Today we’d like to introduce you to Trey Everett.
Hi Trey, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I have always been a creative person. As a kid I loved drawing and often drew comics and cartoons. My dad’s side of the family has a number of artists including my uncles, cousins, and distant relatives, so the artistic blood runs in my veins. As I got older I lost interest in focusing on art due to other interests like cars and girls. The creativity came out through the years in interesting lettering on cards or packages I would mail to people or bulletin boards I like to design at a church I used to work at and cardboard castles and houses I made for my children and so on. That was about the extent to my artwork for about 30 years. Then in 2008 a colleague of mine noticed I doodled a lot during meetings and said, “It looks like you like drawing. Why don’t you do that more?’ It was a lightening bolt. Why didn’t I draw more if it brought me life and energy? So I began to intentionally draw in my journals not knowing where this would end up and one thing led to another. I collected drawings and published two books, people began asking me for commissions and prints of my work, I became a graphic recorder, drew political cartoons for our local news paper, I began working on murals, and now fast forward to 2025 and I do about a mural a month, am an artist in residence, co-created a series of meditative cards, and have a back log of commissions including a sustainability coloring book I’m working on.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It actually has been a smooth road. I have found when I move toward what is life-giving the energy naturally flows, opportunities arise, and challenges are welcomed. While I do spend time and energy filling out grants, applying for projects, and other gigs, there is sort of an effortlessness in the interactions and creation of the artwork.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I spend most of my creative energy on mural work and pen and ink art. I’ve been called the “Mural Man” in our area because of the volume of murals I’ve created in schools, public spaces, churches, etc in Ohio, North Dakota, and throughout Minnesota. Getting into the flow of creativity I find I work very fast when creating a mural. There’s something about paint brush that frees me up to create bright, fun, and evocative images that are enjoyed from a distance. Many of the murals I design and create feature Calligrams; images with words. I embed meaningful words and phrases so that people are pulled in and spend time finding and reading what is written. The words and phrases are positive, self affirming, inclusive, and thought provoking. Schools especially appreciate the positive words that kids can read as they walk by the mural every day throughout the school year. Currently I’m embroiled in a dynamic situation in Grand Forks, ND involving an attempt to remove a mural I am working on at North Dakota Vision Services/School for the Blind. Some city council members want it removed. There is a tremendous amount of love and positive energy and activism from the community to save the mural. It’s so inspiring and heartwarming to me!
Pen and Ink is my other passion and I love creating gig posters, tattoo designs, and other creative commissions. My pen and Ink and mural work is not photo realistic but symbolic, non-literal, stylized, or mythical. Over the last few years my colleague Teresa Blythe and I have created sets of visual cards for discernment and self reflection. Each card has an image on one side and a reflection about the symbolism and intended meaning on the other. These cards can be used in a variety of ways as a contemplative tool for personal and group inner exploration and expansion. Each card is black and white and designed for you to be able to express yourself and add depth by coloring them. Coloring is a contemplative practice that can move us out of our anxious minds and into a deeper place of the heart. Our sets include: Mystics and Saints, Desert Mothers and Fathers, Stations of the Cross, and Discernment cards.
I think one thing that sets me apart from a number of artists is that I create artwork that combines calligrams with contemplative aspects. That is not something I see a lot of and the down side, if there really is a down side, is that it’s also not what the masses are seeking out. The style of art I provide is definitely for a specific demographic.
We love surprises, fun facts and unexpected stories. Is there something you can share that might surprise us?
Artwork is my second life in a way. I was deeply involved in the fundamentalist christian world for much of my life including having a masters degree in theology and working as a missionary. In that former world I had all the answers and saw the Bible as denotation rather than conation. My second life now is much different, full of openness, unknowing, welcoming, and one where I let go of beliefs. People who know me now as a artist, tarot reader, celebrant, and spiritual director who has a lot of tattoos, are surprised about my former life as a conservative preacher and missionary. And vice versa; people from previous churches and Bible college will sometimes say, “I didn’t know you were interested in art.” I’m sure those from my former world think I’m going straight to hell. It’s sort of surreal.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://treyeverettcreates.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/treyeverettcreates/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/trey.everett.33
