Today we’d like to introduce you to Bradley Edmonds
Hi Bradley, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Trying not to sound to cliche or cheesy when I say this, but truthfully, art has played a major role in my life. As early as I can remember, and from what my family has told me, I have been creating from a very small age. Every year for birthdays and Christmases, the only presents I wanted were art supplies. This did not go unnoticed.
Growing up in Jacksonville, I had the opportunity to attend performing arts school from Kindergarten to the 12th Grade. As funny as it sounds, I declared a “Visual Arts Major” in the fourth grade. This would be the track of study I would follow until the 8th grade. During this time I would learn different mediums and methods to push my artistic abilities forward. I remember very early on working with chalk pastels and ceramic clay in the fourth grade and ink and paint in the 7th grade. It was around 8th grade that I started to lose this passion that had been driving me for years. It was during this year that I found it very hard to create altogether. I didn’t have the most “gracious” teacher and being young, having very hard criticisms directed towards the work, it was hard to like anything I made. This was also the year I picked up a minor in Technical Theatre. The choice was clear to me that I should move forward with that art practice. The way in which my schooling was set up, was that the elementary school fed into the middle school via an audition, as was the same for the high school.
This was the best choice I could’ve made. I found myself excelling in the technical theatre sphere of artmaking. This practice opened me up creatively, challenging my skills at every step of the way. I learned leadership skills, there was an emphasis on teamwork – something I still look for today being around other creatives -, and I learned new methods of creating such as woodwork and textiles. When it got to senior year, things were cut short due to Covid. However, being at my house, doing online schooling was the most creatively freeing time. I was apart of the class year where all of this was still trial by fire, which allowed for a lot of free time. So I would fill it by picking up “Paper Cut Art”. I found myself finding the joy again in creating.
When it was time to go to College, my initial plan was to continue in the theatre world. Only problem was, when I was touring colleges I never really followed up to see if there was a technical theatre major to begin with. I landed on Flagler College in St. Augustine, which wasn’t too far from home, but allowed for enough independence. When I got my first introductions of classes online, I was placed in Acting 1. I’m not an actor. Turns out, in order to work behind the scenes, I needed to be a Theatre Major. I dropped the class the night before the semester begun. What I was left with was Drawing 1, from 3:00 to 5:00pm. I was skeptical to go back to a studio class after all this time. “Still lives” were never my favorite activity per say, and I had still not gotten over the last time I was trying to pursue art. But you know that saying, “everything happens for a reason”, yeah, I was beginning to believe that was true. Over the next four years I would be immersed in a creative community, picking up new art forms such as printmaking, photography, ceramics (a more in depth practice), and oil painting. I would go through highs and lows, art blocks and an overabundance of creative flow, one could describe to be on par with religious psychosis.
I received my BFA in May of 2024. It was while I was completing my second portfolio that I developed my current exploration in art; this being, understanding the cross section between the faith I was raised in and my queer identity. I want to ask the question: who am I without my religion? And what does that mean for my faith? This is where I find myself in the MFA program at UCF. I am currently a First Year student in the three year program and am currently experimenting with different forms of printmaking, drawing, and exploring mirror etchings.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I would classify the path I’m on as a bit of a bumpy road, yet I feel like I’ve created this challenges for myself. The biggest obstacle I continually battle is Imposter Syndrome. At every step of the way, I constantly doubted my abilities to complete certain works or experiment with new art. I tend to judge myself to harshly when it comes to the art I make, and nitpick every little off thing about each piece. Its funny to say out load, but the anxiety and paranoia I feel regarding the success of my work haunts me a bit. I feel like its not that good or its too predictable and not challenging me in ways it should. This negative self talk has resulted in depressive spirals, and art blocks. There have been recent times where I question if I should even continue with this choice of work. What has helped me, truly, is the community of artists I find myself in. Former professors, other students, and even current professors have helped me see new ways of creating or refining the work I already have to be more successful. Its definitely a challenge, but not impossible.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
As I mentioned previously, I have been in both Fine Art spaces and Technical Theatre spaces. I have managed to combine many of these skills into my practices. I have worked with many traditional mediums and methods such as painting, drawing, sculpting, printmaking, and photography. It is through these skills that I can experiment with new materials, one such being: mirrors. Taking what I learned from printmaking, especially Intaglio/Drypoint, I began to experiment by etching drawings I’d done directly onto found mirrors. For the most part, this was a way I could push my drawing skills into a new, more innovative direction, while also pushing my knowledge of the printmaking craft to new heights. It’s within the MFA program that I began to move in a more personal direction conceptually with the mirrors. The concepts of rumination and reflection were prevalent during the creation of these pieces. For me, the art is the action of making, rather than the finished project. This is why I lean to more tedious forms of creating: as a way to sit and process the work for what it really is. Its within the process of making that I find fulfillment. What makes me proud about my creative process is the way in which I experiment in my art. Finding new methods of creating is what keeps me engaged and challenged, which benefits me in the long run as an artist.
We love surprises, fun facts and unexpected stories. Is there something you can share that might surprise us?
I find this to be a bit silly, but when I have free time. I don’t make art. It feels blasphemous, and I feel like a fraud, but sometimes I need a break. I play videogames, I watch TV (Currently binging Law and Order: SVU), and watch movies, to decompress. I would love to get back to a point where I want to make personal art for myself, yet I view art as my full time job at the moment. However, over the breaks between semesters, I do plan on getting back into art as a past time.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://sites.google.com/view/bradley-edmonds-art/home?authuser=0
- Instagram: @bradleyedmondsart
Image Credits
the first photo I shared with me in the front of my pieces was a personal photo I had taken on my phone at the show.
The Five Images (All shot by me)
1. Edmonds, Bradley. 2024e. Seed of the Forbidden Fruit. Etching on Found Mirror.
2. Edmonds, Bradley. 2023e. Movement 1. Drawing on Wood Panel.
3. Edmonds, Bradley. 2023b. Rooted in Sin. Printed Ink on Found Atlas Paper.
4. Edmonds, Bradley. 2024b. The Trinity. Three Relief Wooden Sculptures, with Fabric, Painted, Stained, and Printed Embellishments.
5. Edmonds, Bradley. 2024b. Love. Etching on Found Mirror.
