Reilluminating the Past with Patrick O’Brien
Happiness can be Found in the Darkest of Times;
If Only one Remembers to Turn on the Light
“I could be having the worst day and then someone will call me or message me telling me how much they love my work and it instantly makes me feel better,” Patrick described to me how starting his business ‘Reilluminated’ helped him in more than one way.
He said that for him it becomes an escape when things are not going how he wants and that he feels accomplished when he completes the visions he has in mind.
Channeling Positive Energy
“Most artists are a little crazy, art helps them stay grounded in some way, because they might be able to focus their anger, or bad thoughts, or sadness onto something else instead of acting out, like I did in all the time I wasn’t creating.”
Patrick told me art is such an important part of the community saying, “It makes people react, happy, think outside of normalcy and their crazy lives, helps them slow down, appreciate things around them.”
The Most Lit Booth at any art Show
Patrick says the struggles he has faced as an artist are mostly financial, “Shows are important, I sell a lot more lamps at shows than online because people can interact with the lamps and see them in person.”
“Summers are hard in Phoenix because it’s so hot, less people are coming to the shows and the people that are coming to shows are more there to look than to buy.”
Patrick also told me about how warm his booth gets with all the lamps on inside a small space, the reason he took a few months off this summer from First Fridays but is successfully back at it once again.
Lighting a Love for art in Others
One thing I asked Patrick, as a writer, was if he had ever done any type writer lamps to which he informed me that some were in the works.
“I have three old type writers, 1900s, 1905, I want to make the keys light up and I haven’t quite got it the way I wanted yet, still working on it,” He went on to tell me about how he makes sure that his projects tend to take him a while because he doesn’t settle on anything less than creating his vision exactly how he has pictured it.
I also asked Patrick what he wanted his work to bring to others, his reply, “Enjoyment, a smile, I want to make them happy and continue to react to and love art.”
A Humble and Very Bright Artist
“I could never work behind a desk, creating makes me happy, working with my hands is something I’ve always done.”
Patrick is deserving of all the success he has come across and has such a humble attitude about him.
When I asked him if he wanted to add any other comments or plugs to the article he simply replied that he was just thankful for the opportunity.
So here come those plugs on my behalf:
Check out Reilluminated on Facebook and Instagram, if for anything to see all of his creations not mentioned or pictured in this article.
I have messaged him a good handful of times to which he always gets right back to me and is happy to do so.
Please support this local artist and mom, if you’re reading this all I want for Christmas is a Reilluminated lamp.
