Faith & Vocation: Luz Bratcher
As part of a year long project focused on faith and vocation we are highlighting various parishioners by having them answer seven questions.
Meet Luz Bratcher!
How long have you been in Seattle and what do you most enjoy and struggle with about living here?
I moved here from Phoenix, Arizona 15 years ago—my mother always said I was a pinecone living in a tumbleweed's world! I knew Seattle was where I belonged the moment I first visited it in high school. The close proximity to art, music, and coffee; the landscape and wildlife (nothing was trying to bite, sting, or stab you!); an abundance of drawbridges! I finally landed in Seattle after I started a new business during the recession and I wanted to spend a little time where I felt most at home to figure that out. Then I met Cole a few months into being here and the rest is history!
Since then the Seattle that first captured my heart has evolved with some hard edges that are a little more challenging to coexist alongside. The increased cost of living, a significant housing crisis, stressful drivers in stressful traffic, and the cultural value of work as an identity and isolation all break my heart and brain on the regular.
How long have you been at your current place of work and do you see this as a place of longevity? Why or why not?
A little over a year ago, I entered into my second career as an art educator and therapeutic artist after over 20 years doing user experience design in tech. Currently, I teach art part time at a private Christian school to K-8 students. I am also trying to build up my business, Golden Repair, which is a mix of teaching art classes to people needing to reconnect with their creativity and working with individuals who are processing grief through art. I have dreams of establishing a studio where people can drop in to explore and experience art in community.
Do you see your calling and your career as the same or different?
I’ve spent a good chunk of my career separate from my calling, only to find that for me, it was exhausting and disorienting to not have them align. But to find this intersection of calling and career has been a long journey of perpetual reinvention after many disappointments, trauma, and grief. One of the reasons I chose the name Golden Repair was after the Japanese practice of kintsugi, in which the seams of mended pottery are covered in gold. The idea that something broken can be remade into something beautiful is a big theme in my professional development. One of the gifts of changing careers midlife is that there’s a few decades of threads to follow, such as how my heart would sing when I watched people blossom after making places for them to learn, create, or simply belong for a bit. It’s not easy stepping into the second half of my life with something brand new, but I’m empowered with a new, joyful sense of purpose and vision now that my calling and career are one.
What are some of the things that you find most enjoyable about your work?
I get to help people of all ages uncover the depths of their creativity, which is so much fun! There is a lot of play in my work, from preparing for a lesson to working alongside one of my students. There is also a lot of learning involved, which is also very activating for me. I also really enjoy being with my students and clients, learning about them and hearing their stories, finding ways to tailor their learning to their unique needs. It's a great honor to be invited into someone's grief and healing. It's a lot of listening and just holding space for people to express whatever heartache needs tending to, but also rejoicing when you help them see there’s still light and life in that tender heart too.
What do you find particularly challenging?
Being a solopreneur is lonely. You also have to wear a lot of hats as a small business owner, to which I’m a bit clumsy. Getting out into the community and actually doing the work? I’m all in! Remember to file quarterly taxes and make a marketing plan? Ew, blergh!
How do you see your faith intersecting with your work?
I can’t really imagine what it would look like otherwise! As a Christian, I bear the image of Christ, His compassion, kindness, and mercy, and to help in restoring the dignity of other image-bearers whether they know it or not.
If there was something the church could do to support you more, what might that look like?
Three things that would help right now:
Tell your friends, coworkers, and therapists about my work! I’m actively looking for more clients and teaching opportunities. More info on my site, https://www.golden.repair/
I really need a mentor to help me grow my business.
Come visit me at my studio! I love having visitors and you’ll get to play with art, plus cuddle a baby and/or a few cats.
