Today we’d like to introduce you to Brandy Sebastian.
Hi Brandy, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
When I was a young girl, I remember contemplating about all the different possibilities there were in life. My ideas of what I wanted to be when I grew up ranged from being an astronaut to an airplane pilot, a marine biologist, a secret agent spy, and an artist. That’s a pretty wide gamut of ideas and interests. Growing up my mother, Penny Kachuck, worked at a local zoo photographing people and animals for the zoo’s Imax slideshow presentations. I was very lucky to have behind-the-scenes experiences with animals and her at work. I remember the amazing presentations that featured many of her images. Then my dream was all about becoming a National Geographic photographer that traveled the world photographing amazing people and places. A lot has changed since then, but photography was always there in the background. When I was in high school, I took my first darkroom photography class developing film and making my own black and white prints, magic appeared before my eyes. I told everyone, “Someday, I’m going to open a gallery that will feature my work and others, I want support and show local kids art on the walls, have special events as well as musicians and poets perform on a stage.” That dream never went away. Since 2018 I have been fortunate to show my fine art photography as well as work with a small photography-based gallery in Escondido called The Photographer’s Eye Collective. This gave me a taste of what a dream coming true could be like and reminded me of that dream I had back in high school and the many days over the past ten years I would tell my husband, “Someday, I will open a gallery.” Sadly, last year my mother was worried about shutting down the business that she had been growing for nine years. Covid has been extremely tuff on small businesses; I even shut down my own photography business of 15 years because of it. Then one night in early October of 2021, my mother Penny and I were sitting outside on the patio talking about her company. I told her she couldn’t shut it down, that there had to be another way to keeping it going, that it would be too sad to lose everything she had worked so hard for. Within a 45-minute conversation and a whirlwind of brainstorming, a solution appeared. I would share her space; this was an absolutely frightening thought and a complete leap of faith. I had been talking about renting a space with friends somewhere so that we could have a place we each could show and sell our work. This was the perfect opportunity, but the more I thought about it, I wanted it to be more than a shared space; I wanted it to be a full fledge gallery. My father, Gary Sebastian, has owned and operated a construction business, building and remodeling residential and commercial properties for most of my life. This was the perfect opportunity to ask if he would be willing to help, which was a huge ask, and I was elated when he said yes. By the end of October, my father drove out and spent two weeks working, guiding, and teaching my mother and I. The remodel of the small building was now becoming a creative shared space between her business The Glass and Mirror Shoppe, and my new business, Oak Gallery. The grand opening was in February of this year, and I just keep pinching myself and saying dreams do come true.
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I truly don’t think any path in life is a smooth road; I’m not sure I can even imagine what that’s like. We all have our ups and downs regardless of what it may look like on the outside, but it’s how one works through those ups and downs that truly counts. For the past 12 years, it’s been what seems like an uphill battle most days, shoot more like an up-mountain battle. I got diagnosed with Endometriosis in 2013, and before that, I went through an awful business partnership break-up. In 2020 I was diagnosed with a rare auto-immune liver disease; in 2021, I had my seventh surgery for Endo, and more recently was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia. Needless to say, it’s been intense just with my medical history alone; the pain and suffering internally is incomprehensible. It’s put my dear husband and mother through so much and has challenged my faith in life and the universe A LOT. But through all that, I continued to go to school to further my education, got married, my then business grew in different directions, and I found myself as a strong woman, an evolving mixed media artist, and as a being in an infinite universe with so many possibilities. Closing my business was a necessity because it opened the pathway to where I am now. That’s the thing about life is staying open to what doors may open, that things may not always be what we hoped. Being flexible and seeing the possibilities takes practice, and yes, it is very scary and an emotional rocket jetting though the night sky. But it can all be very rewarding as long as you’re willing to do the work and believe that you can do anything if you put your mind to it. That may sound cliché, but it’s not; it’s truth.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I have many, many interests in art and crafts, so many that it’s ridiculous. However, my primary focus and real desire is my fine art photography. What I love about it is the endless possibilities of expression. Of course, that can hold true for many mediums of art, but with photography, that’s where my true heart’s passion lies. I adore the process of planning, gathering, capturing, and that time with “self” and my ‘seeing eye’. I truly enjoy the exploration of how I want the final piece to look like. That an image doesn’t have to be just a straight image meaning a landscape, it can be manipulated and tweaked or composited into another world. It can be my dreams and surreal fantasies. Most of my work reflects my spiritual self, the power and beauty of women, and the natural world around me. I honestly can’t say there is one thing I’m known for. Which might be there very thing I’m known for is my eclectic nature when it comes to creating art. I always say that my style isn’t one note but a symphony of notes. I do what I feel, and often it can vary widely from one body of work to the next. My emotions and what’s happing in my life heavily influence what I create. Women wildly moving in nature, beautiful nude figures being caressed by a flowing body of water, macro images of all the little things we take for granted and are often overlooked, the endless possibilities of alternative processes of photography such as lumens and cyanotypes, to conceptual abstract imagery is only a taste of what I conjure. I also really love finding alternative ways to present my work, be it on leather, in jewelry, hand-thrown pottery, or placed in an upcycled antique gilded frame. Each body of work is uniquely considered from look and feel, substrate its printed on, to how it is finally presented. I’m most proud of my ingenuity in everything I do, and that comes from two parents that are masters at it. I really think that’s what helps to set me apart from other artists and that I’m always curious about the ‘what if.’ How could we possibly know something will or will not work unless we try. I’d also have to say I don’t give up easily, of course, this can be a blessing or a curse, and I feel both those emotions all the time individually and at the same time.
Are there any books, apps, podcasts, or blogs that help you do your best?
When I have a concept on what I want to create two of my go-to apps are Pinterest and YouTube. Pinterest because I can build “thought boards” about colors, textures, places, types of lighting, hairstyles, layouts, imagery, and so on for specific conceptual ideas. It gives me a place to springboard from then, I travel down my own path. I love YouTube a lot! I will watch as many videos as I can on how to do something to ensure that I grasp the ‘how to’ part of something. I’m a visual learner big time, so watching videos definitely guides my learning better than reading. Then, of course, there is the rabbit hole of Google that sends me on wonderful spirals, and journey’s on and off my origination of thoughts and idea. So, I can’t say there’s really a particular blog or podcast that helps; it’s more like where I end up and land on for a bit before searching out another avenue. As far as books, to be honest, I’m not a huge reader that’s always been a weakness; I’m more of a pick-through and reference kind of person. Last year I started my bachelor’s degree program online for digital photography through Southern New Hampshire University. I bring this up because online schooling is no joke, and research, writing, and reading is all one really does with a little bit of making art on the side. It’s tuff, but it has helped tremendously with the reading and writing which have never really been my two favorite subjects. Mostly because I lacked the confidence. I’m learning there is so many ways to gather information.
Pricing
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Note Cards $3.50 – $7.00 each
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Bin Prints $55 – $195
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Jewlery $45 – $150
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Leather Items $65 – $400
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Pottery $75 – $600
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Wall Hung Prints $125 – $2,000
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Custom Installations $500 – $5,000
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.brandysebastian.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brandyjsebastian/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brandyjsebastian/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/OakGallery_CB
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCE999jSaMtOd-vYJVrpbSlA
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/oak-gallery-carlsbad
- Other: https://oak.gallery
