by James Bridges
Blake Votaw was a little boy. He liked to draw on things a lot. His mother was what some considered a master artist. She would hand him things to draw with. His mom knew something was different because most children might get bored after a while. Not little Blake. He would draw for hours. He would draw behind the couch, on family members walls, everywhere he could. He became a teenager and kept up with his love of art. He got better.
Guess what happened…
“A local police officer out of Tecumseh was killed in action. A friend of a friend asked me…you know why don’t you build something different. I was able to reach into my artistic side and drew on top of the wood with a sharpie. “Essentially I just cut it out and made some angel wings and stuff on this piece. It went to an auction for the family and all the proceeds went to that. The piece ended up selling for $1,800. I was like… I’v got something here, you know? Plus it means stuff, you know? That’s why I put all my time and energy into a piece and give it my all. It’s very rewarding and therapeutic at the same time.”
Entrepreneurs are notorious for many, many things. Some good. Some not so… but one commonality is for certain and it is the willingness to never, ever give up. Go all-in as they say. Work when others are sleeping. Then hopefully have some sort of balance while practicing self awareness. Sounds fun huh?
The feathers that Votaw creates are known to show up in many parts of the United States.
He started out homegrown. “So many people were saying hey, go check this guy out because of my hand drawn stuff,” Votaw said humbly.
His work started gaining popularity in Europe, California, and New York. Votaw then started getting interest from clothes companies. That went on for a few years. He knew he had a sort of tattoo vibe or feel to his artwork and could never really shake that desire.
“I’ve always had that tattoo vibe on everything that I do because at an early age that’s what I wanted to do but I didn’t have true purpose. I just kind of got tired of the drawing of kind of got tired of the panting and wanted a new challenge.” Votaw was very clear.
I couldn’t stop him from delivering this passionate message.
“A friend of mine asked me once, why haven’t you been tattooing all this time? So I decided that I was going to hone my craft. Get better and better. I always loved tattoos like I said. When I was young I would have my mom buy me the tattoo magazines and it was like an explosion of inspiration. I just wasn’t ready.” Votaw had the skill and the desire but he didn’t have what he didn’t know that he needed. Time and experience made him realize that it’s not just about the ability. Time taught Blake how to be his best self. Experience taught him to do his best work for the most good.
“A special moment for me was when my mom said hey…. your grandpa was a master woodworker. He passed away before I could really learn anything from him, but I remembered him building little swing sets and cars and stuff that actually function then you would make them. He would make them for my grandma and he was into all kinds of stuff. So I thought when I started making woodworking and it came so naturally that maybe it’s in the blood or something.” He laughed but I could sense that was his reality and that is what mattered most.
“Life heavily influences my art.” I bring it into may creation. Early on my wife thought I was not right in the head. Thoughts will just pop up out of nowhere. It bugs me to the point where it feels almost like itching a rash. I have to get it out. I guess I call that direction. I have no idea really where most of my pieces are going until about half way through.”
My overall take on visiting with this very special and talented person is that he has somehow figured out how to solve a puzzle. One that has been personally unsolvable. Blake has taken every part of his world, his bubble, his wave, and made it into something that is holistically balanced. Helping others while creating amazing things and taking care of oneself and family. What a well oiled machine this world could be if we could figure out a way to solve that puzzle on a large scale.
You can witness some of Votaw art greatness at: https://www.facebook.com/blakevotawart/