Life and Work with JJ Barrows

Today we’d like to introduce you to JJ Barrows.

JJ, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I’ve loved stories, I think most people do… whether reading, listening or making up my own, I’ve always loved the creativity involved in a good story and the power it had to connect people. I have countless journals from my childhood from recording the day’s events to dreaming up where I hoped to be, I have always written everything down. I not only expressed myself in words at a young age but also in color. I colored on any and everything, from the floor to the walls to eventually underneath the kitchen table, so I wouldn’t get caught. I had my own secret creations underneath tables, it felt like my own portal to a world no one knew about, thankfully because some of that world was made up of my own chewing gum that I stuck under the table (I’m sometimes still trying to kick that habit).

Without knowing how to filter my passion for creating, assuming it meant I was either going to get in trouble or that it wasn’t something I could take seriously as I got older, I kept my love for story and art as a side project and went about figuring out what to do with my life. I catered to a degree in corporate communications and a long-term relationship that was sure to end in marriage and I was on the right track to being the good girl I thought I was supposed to be.

It wasn’t until years later after a stint in rehab, failed relationships, failed jobs, and struggling to feel good enough for anything, that I began to tap back into my creative side and use it as a means to express myself instead of proving myself. It started small, drawing or painting just because I loved it, and by default of doing something I loved, I talked about it. When you talk about something with enough passion, word spreads (social media helps too) and before you know it, people begin to know you as someone who does XYZ and asks if you’d be interested in working with them. That’s sort of how being an artist professionally happened with me.

I did art because I loved it, I let myself be a beginner and built a foundation of enjoyment for it. As a result of doing what I loved, people began to take note and either commission me for a painting or suggest me for an art job. I crafted stories into my paintings and I think that’s what people connected with more so than anything; the art was just a visual for what they felt when they heard the story.

So, it is with comedy, it’s this long process of digging through all the emotions, being willing to do the work, the tough stuff behind the scenes and then performing it in a way that connects to the human emotion. I sort of got into comedy because while I love expressing story through color, I wanted an outlet to express it through words, to not just make people laugh, but make them think, myself included. I’ve always loved humor as a means to connect and even heal. I enrolled in a standup course by accident (I thought I was taking Improv), but I ended up loving the process and having a community to sort through it all with. I honestly didn’t think it would take me anywhere other than just having somewhere to go on Sundays and “express myself” for a few hours, haha!

At the end of the course, we had a graduation showcase and from there I was booked to perform at The Comedy Store in La Jolla and it’s pretty much just kept going since then.

Has it been a smooth road?
Definitely not a smooth road. Honestly, I think I’m very skeptical of smooth roads, like if the road is too smooth, then it must mean something is hiding in the trees along the way. While I might still prefer a smooth road, I’ve been through enough to know that a bumpy road is what gives you all the character and a better story to tell about the journey. I don’t know many people who can relate to the theme of a story being “everything was fine.” Plus it sounds like a boring story.

To women on their journey, no matter where they are in life, I would say be okay with the process, take in the hard moments because you’ll look back on them one day and have a great “remember when” story and give yourself the grace to be a beginner. I think as women we are naturally pretty hard on ourselves, whether we think we should look better, perform better, be better than we are. Even though I’ve come so far, I’m constantly beating myself up for where I’m not. Instead of making things harder on myself or expecting myself to be where someone who’s been in the industry for twenty years is, I’m learning to talk nicely to myself, to say “hey J, maybe that didn’t go the way you wanted, but you’re still learning and that’s okay… tonight, you just learned what didn’t work!”

I would also say (because I still have to say it to myself), don’t give up just because it gets hard and scary. If we stopped doing things because they were hard or scary, we’d never do anything. The way I see it, a year is going to pass whether I like it or not, at the end of that year would I rather be further along because I did some tough stuff along the way or would I rather still be sitting in fear, stuck in the same place of not feeling good enough? I’d rather be further along, even if just by a few baby steps, it all adds up over time… that’s how most of us get where we are going, baby steps (or at least how most of us started!)

So, as you know, we’re impressed with artist, writer, comedian – tell our readers more, for example, what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
While I dabble in a little bit of everything from interior design to motivational speaking, on a most consistent basis (and according to my business card), I’m a visual artist, writer, and comedian.

I paint mostly in the abstract but love to combine it with realistic illustration. I will paint on almost anything! Emphasis on almost. I’m just not limited to a canvas or even a wall. While I do everything from commissioned paintings for in the home to murals outside of buildings, I’ve also painted for film sets, trash the dress shoots and music videos, as well as performing live art at concerts and conferences. I probably most prefer live art because of the communal aspect of it and I think my approach is what sets me apart from other artists.

I usually involve the crowd somehow, posing a question like “what’s something you struggle to let go of?” they write it down on a piece of paper and I ask them to let it go and pass it off to me, so I can make something beautiful out of their struggle. I glue all the paper, along with scripture and any other meaningful books or quotes onto the canvas and people watch as their struggles all combine to make up the base of the painting, then I begin to paint over it. It gives the painting layers of depth and meaning.

Like with people, we are made up of so much more than what you see on the surface and my paintings represent that. Just because you might not see what’s under the paint doesn’t mean it’s not there or any less true, and just because you see a pretty surface doesn’t mean there isn’t struggle underneath. Collectively our struggles and hopes make up one big painting and it represents living in the tension of there being both heartache and hope, sometimes without resolve, but there’s still beauty in it all. I love the color and I love using it to express myself!

With comedy, it’s sort of the same process, wiring it all down, fleshing it all out, recalling some stuff that is painful and then re-telling it in a way that connects to people. I work clean and I tell stories that I think people can relate because sometimes it’s just weird and awkward being a human. I think what sets me apart as a comedian is that I don’t go for the shock and awe, I go for the connection, the related experience of just not knowing how to navigate through life sometimes. More often than not, I hear people say back to me “oh my gosh I know what you mean,” or “girl, that’s exactly how I felt I just didn’t know how to say it!” I find that there is a lot to laugh about in just being a human.

I also like to mix comedy into speaking events or emceeing, whether for businesses, schools, conferences, weddings, etc… I think when you can lighten the room they are more open to receiving what you have to say. I love any audience but I definitely have a heart for women and want them to find and value their voice. I honestly didn’t believe that to be true for other women until I really believed that for myself, so I keep speaking even when I’m scared because it reminds me that we all matter.

Were there people and/or experiences you had in your childhood that you feel laid the foundation for your success?
I think I have felt left out a lot in life and so there was this drive to figure out how and where I fit. Especially, as a middle child, there’s this “what about me?” complex, on top of being the only kid in my family without a B-name. There are my siblings Bonnie, Bobby, and Betsy, plus our dogs Buddy and Biscuit, and I’m JJ! Explain that one, mom and dad!

I’ve just never felt like I fit and so I’ve always kept trying things. When things don’t work out I say “ok, that doesn’t fit” or “that was good for a season,” and I try something else. I think this approach has given me a lot of unique experiences which has allowed me to interact with and relate to people from all walks of life. I think being able to relate to people on a human level will get you further along in life because we’re all looking for a connection, even the big tops or the people who say “it’s just business.” It is and it isn’t, because in that business are people who matter.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.youtube.com/jjbarrows
• Email: jenniejoybarrows@gmail.com
• Instagram: @jjbarrows @jjbarrowsart
• Facebook: facebook.com/jjbarrows, facebook.com/jjbarrowsart
• Twitter: @jenniejoyb

Image Credit:
Jena Willard

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