Rising Stars: Meet Avery Griffin

Today we’d like to introduce you to Avery Griffin. 

Hi Avery, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
I have created art for as long as I can remember. I would express myself creatively in a multitude of ways throughout the years. (It did not occur to me until fairly recently that my art is a coping mechanism for the human condition). I skateboard, modify cars/motorcycles and create: visual art, music, and sculpt in unconventional ways. While cutting the grass as a 10-year-old I remember making spirals in the grass because it felt right. Cutting the grass in straight lines just felt too robotic and unnatural in the summer heat. Making games out of my daily chores kept me entertained for hours on end. I would often teach myself things out of a necessity to create something new. I would often collect old instruments, electronics, tools, lawn equipment, small engine parts, etc. just to take them apart. I really wanted to know how everything worked. This was a habit/ hobby that I had at a very young age (4 or maybe 5 years old). Once I figured out how to repair things, I had an obsessive need to modify things and make everyday objects or images serve a different purpose. Entering middle school everything I touched became “custom”; Endless doodles on my backpack and books. I once created 3 different styles of a “Duct tape Wallet”. I also hand-stitched a backpack made of old jeans. 

A lot of everyday objects I came into contact with seemed way too boring. Entering high school was an experience. As social media became more and more popular, I noticed more people staying inside. No one wanted to make tree houses or play in the woods anymore. The trends were very generic. The only form of self-expression people around me seemed to develop was their profile on “Myspace”. *I did not have a cell phone until freshman or soft more year of high school* So for me, there was a slight disconnect between my peers and myself. I was in concert band, as well as marching band and I really enjoyed it. Going home and practicing or jamming for hours on end was a great mental escape. **I think it is very important to also bring up that I have never consumed alcohol in my life.** (Even to this day) I’m 26 years old. There are some family members that have issues with alcohol and I promised myself a very long time ago that I would never become that. 

Any time I became upset, or depressed, or angry I would play guitar in my room till I fell asleep. Or if I was the first one home, I would play piano for hours on end (Seriously like 7 hours a day). I played so much piano that my grades started to drop. I would enter a sort of “flow state” and just talk through the piano. 

As a young adult, I started pursuing visual art, simply out of utility. There was a point where I didn’t have access to instruments and I was very depressed. Once I realized working full time and living alone is not good for my soul, I started drawing more often. My drawing habits followed in the footsteps of my piano composition. Every time I was upset, I would immediately start to doodle, wherever I was. I would go out with friends to bars and order orange juice or coffee. People would always ask “Why don’t I buy you a beer?” Sometimes I would lie and tell them I’m the DD. Or on occasion, I would be the bouncer at certain bars. No one seemed to notice I was completely sober till I started performing with my band every weekend. We’d finish playing or I would host an event and people would offer me drinks. I would eventually tell them “I just don’t drink”. It seemed to make a lot of people uncomfortable, so I started ordering Dr. Pepper and put a lime in it. “Who cares? I don’t want to be here; these people won’t remember me” I would think to myself. In my own brain, I thought it was good fun. I would dance and still have a good time for the sake of having a good time. Naturally, everyone would assume I was tipsy! I could immediately spot who was pretending to be drunk and who was a lightweight. There’d be situations where I’d sit at the bar with friends and just start sketching everyone’s expressions; their faces in the reflection of the gilded glass bar sign. I’d do it at every bar we’d go to. I can vibe…you know order fries, draw, and try to strike up a deep conversation with a complete stranger about any unconventional topic then leave and throw away the drawing. Next time you go to a bar try to ask the bartender: “Sooooo do you think 21st-century capitalism is just modern feudalism? Oh, yea and can I get an espresso? Tight, thanks dude”. That bartender WILL remember you hahahaha. 

At one point I was living in Cincinnati, Ohio, working back of house at a pizza shop, dealing with the typical kitchen drama. I remember once after a large argument over who left our fresh dough out overnight, I started doodling a self-portrait in the flour on the cutting table. My friend asked “what the hell are you doing?” “Trying to keep my job.” I said. Our boss asked what we were all doing. I told him I was finishing our co-produced mixtape “DoughBoys Cut It Down vol. 1” We all laughed and were able to relax the rest of the day. 

Little moments like that remind me not to take life to seriously. I suppose it kind of brings up this entire interview. I genuinely do not care about my own art. This entire interaction is very exciting and surprising! Art was always a coping mechanism to keep me from exploding or doing something brash. However, this created a very interesting change in perspective… During the C-Void 19 lockdown, I got laid off from my welding/mechanic job. There were definitely times when the world seemed like it was going to completely implode. I stopped caring and pursued a deep interest of philosophy. Stoicism seemed to fit my vibe perfectly! (Please, google it if you are not aware of what it is.) One night I thought “hey you know what? If I die today in this house, I’m going out on my own terms.” I turned off my phone and skated the desolate streets the rest of the day. In the evening I sanded an old skateboard deck and began to draw with my music full blast. [ D E A T H G R I P S – ON GP] I kept telling myself “Don’t stop drawing till these markers die, or until this board is covered.” That night a few friends drove to my house freaking out “yoyoyo there is a riot at the White house! There are riots in Cleveland man!“ “Hahaha sure there is” – I said. “Dude, no seriously look!” and my friends sat me down and showed me all the chaos and riots unfolding across the US. We all remember the race riots, people fighting over toilet paper, vaccines, etc., etc. I couldn’t do anything else but literally laugh and tell them “Just because their world is ending doesn’t mean mine has too. Yo, look at this skateboard”. I showed them the covered skateboard and everyone was amazed and asked how long it took to create. They wanted to see the process. The next day I did the same thing. Filmed it, released it on Instagram. Within hours 2 or 3 people wanted to know if I my decks and posters were for sale. I told them the same thing. “I don’t care about my art. Why are you paying for my garbage?” Close friends talked to me for a long time on the phone and encouraged me to sell my work. My first poster “Wheels of Terror” sold within hours! People also began to buy my “Gloss decks” within days of me starting my Etsy page. 

This new process felt different; “My depression makes money? Nice. I can vibe with this.” This is basically how my career as a visual artist started. I’ve hosted exhibitions, and continue to work with other local artists and just create art. I’m hosting a gallery exhibition on 05/28/22 in Mentor Ohio. If you can’t make it to the exhibition, you can find me skating at Mentor Headlands Skatepark. 

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
No not at all. Here were/ are my main issues I’m trying to work out: 

Money management 

Finishing Projects 

Helping to many people complete their projects instead of my own 

Completing goals one small task at a time. 

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am a Welder/ Fabricator by profession. This is a difficult question to answer if you do not live in our neighborhood haha. I impulse build machines, furniture, skateboard ramps, old cars, kinetic objects. I’m honestly most proud of my truck, it is a 2002 Chevy Silverado. I got it for 200.00 and I rebuilt it for 700.00. I welded the rear end from scratch by myself. The headache rack was fabricated in my kitchen. (I Tig weld in my kitchen). 

I think I’m known for just building things? I don’t really know what I’m known for. I hope it’s something positive haha 

What sets me apart? The details. don’t take anything for face value. Try to remain open-minded and analytical to truly understand what I’m doing. 

Have you learned any interesting or important lessons due to the Covid-19 Crisis?
The general population’s opinion on *ANY TOPIC* can be easily manipulated. People are very easy to control/ persuade when they live in fear. Never live in fear, time is not real, the present is the only thing that actually matters. Ignorance.IS.BLISS & Balance is everything. Life is short so pave a way and lead by example. 

Contact Info:

• Email: gladiatorfabrication@gmail.com
• Website: https://www.etsy.com/people/3cwf6eeihb7pa7ae?ref=hdr_user_menu-profile
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nicola_heshla/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/avery.gr
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0AddTsjGqI

Image Credits
Steve Hughes
Aaron Roe
Jonas Dawson