Today we’d like to introduce you to Laura Brady
Hi Laura, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
The easiest answer is that I’ve been doing what I do now—write, sing, play music, teach, make art—as long as I can remember. There were childhood equivalents to all my current professional endeavors. But it took me a while to arrive at the place of claiming an artist’s life and calling myself one (even though no one in my life had any trouble seeing me this way). The shortest answer is that a meandering path from a degree in International Studies, living abroad in Spain, helping to start a social justice film festival, launching a singer-songwriter career, and running a small communications services company while struggling with years of mysterious chronic illness culminated in a dream one night in which my mother told me I needed to get my MFA in Creative Writing. The degree was something I’d been mulling over for many years, and I’d given it one unsuccessful shot before, but that dream planted a seed that resulted in me applying to the program in Flagstaff, getting in, and starting a new creative chapter in Arizona. Not everyone needs to get an MFA to become a writer. For me, however, it marked a turn in my life from seeing my artistic pursuits as a side hobby to claiming them as a central part of who I am and what I have to contribute during my lifetime.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The struggles have been numerous. We live in a society that loves music and stories but often fails to adequately compensate their creators. Figuring out how to devote time to the creative process, which is much longer than the “visible” time actually typing or composing, while also make a living, is a perpetual challenge of this life path. I’ve had moments of profound doubt about taking this direction, which has no promised rewards. Luckily, I’ve learned to delight in the beauty and struggle of the process, rather than the outcome. Managing chronic illness has been another challenge, as it has impacted my livelihood and also my creative mental capacity. I’ve had to learn to accept periods of bounteous creativity and others of fallow pages and rest. Finally, I’ve struggled with how to place myself as an artist given that I work across mediums (music, writing, and some visual mediums). Choosing to loosen my hold on needing to be any one thing has brought me peace and allowed me to embrace the fusion of my interests. This acceptance fueled my last major project which was an album of music with an illustrated companion book of essays.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am a singer-songwriter who has released three albums of original folk music and an illustrated companion book, and a poet and essayist who has work published in various literary journals and anthologies. I am also a writing teacher who offers community classes for writers of all levels as well as private creative coaching for people who want help bringing their creative dreams to life.
I am most proud of my recent multi-media project, Pink Stone: Songs from Moose lodge, which was inspired by four seasons I spent in Washington State’s rural Methow Valley, seeking healing and a new life direction. The album was produced by David Weber in Bloomington, Indiana and has an atmospheric country vibe with lyrics that evoke connection with the land. Bursting with vibrant landscape photos by Sol Gutierrez and watercolor illustrations of the region’s flora and fauna by Anna Briggs, the accompanying Companion Book provides a contemplative journey through four seasons in the valley—as well revealing the inspiration of many songs.
I was also honored to recently win the Marley Foundation Astronomy Discovery Center Writing Prize at Lowell Observatory, and be selected as a semi-finalist for the Pamet River Prize from Yes Yes Books with my poetry manuscript that investigates chronic illness and cultural recovery through the retelling of an Irish myth.
I believe my exploration across mediums and the way my art evokes ancient human longings for connection with the land and each other is what sets my work apart. I love the earth and helping others love and care for it, too, is a central tenant to everything I create.
We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
In some ways, I think my whole career has been a risk. Working for under-funded nonprofits, running a small business, and making art is not what most in our society consider smart career moves. I’ve taken many financial risks to be able to work on projects I believe in, knowing I’d most likely never see the resources return to me. Other risks have included leaving behind my full life in Seattle to move to the Methow Valley in pursuit of healing and creative awakening, and a few years later driving South with only what fit in my car in search of dry air and relief from physical pain symptoms, which led to me building a second home base in Arizona. The MFA program also felt like a risk, as it had no clear career pathway. A different master’s degree might have been more practical—if less spiritually nourishing.
I believe risks are an essential part of life and growth. But our bodies tell us which are the right risks for us. Do I feel my heart quicken, a surge of nervous anticipation? Is there a bubbling yes even underneath the fear? Those, I think, are the risks worth taking.
Pricing:
- Creative Coaching sessions: $75 – 165 (sliding scale)
Contact Info:
- Website: https://lauraadriennebrady.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wreneyes/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/seattlewren/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvl2f4HZemr8gxIKduyPmPA
- Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/seattlewren
Image Credits
Amanda Drendel
Sol Gutierrez
