necessarily excel at any of that. But when I would draw, it was always received compliments. So it felt it felt natural, it felt like oh, this is where I need to be. And like, this is what people like, when I do this, people really enjoy this. And they tell me, it's great, you know, and I've never received that in any area. So that was that was really where it kind of clicked with me that like art was going to be something that I was going to stick with. And it was going to be good for
Kosta Yepifantsev:me growing up going to school. And you know, obviously, everybody's asking you what you want to do with your life. When you answered, I want to be an artist, because I'm assuming in high school, you kind of knew like I'm pursuing art as a career. How was that message received?
Justin Blackmon:And I grew up like I went to high school in Albany, Kentucky was a very small town. Yeah. And so like I was that that weird art kid. And like, they just accepted it. Like they were cool about it. But like, I was the art kid. And yeah, it was just the way it was. And I spent a lot of time in art room. I also spent a lot of time into vocational school. So like carpentry, electrical, like there was something about electric and like circuits that always just I don't know, I always kind of stuck with it. You know,
Kosta Yepifantsev:when we were talking earlier, you mentioned that you were diagnosed autistic. There's a technical term that you said it neural neuro divergent. Neural divergent. Yes. And so I was just wondering, like, did that contribute to your passion for art, but also the fact that you were good at?
Justin Blackmon:Yeah, so what what I found early on well, and so like, we can unpack a lot here. Sure. I used to take my brother's drawing books. I love found out quick that I could copy. Man, I was probably like, six, wow, yeah, I was like six or seven. And so like, I learned that I could like look at something. And I could copy it almost identically every time, you know. And so that's where I really knew that I had a gift to do that. I didn't know what it was useful for yet. Because I don't think at that age, I knew I was like, Oh, I'm gonna be an artist. You know, it was just like something I did to kind of escape the reality of life. And so my memory, visual memory specifically is very incredible. So like my ability to remember like what a room look like, or like what a scene look like, or like a nice view to be able to keep that in my head.
Kosta Yepifantsev:And that's kind of like how you can paint seven foot canvas and not have any any reference points.
Justin Blackmon:Yeah, it's so like, I've got a show right now in in Brea florist shop, the silverfern. I've got a show a solo show in there right now. And specifically, there's a painting that is it's like archways his best way, explain it, but I traveled to Baxter every now and then. And there's they built a new bridge right there. And they've embossed the Tennessee circle with the stars in it. And every time I'd go into that I'm like, man, like this would be speed like this would make a cool painting. I just don't know where and how. And then finally, it came out of me and made these archways and kind of like referenced that specifically. So like if you go in there and see it, you'll understand as soon as you see it, you'll know that's kind of where my mind goes, you know, and like, that's that creative thing that I can do when I can remember how something looks and then make it my own.
Kosta Yepifantsev:When you're going to school and you're diagnosed with autism. Was any of school difficult for you? Or did you enjoy school in general, and art is just something that you excelled at
Justin Blackmon:first grade is really where this this came on, as far as like realizing that I probably think differently than most kids. And the exercise that was given was basically like you're, you're an animal, and you're going to talk like you're an animal. And so there was these, like little comic book boxes over the animal's heads. And it was like, tell the story. And in my mind, I was like, animals don't talk. You know, this is ridiculous. And I was watching Snoopy at the time. So like, all I heard in my head was like, whoa, wow. And so I made like scribble lines where the words would be thinking that's how animals communicate, right? And immediately, it was like, No, that's not how you like, I remember the teacher being like, this isn't right. No, just No, but I do remember them wanting to put me in special ed and my parents didn't you know, at that time at two, I think autism was a lot different. And so I think that probably scared my parents for sure. Just them thinking like they had I had two older brothers and they were they were pretty normal. As far as I know. And and so then they had me and I My mom always referenced me as like the daydreamer the special kid and so they put me in private school and that was a lot different experience. Like I remember not being able to like so when I when I talk. Specifically when I listen, it's hard for me to watch someone talk and listen, because I get fixated on their mouth moving. Yeah. And so it's really hard to hear the words coming out of the mouth because I'll just sit there and stare at your mouth. Yeah, so I would look away and I would get in so much trouble for not Staring at the teacher, second grade is really where I learned how to kind of fly under the radar. Okay, I learned how to do behaviors to kind of hide, if that makes sense. And so I would watch the teacher and I wouldn't learn a lot because I was so fixated that I had to stare at the teacher's mouth, so I wouldn't get in trouble. And basically, everything went over my head as far as learning wise, because I was so fixated on not getting in trouble for being different, you know. And so that really kind of changed the way that I learned. And it really at that point from third grade, even all the way through high school, and I'm sure there's teachers who here will hear this and they'll be like, yeah, Justin, we knew, you know, we knew you were different. Yeah. So it's okay. But yeah, so, you know, I basically just learned how to survive with autism. And without letting a lot of people now
Kosta Yepifantsev:and your escape was was drawing and painting and an art in general.
Justin Blackmon:It was and I think that the kicker behind a lot of that is the shame. You know, there's so much shame in being nervous about being different, specifically with autism. And it has, you know, it's gotten a bad rap. Certainly early on. I mean, I remember it was like, Oh, well, vaccines are causing autism. So it was like, I remember lying, like, I'm not I wasn't, I was never vaccinated, just so that people didn't think that I was autistic because of the vaccines I received, you know, so the vaccines don't cause autism, the vaccines definitely don't cause autism, right. And even even more, so. I had a son, and both my sons, they had a lot of health issues early on today. They weren't vaccinated at the time and one of and they're identical twins, and one of them is autistic, highly autistic, and so very evident that vaccines certainly don't cause autism. It's certainly genetics, no doubt.
Kosta Yepifantsev:Yeah. Small Town, Kentucky, you're going to school? You essentially have, you've created a learning disability for yourself. What do you think? What was the shame that came with? With the Autism?
Justin Blackmon:I think it was more of like, I didn't understand a lot of things. And so like, I didn't want to stand out and be that kid that like, there he is, you know, that's Justin, right? It's funny too now, because like, my son, Nick's son, who's autistic, it is very much is that kid they're like, there he is. It's Nixon, he's gonna, and I refer to it as like, going down the slide backwards is the best way I could explain autism. It's like, we're still going down the slide, but we're going to come down and backwards. And that's just the way it's gonna be great analogy. Yeah, that should be my my title. But yeah, so I think hiding, hiding that, you know, I don't think my parents realized how much that was going to affect me by pulling me out of school and putting me in private school. I was kind of taught to hide it, you know, in a weird way. Yeah. And so that kind of stuck with me.
Kosta Yepifantsev:And I'll tell you, I've never been necessarily diagnosed with anything. But if you asked my wife, I definitely have OCD, and probably some form of ADHD as well. And I understand what you're saying, when you say that you don't want to be that kid that has that problem. Because I feel like if you are different, now it's changing, obviously. But back then in the 90s, we're roughly about the same age in the 90s. And prior to that, I feel like you had to be obedient. And you shouldn't ask why? Well, the world is changing so rapidly, and especially with the internet, you know, revolution, information is just coming at you, you know, by the mouthful, and you've got a lot of questions. But you know, teacher's job is to teach, and they have to do it in an orderly fashion. And it's hard to do that when you've got students that want to ask a lot of questions because they're interested or they're excited, or it's difficult for them to contract or they're different, right. And I as well sort of tried to put myself in a box and not drawing any attention to myself. But I will say, once I started, and I want, I want to draw this parallel between playing sports and how you use art as an escape, or as a support system. I use sports, specifically hockey as a support system to build my confidence. Did you encounter that art helped you boost your confidence level in high school?
Justin Blackmon:Yeah, I mean, it definitely it definitely helped. When I could do something, and for someone to recognize that specifically. Yeah. And it was something that was that was my, you know, it wasn't like I did start martial arts around the age of 13. And that certainly helped my confidence and like my discipline, as far as like, just anything that I did, I got very much where I could like hone in and just like really attack anything that I was, I was going after that. Yeah, very much. And, and so like, and that's kind of a kicker with autism, right. It's like we can fixate on something for a long period of time. So like, art was certainly a good one. Martial arts was a good one. And those were two things that like I got really good at, you know, I never received recognition athletically for anything and then like, I started going to these martial arts competitions and start winning trophies and winning first place for forms and like fighting and it was just like, it was really cool. It was cool to see that happen. And it did give me a lot of calm Finance and I certainly got bullied there up until that and there was like one instance like where kid went to pick on me in high school and it was the only time I ever had to like prove myself. And nobody ever picked on me after that. It was like they were done with me after that. They're like now that kids definitely weird. He's like, he does martial arts don't mess with them. Yeah.
Kosta Yepifantsev:So what what concentration or discipline? Did you do in martial art?
Justin Blackmon:Did Shaolin Kung Fu for a very long time I started with Southern five animal and trained in that for a very long time, all the way up in through high school. And then once I I went to college and Art Institute, Atlanta, and when I got to Atlanta, I met a gentleman by the name of Shiva Rue, who is a northern Shaolin practitioner, and he was directly from the Shaolin Temple. So Wow, very cool, old Chinese monk who just like is awesome. I mean, if you met this guy, you just he's such a character. It was great for me. You know, it was the one thing that kept me focused on every other area of my life because I had that to turn
Kosta Yepifantsev:to favorite band or musical group, Wu Tang Clan.
Justin Blackmon:Now, I'm like, Man, I listened to the everything, but like, 90s country. I'm a sucker for 90s country. Yeah, it's bad man. It's my wife just like grins because it's just like, even my kids like they're into, like what they're into, but they also like 90s country, because that's just the light that was.
Kosta Yepifantsev:Yeah, and I didn't know this. But Garth Brooks, right. That's Garcia Garcia go. I learned over the weekend that apparently Garth Brooks has a Alter Ego. Oh, yeah. Chris names. Yeah. Chris gay. Yes, it Yeah, he tried to like so this guy. Just gotta really
Justin Blackmon:think he really doesn't want you to talk about this.
Kosta Yepifantsev:will hopefully listen to the podcast, shout out to Garth Brooks, or Chris Gaines. Right, exactly. So just imagine, this guy was so popular that he split his persona into two different people and tried to build a brand on two personalities, you've got to have a lot of confidence to do that. Right? It's quite impressive. All right. So you're in Atlanta, you're going to the Art Institute, you're studying graphic design, tell us about this process, and how it led you to opening your own studio.
Justin Blackmon:So when I was doing graphic design, and they don't tell you this, like coming out of high school, you know, at least coming out of high school in Albany, you know, when you think going to art college, you don't have a lot of knowledge on as far as what degrees or what. And in my mind, graphic design was always like, I'm going to be creating these illustrations and like, it's going to be great. And I have all this creativity. And a big part of graphic design is like print production, you know, a lot of that is making documents and sending them to print for for commercial marketing purposes and other various things. And so it's not always creating fun illustrations and making branding and logos, there's a whole nother side to it. And that that side of it really turned me off. Like once I got into that side, I knew that graphic design wasn't going to be for me specifically. And so it was really easy just to take all that learning and that knowledge that I had gained with art college and like learning, you know, we did take a lot of art classes. So taking all that knowledge that learned and then applying it for fine art was very easy transition for me for sure.
Kosta Yepifantsev:And so you're going to school, you're at this point, working with a kung fu master. You're living in Atlanta, you graduate, how do you transition and say, Guess what I'm gonna do Okay, so I love art, but I really think that I can open a studio and make money selling my art. Like, did you have like an epiphany? I mean, were you just like sitting on your couch and said, You know what, I think it's time. I'm not gonna go get a job. I'm gonna go open up my own art studio. Like how do you how do you come to terms with those two things? Yeah,
Justin Blackmon:so what's funny is like, I didn't and I was blocked, you know, for a long time. Like for a long time I worked in corporate retail I got into Lacoste definitely, you know, the shirts, so I got into like retail management with them and like I got into management training like opening store. So I got really, really into corporate retail stuff. And that was like my job and I still made art in the meantime, but it was it was certainly like that was my passion. Did you work in a corporate retail knows terrible Oh, man, it was like, I mean, it was great because it paid well. I love systems, you know, getting into like learning a system so I can function really highly once if somebody Cannes made a book and they're like, this is the only thing you need to know how to do corporates loves people that can do that. Practice. Yeah, so I was so I excelled at that tremendously, but art was always where I was happy. You know, it was like that was where I felt at home and felt at peace for sure.
Kosta Yepifantsev:What was your first studio?
Justin Blackmon:My first studio was in my house yeah, in my apartment must Yo yo apartment. Yeah, I just made it work.
Kosta Yepifantsev:Do you remember the first painting that you sold? I remember
Justin Blackmon:the first painting I sold. Yeah, it was a it was a big painting. It was like it was like a six foot long painting. So it wasn't a small painting, but it was like a rose kind of abstract rose deal. Yeah, I've definitely grown a lot. I It's funny with art. And I think a lot of artists can relate is like, when you see art that you made, say 10 years ago, you're like, Well, I think I can't help but think every artist thinks that way where they see their own work. And like, my goodness,
Kosta Yepifantsev:you know, I had this question for Bri when she came on. And I kind of want to ask you to, as someone who doesn't identify as a creative and kind of really only focuses on the profits of a business, I want to know how you balance your own creativity and vision with the mainstream kind of watered down expectations of everyday people buying artwork. So
Justin Blackmon:my artwork is not traditional likey I mean, do you really got to be an eccentric to want to hang something that I've painted in your house? For the most part, I mean, I don't get me wrong. I've sold a lot of artwork, even even since I started painting back in June, I've sold a good bit of artwork, and I paint fast. So I'm on I don't title my work. Okay. So my work is titled by movement numbers. So like, I started in movement one in June. I'm on movement, like 37. Now,
Kosta Yepifantsev:that means that you've painted 37 different pieces of art. Correct.
Justin Blackmon:Okay. And those are ones like, let's just say those ones I've signed. So and this is where I want to get into that, right? It's like, there's times where I make things that I don't necessarily want to do, but just financially it makes sense. Like, if somebody's like, hey, I want to I want to painting a Dolly Parton. Yeah, it's like, I'm not gonna say no, and pass up the opportunity. Because again, that's the training side. To me. That's the work side, right? Like, I don't necessarily love painting portraits of people. But if you need money, and you got a skill, you got to do the work sometimes. Yeah. And so that's how I balance that, you know, and it's not always fun. And I just, I signed those with an alias. So it's like, it makes it really easy to paint those and not sign it with my traditional signature as a movement, like Chris Gaines. Yeah, basically, like Chris gay is exactly right. Except I'm not going to scrub the internet. Yeah. Of what I did.
Kosta Yepifantsev:Yeah. I mean, you know how special you are to be able to make a living, painting. I mean, first off, the amount of talent that you have to have to be able to paint is unfathomable for me personally, do you think that your kids are going to paint when they when they grow up?
Justin Blackmon:I don't want to say I hope not. Because it's a very challenging expression. Yeah, it takes a very special person to be like, This is what I'm gonna do. And this is just what it's going to be. And there's plenty of times where like, I supplement my income through various things. And again, like painting, Dolly Parton. Those are, those are another ways I also teach. So that's another way to bring in extra income. But I definitely think my kids will use art as an escape, to kind of remind themselves that they can be creative, and they can have an emotional outlet, not necessarily fine art or painting. But I've got one son who dances and then I've got my other son who he wants to be a drummer. He loves music. And I think for everybody, not just my kids, but like everybody that art whether it be dance, drama, music, fine art, it is an escape. And so being able to have that as an emotional escape, and like people that don't play music, they still love music, they still listen to it. And same with art, like people that don't paint, they still love to go look at paintings. And so that's really the connection, kind of where people have to say, okay, I get it now,
Kosta Yepifantsev:as the holidays approach, what's the best way for our audience in the upper Cumberland to support local artists? And how can they buy your work.
Justin Blackmon:So the best way to support local artists, I'm the president around Tennessee, which is a local nonprofit. If you go to art round tennessee.com There is a large list of over 85 artists who are members, and it's got all their contact information and so you can buy art directly from them and you can even kind of get an idea of what type of art you're looking for specifically. So that's a really good way to connect with local artists. We also have the art Pro, typically the second weekend in November, which is another great opportunity we do First Friday from June to October, which is the first Friday of the month we go between different businesses but we usually feature about five to six artists at each one so there is a lot of opportunity to connect and then even more so there's multiple businesses I mean, you have the art jam here in Cookeville which is like a group painting thing that can they do parties and stuff as well. Cool art studio over on Walnut. They offer classes as well as gallery space for ours to show their work. Okay,
Kosta Yepifantsev:so there's a lot of outlets for purchasing artwork first and then silverfern is a studio as well.
Justin Blackmon:silverfern Sabrina does an incredible job. She houses a lot of local artwork as well and she had is an actual gallery space where she does monthly show. So currently, I'm in there for November, I have a body of work in there right now, there's a lot of places to house local artwork and even businesses like multiple businesses that you go into here. And we'll have our work from local artists,
Kosta Yepifantsev:does it ever bother you that people don't buy art from local artists and they go to like, Hobby Lobby and buy like the mass produced prints of you know, the clock or the you know, the New York skyline stuff like that,
Justin Blackmon:I think for me, it's more of like, they just don't know, like, so if one painting is 1000s of dollars. In my mind, all paintings are$1,000. And I can never afford original artwork, you know. And like, for me, you know, I paint impressionism so it's very fast. So a lot of times people will see how much my work isn't like, oh, that's actually really affordable. You know. So I don't think that people know, really, that they can, they can buy artwork and actually house real artwork in their house instead of going to like home goods or Hobby Lobby and buying work. And I think that's just where we have to come in as a community and kind of educate these people and let them know, events like are proud and these things. And I think that's really as we grow where we kind of teach them because you can go to the you can go to a larger city, and there's large art scenes, they're being supported by a lot of people and I think that they catch on.
Kosta Yepifantsev:I'll tell you New Orleans is a big one. And obviously you're the experts. So if I say something incorrect, please let me know. But New Orleans has a pretty significant art scene we just bought painting. Little Wayne painting and it's let's go Louis Vuitton symbols on it. And like the like the pink and the blue and all the different colors. And they used a sparkle like like like little diamond looking aesthetics into it. So when the light hits it, it sparkles. And it has its like grill and his grill and like different colors. I like that kind of stuff. I like kind of the eclectic art. Jessica probably likes like a gray, a new tan, a white, a black, but I like me like pink, blue, red, green, like I need color in my life. Oh, yeah, it makes me shine. Yeah, that's
Justin Blackmon:kind of the fun part too. It's like, specifically my art is like I see color differently. And like, I think people that are on the spectrum, they all see things a lot differently visually. Typically, things are a lot brighter in color. So like I always would be like it's so bright. That's a comment I get a lot about Mars. Like it's so bright. And I would go back to the studio, I rush home and I'm like, Emily, I've got to tone this down. You know, they're all saying it's probably not the bad way. But just like, you know, you second guess yourself, like getting a student like I gotta tone this down. I'm going to do all night seems like surely that'd be dark. And so that's the show that I have right now in Brea studios. I started October one Hirscher. The show was doing I've been so busy. But the show was due November 1, I had to install it. So like October one, I had no paintings done for the show. And I was like, I'm gonna tone it down. I'm gonna do nice scenes, it's gonna be great. And they are a lot of nice scenes, but they are not toned down. They are still bright. They're still bright. And I can't I just have accepted that. That's just the way it's going to be. Great. Yeah, I can't turn down color.
Kosta Yepifantsev:Yeah, it's just, it's awesome. I don't have any concept of interior design. And so like, I'll put stuff everywhere if I could. And so if it was up to me, I'd have pictures in every single inch of the wall, whether it's landscapes or portraits or what have you, there's really no rhyme or reason for me. I kind of like, I want to say it's like chaos, almost. But it's organized chaos. Sure, you know. And so I you did mention something about impressionism in your paintings or your painting style? Is there a reason why you pick that style for your paintings fast?
Justin Blackmon:Okay, it's very, very fast. Rapid, yeah. As soon as I started painting, like, and this has always been the case, that's why wood burning was a really difficult thing for me, because you have the idea, which is the fun part, boom, inspiration hits, and it's like, this is a great idea. And then you sit down at the burning table, and then you realize how long it's gonna take you to do this great idea. And a great example of that is I've got a map of Tennessee and SoulCraft coffee. There's a giant map of Tennessee, and it's geographically correct. So every and it's a lot of Native American symbolism, but like every teepee is an actual Township. And so like horse tracks, symbols for the interstate. So it's very, very extensive. And it took me like six months to make this map, you know, I was working, but like, in the evenings, I would come home and make this map. And that part of it was like, you know, sitting down and doing work, the work after the idea was not as fun. So like impressionism specifically when you're painting is like, the idea comes to you and then I'm just painting from like a horizon line, and then going outwards from there, and I'm done. So so it's a very fast process.
Kosta Yepifantsev:So you're the president of art round Tennessee, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting local artists and engaging communities in experiencing art. I want to talk about the second part of that mission, how can we engage and encourage our community to experience art? And why does it matter?
Justin Blackmon:For me, art has always been a way of self expression. And I think a lot of other artists feel that same way. And again, this not necessarily just visual arts, but any type of arts, whether it be dance, my wife is a dancer. And so like, that's the way she expressed herself. And she's not getting younger, but she still dances to kind of get that out of her and free herself. And she even dances like at a dance studio here in Cookeville. And like, that's her way of self expression. And I think with the arts in general, no matter what it is, the idea of expressing yourself from a mental health standpoint is crucial. I mean, it's so crucial, even people that don't necessarily get into the arts, they still enjoy the arts in some varying degree, right. So I think like, as a community, as goodwill continues to grow, as it has, we're going to see all these areas of our community continue to grow, whether it be drama, music, dance, visual arts, all those things. But to get engaged is to understand what art means to the people making it, we're doing it. And I think if people can really understand like, that can be an outlet for them. If you see a painting that you've like, and it makes you feel a certain way, that's what the artist intended, and it made them feel that way too, or it made them feel a certain way. So I think getting involved in supporting these people is going to make a big difference in our community.
Kosta Yepifantsev:Did art help you with your mental health as an adult?
Justin Blackmon:Yeah, so and I don't know how much you want to unpack here, but as much as you want. So when I was five years old, and this is kind of where I'll get into this, because, again, shame plays a big role and blocking, and I don't think it's just an art. I think in general, like in our lives, we shame ourselves. There's good shame, there's bad shame. So if I like steal something, and I feel shame, that's probably good shame, right? But then there's really bad shame. And a good example would be when I was five, have two older brothers, we were sexually molested. I had no idea for 32 years, I'm 37 now, but for 32 years, my parents never and never talked about it. So art was always an escape where would steal my brothers, sketchbooks, and his his drawings were very angry. And so it was very, it was it was it was almost like, that was his escape, he would draw very, very much. And he would draw very angry art. And I would take his sketchbooks, and I remember I would color them with bright color. So it was almost like I was taking his angry stuff and like filling it with color. And he didn't care. He thought it was great. But he knew that this happened to all three of us. So he knew that was probably and he was older than me. So he probably knew that was a way of me like coping with what had happened to us. And so this, this was going to stay secret for 35 years, and it took go into therapy and a lot of blockage. Like I remember having my first art show after college. And it was like being on stage. And you're almost relaxed me back into this moment. As a five year old, where I was on I was on stage I was on Shogun. And it scared me I stopped making art for years, because of that moment, I would have been quick to tell you that like I'm not going to therapy, you know, I don't need therapy. I did martial arts. So like I had so much discipline, self control, you would have never known a I was autistic or be that I was section molested as a kid you'd never know. And I mastered the art of hiding that shame for years, and it blocked me. I mean, it bought me an incredible amount, you know, in every way creatively for sure. But we started to go into therapy, about two and a half, three years ago, I started going to therapy. And funny thing about therapy is like, it's going to come out and it has to come out and and so like I hit it and I hit it. And my wife who has a similar story, but different, similar story, her story kind of came out and emotionally it just hit me, you know, and I remember being in therapy and like, I just started sobbing and I like they started coming out. And I didn't talk. She She had no idea. She had no idea. And it's it's funny too, because, you know, in a weird way, I knew that there was something with her. And that was our connection. But she never judged me. And I never felt like she was trying to press something out of me. And there was a lot of relationships before her where I ended these relationships because I felt like maybe they were getting too close to me. And they they might know that I was molested and they're gonna think a certain way of me and all of it was kind of embodied in shame and shame that I had put there, and as well as shame that somebody had put there when but to unpack that and to make this a much happier story. I will tell you that I the first thing I did was I called my parents I call my mom. So nobody knew nobody knew except for God and my therapist. Wow. And that was really the therapist was recent. So before that my brothers knew y'all ever talk then? No, oh no, it was just this is like law. And like very much and like you got to understand that culture of that there's I think it's one in five girls had been sexually assaulted I think one in 20 Boys, and a lot of us don't talk about it because it is shameful. It's a very humiliating experience to go through. And then you don't want to talk about it. Because it's like, as soon as you talk about it, it's cringy. And you think like, this happened on a, my parents took me to my grandparents, and my grandparents took me to some of their friend's house and this happened. And it was never known, you know, we hit it. And I think the abuser, the person, the people that did the abusing were very much on like, you better not tell anybody. And like when you're a kid, and that happens to you, it's really easy not to tell anybody. So to make it better, I call my mom. And I kind of ask a couple questions. And again, my memory is incredible. So like I can remember, I can remember so much about rooms and details and like all these things. And so I asked her a couple of questions just to kind of like, bring it all back to me. And she tells me and as soon as she tells me this, I let her know that it happened. And I let her know what happened to brothers let her know what happened to me. And she was devastated for sure. I didn't know what I was going to do. As far as the next step. And I remember the next day, me and my brother's hadn't talked in a long time. And a lot of this is built around anger, addiction. All of this stems from shame from this specific moment, we were kids. And so I called my brothers and called my oldest brother first. And he, he was he was upset. And he was telling me that he knows and I think he's he's certainly in the process of healing. And then I call my middle brother. And when he said when I tell him, like, look, I remember I know this happen. And I tell him and he was like, man, just like you were you were so little man. He's like, I can't believe you remember that. And he's like, You were so little. And I got emotional. For sure. It was it was heavy. For sure. It was I mean, it's obviously very heavy thing, but but the healing that's happening in the frame of shame that's happened over the last couple months, just from getting this out in therapy. And my therapist kind of given me the right tools to use to kind of deal with the situation has made it a lot easier and not to be ashamed of it anymore. Yeah. And to kind of grow from the situation. And so it's kind of exciting. This is the first time and in years, I think maybe even like 10 years, that my whole family is going to be together for Thanksgiving. Wow. Yeah. So it's gonna be it's gonna be good. There's gonna be a lot of healing happening for sure. But like art, specifically, and I don't want to speak just for myself, because I think a lot of people use art, or performing arts, the arts in general, as a means of escape. Yeah, to feel normal. And that's probably where specifically this kind of all ties in together as like, there wasn't any other avenue to take to feel normal other than arts.
Kosta Yepifantsev:I mean, you were carrying around, like a really heavy burden. You know, your brothers, they've went to therapy as well. And they're coming to terms,
Justin Blackmon:they started going to therapy. And I think they're definitely doing some healing. And I think the point of me telling you this is so that people hear this and like to understand, like, my parents for 35 years could not understand why their kids didn't want them involved in weird. Yeah, and in a weird way, I felt like, they couldn't protect me. But the funniest thing is, is they never knew this happened. They couldn't understand where all the anger and the addiction and all these things were stemming from. And it was stemming from shame that was put there by somebody else. And then on top of that, it was a subject that like, you don't want to tell people because like, what will they think of me? You know, and I don't think I'm the only one I think that there's a lot of people to think that was over a weekend and it was three boys. So I don't think I'm certainly not the only one who's not come forward. I think there's a lot of people and I think telling my story specifically about this is going to help people with kids, absolutely, to know how to have a conversation, so that if you feel these instances of anger or addiction, to not be afraid to talk,
Kosta Yepifantsev:there have been moments, like you were saying in people's lives. And it takes a while for people to come to terms with what happened. Seek professional help. It's really powerful. What you just said, the fact that you actually went and sought help for it.
Justin Blackmon:Most people don't. And I think that's a big part of me wanting to tell my story, share this. And it's an it's been such a long time, but it needs to be told because I think it can help a lot of people to know that like we shouldn't have this stigma and let shame when and prevent us from from receiving the help that we need. And in a weird way, going to therapy and telling my story. This has freed me artistically beyond anything I could have ever thought of as an artist already kind of living this transient. Make gonna make whatever I want lifestyle. This really freed me and now there is no limit What I can create amazing my life. So the monkey's family off your back, the monkey is off my back. Compassion is the new word and moving forward with my brothers and my family to have compassion and understanding. And to remove that shame has been one of the most powerful things in it all really did come from going to therapy. So I would certainly be a big advocate. Everyone could use therapy. Absolutely, for sure.
Kosta Yepifantsev:I always reference back in episode, John Rost. He talked about addiction, the road to recovery. And he talked about all the different elements that people encounter through their childhood years, that leads them to addictions, obviously, sexual abuse is a big part of it. Divorce is a big part of it. And he also goes to therapy, I go to therapy, I don't think people can survive without going to therapy, at least not in today's day and age, everything's too fast. There's too many bad things. I mean, however many ways you want to slice it. It's just the world's really, really messy right now. And it really has been for about 3040 years. I'm just glad that we're having this conversation. And I appreciate you sharing that. I'm glad that therapy has helped you. And that you get to have a thanksgiving for the first time in 10 years. That's a big deal. Man,
Justin Blackmon:it's a it's a very powerful thing. And the amount of support in this community for all areas, from addiction recovery, to abuse, to child abuse, to special needs, to autism, all these things that we've kind of covered. community, it's here, there is a lot of help in Cookeville. Specifically, I mean, there's so many avenues to better yourself and to free yourself from any of that shame that you might be holding on to that's keeping you from being who you truly are as
Kosta Yepifantsev:a person, as it made you a better father and a better husband.
Justin Blackmon:I think me and my wife both we really fell in love again, in a weird way. We both have this totally different respect for one another and she has her story. And it's not for me to tell, but like us going to therapy separately and going together. The growth that we've made, even with our kids has been tremendous, and even more so. She's expecting so we're gonna have another kid. So we're bringing Oh, great. Thank you. Yeah, so we're really excited. This one was planned. Okay, good. So yeah, so we're ready. We're ready for this one. I love it. So now I'm looking for like a old Econoline Church Bus. Yeah, I'm excited. They're boys. They're about to turn eight in March. And they are just such well behaved. Good boys. And it's super funny because they're identical twins, and one has autism. The other one is, I call him the most normal one in the family. And like, he's like the police officer for the family. He keeps all of us in check. Yeah, it's really cool to see them grow up. And like, you know, kids are like vessels of what you put in them. And they certainly will make you learn a lot about yourself just because they are little versions of you.
Kosta Yepifantsev:Let's talk about you being a dad. Okay, as a father, and looking back on your childhood, how do you think our childhood shapes our creativity and curiosity? But more importantly, how are you fostering creativity within your own children?
Justin Blackmon:What's really cool about my kids, one of my kids is highly autistic. And he's in the public school system. Now, what's interesting about this is like I kept him out of school, because I knew he was special. And that shame was there, right? And so I kept him out of school, specifically, in my mind thinking like, well, maybe I can, like help him and like, I put them in little hands, little feet, which is physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, and they did incredible things to help him before we did start them in school. But when we did start our kids in school, there was I think it was like the first parent teacher meeting. His teacher was like, well, Nixon has quirky behaviors. And I think that's how she expressed it. And I remember me not liking that term. And it didn't bother me because I knew what she meant. As soon as she said it, I was like, oh, yeah, here we go. And I know a lot of parents who have kept their kids out of school, especially the public school system, because of this stigma around certain needs special needs for kids. And I will tell you that Catherine Jones, who's the principal, they go to Prescott South Elementary, but Catherine Jones is the principal and her team that she has there, even from the school psychologist, which that guy, he must have one of the hardest jobs ever to have to sit there and talk to families about their child and the special needs that they may need. And so like I pray for that whole team of people, because that is a challenging job, but what they have done for my son, both both of my kids, but again, one of them has special needs or what they have done for him just as far as teaching and growing him. He's going to have a much more normal childhood than I did from not having to hide who he is. And we were coming out of school the other day and I was talking to him and I don't hide the fact that he's autistic, like I'm like, Dude, you're autistic. You know, it's just what it is built different. And then my other son Jackson, who's like, what, you know, I don't get to be autistic dad, well, I want to be special. And I smile, and I know, trust me, you'll be alright. You don't want to go down the slide backwards. But the amount that they've helped him like he couldn't read at all, when he started in first grade, and it's all integrated now, right. So like, they sent him like an hour day, kids go different areas in the school to specifically work on areas that they need to improve on. And so Nixon now can now read just about everybody. And he can read just any book you give him, even adult books, he'll sit and read the words. And so it's funny because we used to read to them at night. And now Nixon reads to Jackson at night. And it's like the cutest thing I've ever seen, the balance that my kids have with how one can do one thing, and the other, has been incredible to teach them teamwork and to grow together and that we all have things that we may be good at and things that we might not be good at.
Kosta Yepifantsev:How do you get your kids to embrace creativity? Or is it okay? If they don't? Is it okay? If they're just ones and zeros kind of people, you know, they brought
Justin Blackmon:me in as an outside professional at Prescott
Kosta Yepifantsev:What do you think about social media? Video south. And so I go in every quarter and teach art. And so I do the whole school K through fourth grade. And there are some kids who love art, and they want to do it. And then there's some kids who are really hard on themselves and are like, I'm just not good at it. And I try to make it fun for them. And they're still enjoying it, you know, they still enjoy my class, they they learn things about art history and stuff that they would have never learned had they not taken a class with me. So it's fun to see them Harbor that and to know, but it's not going to be for everybody, especially when we talk visual arts and drawing. There's a specific skill set that that requires to be able to sit down and draw pictures and enjoy it all the time. You know, it's one thing to like coloring, coloring books and draw here and there. But to like do that as your escape, it's something that you have to really want to do. games? Like essentially kids on electronics? What's your, what's your take on that?
Justin Blackmon:Oh, man, when I was a kid, I loved dechaine. That was like the greatest game ever. And it was so simple. You know, the concept of Duck Hunt was just such a simple game to play in the games today are a lot different. I don't want to sound like an old dad now. Because I was about to head down that road. It's like don't play Grand Theft Auto. But I think just having balanced like knowing when to put games down. I think I know a lot of kids, that's all they do is play games. And you know, Grant, there's people that play games and make money for a living, but they it
Kosta Yepifantsev:does it foster creativity, as for example, when I was a kid growing up, I loved video games. And I and some friends parents said that, you know, well, if you let them play video games, then they'll have a better chance of being a surgeon because it teaches you know, dexterity and stuff like that. I mean, does it foster creativity or anything like that?
Justin Blackmon:No, I'm a skeptic. I'm a skeptic. I think the only thing that video games, Foster's entertainment, you know, a way of killing time. Yeah. And at this point, as I get older, like time is certainly the most valuable resource that we have. So I'm not a big believer in video games, but I don't shelter my kids from it. Like they have a what is it in tendo? Switch? Yeah, I haven't sheltered them from that. And what it does, what I've noticed is like, they don't play it all the time. It's very rare. In fact, half the time they don't even play it. And it's it's there, you know, for them to play.
Kosta Yepifantsev:It is quite fascinating. If you just leave like we have iPads, we have nintendo switch of a PlayStation five, and nobody even touches the PlayStation on occasion. They'll touch the switch. They're into roadblocks right now. But even then, like, they don't just sit on their iPads all the time. You know, but I'll tell you this. When I was a kid, I loved video games. Until I didn't. Yeah. And that was it. Yeah. So I mean, I think maybe it's just a phase I guess there are you know, there obviously are kids that that gets sucked in. And you kind of have to be wary of that. But yeah, expose them, right.
Justin Blackmon:My kids know the difference between like, when it's time to turn things off. Even with the TV. It's like if we if we have things that we have to do, I've done martial arts for so long that like, my therapist would be quick to tell you that I have too much discipline, and it's self discipline. I don't I don't implement that on other people. But there are plenty of times where I probably should just relax. You know, it's hard. It's hard to do. But like, Yeah, so like video games and stuff. I used to play him a lot. But now it really does revolve around art. If I'm not doing something in the community that involves working with arts and artists. I'm at home making art.
Kosta Yepifantsev:I want to ask you a question. For anyone that's listening and is a creative that feels like being a full time artist is impossible, or like their dreams of being a creative professional could never come to fruition. What's your advice? And what's the greatest lesson you can share from your professional career as an artist?
Justin Blackmon:Some of the best advice I can give for people that want to be an artist full time. Art Education is a great avenue because not only Are you giving back that gift that you know instinctively how to do and that you love to do, which is art, you're also giving it back to the kids. And we need teachers right now, not necessarily just in art, but we need teachers, from what I understand, in general, the public school system needs teachers. But if you're going to be an artist, you've got to go all in. And you've got to trust that you have what it takes. And there's going to be times where you have to do things that may feel awkward, you know, I've literally called up local business and know the people and I'm like, Hey, can I come in and set up my heart and try to sell it, you know, like, I need to make some money. And they're like, Yeah, sure, come on, in. And you've got to take those risks, where it's like, I'm gonna go set up some art today and sell it. And to my surprise, like, I set up in a coffee shop once, like two years ago, set up in a coffee shop there before Christmas, and left out of there with almost $3,000 in a day, on a Saturday in a coffee shop in Cookeville. So you've got to be willing to put yourself out there. And don't be ashamed or afraid. I can promise you the only person that's laughing at you is yourself. And if you can keep that humility, especially in the arts, you're going to be fearless as you continue to grow older.
Kosta Yepifantsev:Absolutely. So we always like to end the show on a high note, who is someone that makes you better when you're together?
Justin Blackmon:That's easy. My wife is just an incredible, incredible human being and when I say like she is a million times better than me. She is like everything that I am not she has. We make a good partnership and that but she's the sweetest kindness. She would do anything for anybody. I've always noticed that with her is like she even if I'm like, hey, whoa, easy. She's like, No, let's go and let's help them and it's fine. She turns me into a puddle. Yeah, every time I just there's something about that woman, man. Yeah, love her to death. I couldn't. Anyone that knows her. They know.
Morgan Franklin:Thank you for joining us on this episode of Better Together with Kosta Yepifantsev. If you've enjoyed listening and you want to hear more, make sure you subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you find your podcasts, leave us a review or better yet, share this episode with a friend! Better Together with Kosta Yepifantsev is a Kosta Yepifantsev Production. Today's episode was written and produced by Morgan Franklin post production mixing and editing by Mike Franklin. Want to know more about Kosta? Visit us at kostayepifantsev.com. We're better together.