LOCAL Houston | The City Guide JANUARY 2015 | Page 41

Local January 2015_FINAL_002houston 12/18/14 4:14 PM Page 41

...IS FOR
JOURNEY
THROUGH
Originally from New
Zealand, Houstonbased artist Heath
Brodie, who goes by the
alias Journey Through,
challenges people to “think
locally” by creating ephemeral works with natural,
biodegradable and local materials. The world is Heath’s
canvas, literally. The name Journey Through comes from
the artistic and intellectual process in creating earth works
using local materials such as pecan ink from the Brazos
River to upcycled wood from the Third Ward.
Touching base on the ethos “nothing lasts forever,” “I want
people to experience the moment, to realize the importance of everything in the big scheme of things,” says
Heath. While traveling to Nepal, Heath was inspired by
the culture. “Tibetan monks inspired me to start what I was
doing. I saw a lot of that culture and it really affected me.
It’s a whole different way of thinking and living, really.
They seemed really full and happy, enjoying everything.”
Heath strives to promote awareness and education of the
natural environment and its resources by taking real people through an interactive journey that encourages positive
growth and change as the natural art evolves. “Nothing is
ever going to work exactly how you want it to work. It’s
not going to be perfect but it’s still a learning curve like
Journey Through – there’s always another time. Think of the
experiences and don’t hold back. There are always going
to be challenges to grow from,” says Heath.
Don’t miss Heath’s collaboration with Black ݽ