Passion, Purpose & Freedom

Words by Derek Mayberry | Photography by Josh Perez & Levi Tijerina

Over the past few years, the River North Art District (RiNo to locals) in Denver has become a creative hub, with an array of talented craftsmen and women who hone their skills through daily discipline in their chosen trades. To many, the word craftsman brings about visions of an expert tradesman steadily focused on their work, in a harmonious state with their subject, a perfect marriage between lucid awareness and a trained subconscious. We recently spent some time with a few of our friends, including a creative director, a hairstylist, a metal fabricator and an artist to explore what it means to be a craftsman and find the common thread of creativity between their respective crafts and two-wheeled passions.

Josh Wills

CREATIVE DIRECTOR

Josh’s creative roots began in an urban landscape; skateboarding and graffiti art formed the foundation that would eventually lead to his role as a creative director.  He fell in love with design as an art student, where his focus was aimed at T-shirts and skateboard decks. “I was drawn to design because of the passion I saw in designers, passionate about what they were doing; I could tap into that,”  Josh says, recalling a sense of anxiety in the early stages of his design career, along with the uncertainty of paying his way.  He shared the story of how a teacher suggested he settle as a children’s book illustrator, which only fueled his desire to perfect his craft as a creative designer.  Even today, though, there’s a degree of fear and anxiety –  the relentless pressure social media puts on the design community, “you’re only as good as your last piece of work.”

When asked what keeps him motivated, Josh cites the problem-solving aspect of design for hire, and the idea that commercial design work is objective in nature: “It isn’t art, but it can be artful.  It serves a function; it has to work.”  Being able to shape the way people look at a brand or business is another source of motivation, “pushing and pulling levers in people’s minds.”  Josh says design work is not without its challenges, and that it becomes a struggle when trying to develop a shared vision with clients, where there’s a difference of interpretation and things just aren’t connecting. 

Josh grew up in a working-class family. His father hung out with motorcycle clubs, and Josh wasn’t initially interested in riding because he didn’t care to associate with the motorcycle culture he had experienced as a kid.  That all changed when his wife bought him a Harley as a Father’s Day gift.  Josh quickly taught himself how to ride and wondered why he hadn’t done it sooner.  When asked how riding ties into his craft, Josh recalls the places his bike has taken him: old towns, abandoned buildings, and the unique architecture and topography he’s stumbled upon.  “That inspiration gets pulled back into the work I do day in and day out.  When things are clicking in design or out riding a motorcycle, things feel light, free, and effortless.”

Grace Penhale

HAIR ARTIST

When she’s not riding the streets of Denver on her Sportster, Grace can be found behind a stylist’s chair at her Holistic Salon in RiNo’s Zeppelin Station. Grace’s first real vision of what she wanted in a salon came to her while working with a nonprofit in Spain; she attributes the inspiration to Spain’s culture and the importance they place on living authentically.  Grace feels divinity had a hand in her path as a salon owner/operator, as well.  After completing beauty school, Grace worked at a salon in the Cherry Creek area of Denver and began developing her own business plan for Holistic.  Grace put everything she had into fulfilling her goal of being a salon owner. She hustled, working multiple jobs to make ends meet. She says the hardest part was figuring out the logistics of running a business, including a workable plan and addressing finances.  

She wasn’t always a fan of the Salon’s name, Holistic; however, it aligned best with her desire to provide a space for women to be themselves, and to send them off with a sense of their true beauty, value and identity. 

It’s interesting how the salon business and riding bikes relate for Grace: “It’s the women-inspiring-women aspect.  Encouraging each other to take that leap of faith, even when it’s a little scary.”

Bonnie Gregory

METAL FABRICATOR

Bonnie’s exposure to metalworking started when she was a teen hanging out with her grandfather, who worked on cars.  “I was around a lot of metal. I started welding when I was 15.”  Growing up in a rural community, she was always surrounded by motorcycles and 4-wheelers, and there was always something in need of repair.  Bonnie started out fabricating props and constructed railings, but it was when she worked as an apprentice creating furniture that she felt most creative.  Bonnie says she experiences a calm feeling when welding, a sort of meditation: “The trade attracts the kind of person who appreciates the quiet and wants to still their mind – it’s a place where I want to be; I seek it out.”  She still has the same curiosity and excitement about it as she did when she first began fabricating, and it also helps that she loves the smell of metal.  

When asked what her biggest challenge has been, Bonnie felt it was the times she’s had to go back to the basics, because “it’s humbling.”  She shared with us the best advice she’s received: “It’s not that you won’t make mistakes; it’s how quickly you stop making them and change your behavior.”  As for her more recent challenges, “Sometimes you can get into a loop in your head being alone, need to take a walk, a drive, a ride, There’s something about moving that helps me figure out the puzzle.” Riding motorcycles and working on metal is an outlet, as it brings her back to her happy place.

Like many, Bonnie’s first experience on a motorcycle was on the back as a passenger, but once she had her hand on the throttle, she knew riding motorcycles would be a big part of her life, because “being in control of a motorcycle, you’re completely free.  Just you and the bike, you and the machine.”  Describing how metalworking relates to riding, she says, “At the end of a work day, going for a ride completely resets stress. I work through puzzles when I ride and think of things in a new way. The feeling I get from my work is wholeness and the feeling I get from riding is freedom.”

Pedro Barrios

ARTIST

Born in Miami and raised in Venezuela, Pedro’s love for art began at an early age. Exposed to different cultures when he was young, Pedro attributes the influence for his artistic style to his multicultural background.  The Denver street artist began taking art more seriously around the age of 19, after backpacking through Europe.  Travel is a big part of where Pedro finds inspiration for his work, and nowadays there’s more intention behind seeking out art wherever he goes, “not just to be inspired, but to also learn about art and color. There’s a lot of influence from all over the world.” Recalling his early days creating art, Pedro started out mimicking the Old Masters, noting what inspired him in finding his own form: “Once you develop your own style, it’s very exciting.”  

Pedro lived in Vail, where he had friends who would travel down to Denver, to a studio called The 400. That’s where he met friend and fellow artist Jaime Molina.  After connecting, trading art, and establishing a mutual respect for each others’ craft, Pedro and Jaime began collaborating regularly. Because each artist brings their own style and influences to the project, Pedro never knows what the final product will look like. “It’s a new experience every single time we paint together. The process is so exciting and fulfilling.”

However, becoming an expert in your craft isn’t without its challenges, and each new project presents unique hurdles. Pedro recalls a mural project he and Jaime completed for New Belgium Brewing.  Painting an intricate mural in the dead of winter on a wall that never receives the warmth of direct sunlight, Pedro and his partner endured frigid temps for a grueling two months to complete the piece. Pedro adds, “No matter how many walls or places I’ve painted, it’s always a new experience, a different texture, substrate, or weather condition. Always a new challenge.” Like all true craftsmen, Pedro is able to appreciate what he gets in return: “I can stand back and truly feel a sense of pride behind it.  That’s my main motivator, one thing that makes me truly happy.”

Pedro grew up around bikes, but it wasn’t until he was older that he took an interest in a motorcycle of his own. When describing the commonality between art and motorcycles, Pedro says it’s the sense of freedom and originality, something he finds common across the motorcycle culture.  “When you get a motorcycle, you instinctively want to make it your own to reflect who you are. Like art, it’s an extension of myself and who I am.”  Like his artwork, Pedro says there’s a shared sense of solitude and focus he gets from riding, because “when I’m painting, I’m concentrating and not really thinking about anything else, except for what I’m doing, and I get that same feeling when I’m riding a motorcycle.”

It can be said that a craftsman’s passion for their work is rivaled only by their desire to experience the freedom it affords. Freedom through focus, creation, and being present in a given moment. When we train our attention on what we love – be it design, fabrication, art, or riding motorcycles – we free ourselves from overthinking and allow ourselves to tune out the static of everyday distractions.  How we pursue our passions is a big part of what defines us, because performed with conviction, they allow us to be free to experience what we truly love.