Justin Scroggins – Featured Artist

I received, as a gift,  a guitar pick by Justin Scroggins with an interesting animated character etched into the copper material from which it was made. This lead me to look into more of his work and what I discovered was his remarkable ability to take the viewer into a different world through the characters that he imagines and realizes on paper and metal. His work is both instinctive and calculated, abstract and representational and the materials he uses are also polar as he works with traditional smithing and jewelry techniques along side paper and illustration. I really enjoy getting lost in the characters, concepts and composition and I find myself waiting for the next one to show up on Instagram.

Justin writes about his work and process:

Growing up I was encouraged to draw by both my parents and grandparents. Having a creative outlet has always been very important to me ever since.

My current work stems from an event in my early twenties. As a result of stress my father had a life threatening brain aneurysm. After the several surgeries I was informed my father’s brain would function differently, ultimately changing his personality traits. Witnessing stress affect a loved one’s life so drastically made me realize how important mental health is. Now I am constantly looking for little ways to alleviate stressors. I try to look at stressful situations from a distance. I find that analyzing a stressful situation often takes the stress right out of it. It makes the situation seem small and trivial and not worth the all of the fuss. Also laughing. Laughing is my favorite way to alleviate stress! Laughing forces me to be present and in that moment, melts the stress away.

Check out his instagram at justin.scroggins​