Bradley Jacobs is an artist with us here at Make Studio during the summer. He’s a student otherwise, and likes to travel with his family.

Bradley comes here to work and as well as attends school in Illinois. He says of this lifestyle:

“I think its like a relaxation technique I use. it’s like I live in two different worlds, my art world and school world. I love art, I enjoy it.”

Bradley Jacobs, In Space

He works hard and takes his time with his work, ensuring that each piece has an energy of its own. Each piece he makes is based off of different ideas that come from within, such as from experience, places he’s been, things he’s seen. Bradley uses source images from the internet and tweaks it in his own way.

“I’m an artist, I like expressing myself and showing work that has meaning. I portray an image that has a story. For me, art is an expression to show how I’m feeling at that moment. Making art motivates me, it’s a good form of communication, I can put myself out there in ways I have never done before.”

Bradley Jacobs, Tokyo

As for his travels, he thinks that being fortunate enough to travel and go to different places is eye- opening.

“I think that to have a new travel experience is like seeing things for the first time. Like when you grow up and you go out on your first day of snow, or you’re seeing a movie for the first time, like when you turn 18 or 21 and have your first night out, it’s very fun. To be self-powered and go different ways and use different techniques in art is very good, and I want to share how I learned everything.”

“ I believe in diversity, there’s different art with different backgrounds here. The only way for my work to thrive is to have creativity and imagination.”

According to Bradley, Make Studio is beneficial because it’s unique and diverse. It’s a well-rounded studio and is good for the community of Baltimore. Each painting made here is not entirely about the artist, it’s about what they were thinking and what their imagination comes up with. A part of a painting’s story is the audience’s interpretation of it.

“It feels good, seeing the expressions on people’s faces for the first time when they see your work. Getting the opportunity to see your name out there, to see your work in people’s homes, and seeing happiness on their faces when they look at a painting is great.”

Bradley believes Make Studio has broadened his horizons. Speaking about his growth, he says,  “Art is a gateway that allows me to try other things like sculpture and 3D design.” When he started here, he was using pencil, watercolor, and sharpie. After a little while, he moved into using acrylics, then sculptural design. He even writes poetry from time-to-time. He’s still working on processing and stream-lining his many creative ideas, trying to make everything connect and be relevant to his overall message.

“I have grown because I’m older now and I now grasp how to use different methods, techniques and mediums in making a piece of art. I learn more by doing that just by watching tv or going places. Make Studio is helping me every step of the way. its like a guiding light to show me, not do it for me, but to show me how to make something free from myself. They help give me ideas and I’m doing it my way.”

Bradley’s workspace, 2014

 Bradley’s advice for others is this: if you make a mistake, you can’t think of it as a mistake. Think of it as a positive idea.  In art, there is always a creative way to make something new.  Everything can be done differently; just like handwriting, not everything can be the same. Each individual has a way of doing something.