Andrew Ballstaedt is an artist who is influenced by children and they art and he often incorporates scribbles and other childlike art making tendencies to show the world through a child’s eyes. He is also very aware of the psychological thinking of children and adults. He shows inner emotions in his ‘monster’ art works. We wanted to learn more about Andrew and his work.
Why did you start making art?
In 12th grade I dropped out of A.P. art to do Acapella choir because i wanted to be in a class with lots of girls. Then my last semester of high school I got back into AP art just because I was missing art. My teacher was too busy helping the other students with their AP portfolios so I just got some small boards cut at Home Depot and painted whatever I wanted. I didn’t have any guidance and just enjoyed painting. I painted landascapes on the back lawn of the high school, cars in the school parking lot, photos of people from the drawer in the art room, made up scenes from my trip to San Francisco with acapella.
Then I put all these paintings up in a small show and my dad helped me frame them. I didn’t even go to the show but the next day this kid in my class came up to me and told me that my small paintings were his mom’s favorite. That comment got me hooked. I kept painting all summer and didn’t get a summer job and my mom couldn’t believe I could paint for 8 hours everyday. Then I got a scholarship for art at BYU and I have been doing it ever since.
Animal I would most want to be:
A dog that had me as an owner because I take my dog everywhere and in graduate school would take him to class everyday with me and would just have to avoid the Dean. He helped me with anxiety and I trained him as a service dog. But I would also like to be an eagle and fly.
Favorite comedians:
Tina Fey acting like Sarah Palin.
What is the most traumatic thing you’ve ever gone through?
The moment I got anxiety so bad that it was hard to leave the house for three years and I dropped out of graduate school because I was thinking (I am either going to become an alcoholic, commit suicide, or move home with my parents and get help) so I moved home with my parents and for three years it was difficult leaving the house and painful to be in social settings until I got my dog, learned about high intensity workouts after doing crossfit for a year, bought a blend tec when I was living in the Motel 6 during graduate school, saw a therapist, found a doctor that actually knew what he was talking about, and then my dad helped me set up a plan to go back to graduate school – all of this helped heal me.
Happiest Moments:
Recently – My best friend and brother returned from his 2 year mission to England. He was born when I was 14 and from the time I returned from my mission in Brasil, he was 6 years old, and we spent so much time togehter it was almost like I was his dad.
When he was 18 we were on a basketball team together and a guy put me in a head lock and I was worried because I couldn’t breath but then I thought “Oh yeah, my little brother is here” and my brother punched the guy in the face until he let go of me.
If you could tell everyone in the world something, what would it be?
I would tell them that starting Bachata and Salsa lessons was something I should have done 20 years ago and I have a slight crush on my dance teacher.
You can find more of Andrew’s work at andrewballstaedt.com
Instagram: @andrewballstaedt
