Wisdom from Justin the Artist at 22

I’m fortunate to have many millennials and Gen Z-ers in my life, for various reasons. Some of them I’ve known all their lives and see often. Others are friends of theirs I’ve met only a time or two, but who I watch from afar after making that first connection. Social media makes watching that way really easy (and it’s ok if you’re not stalking). 😊

One such young man in the latter group is Justin Ebel. He did an overnighter at Glover Gardens a couple of years ago with our Musical Millennial and several other Austin musicians who were in Houston for a gig, so they wouldn’t have to drive the 2½ hours back home in the middle of the night. Fortunately for me, even though my son had to leave fairly early the next morning, the rest of these smart and talented college students stuck around and chatted with me for a couple of hours. It was a delightful interlude, especially since I had just had foot surgery and was on the couch, immovable. I loved meeting my son’s friends, putting faces to the names I’d been hearing.

Different than the others on that visit, Justin is not a musician, but an artist. I realized almost immediately during our conversation that he was the right person to design a logo and visual identity for Glover Gardens, which until that point had only sported a hibiscus photo I had taken and some rather boring typeface. It was a nice photo, but not logo-worthy.

As a college student, Justin was rather busy, but not too busy to take me on as a customer. His creative process was awesome. He listened closely to what I wanted to convey and developed an understanding of my point of view for the site. There were several iterations over about six weeks (I was slow to give feedback because I really don’t do anything but work during the week) and in the end, Justin didn’t give me what I asked for.

He gave me what I needed.

I love love love the logo.

My vision for the logo had been very busy and distracting, with about 6 or 8 different images I wanted to weave in, and throughout our discussions and the process, I came to see that Justin’s interpretation WAS Glover Gardens. It was everything I wanted, in a clean, unfussy presentation that speaks of modernity and yet nostalgia and a slight quirkiness.

The image that is the “O” also serves as the single logo and thumbnail and is multi-faceted. It is a world, which refers to travel and learning about and enjoying other cultures. The blue and green symbolize oceans and land, nature, conservation. The image also suggests a leaf, for gardens, or a gourd or squash, for food. The pen speaks of the blog and my love to write.

Once I got the designs from Justin and updated the blog, I felt like Glover Gardens ‘grew up’. I remain very grateful that I found him, and he’s on speed dial for any design work I might need in the future. Justin is a freelance artist now, and you can find him at his web site below.

I’ve been meaning to write this post for quite a while to share Justin’s talent and my happiness with his work for me, and am glad I finally did. What prompted me to do it today, though, was something else that Justin created. He celebrated his 22nd birthday yesterday, and shared something I really liked on Instagram.

Justin’s 22 Lessons / Things He Knows About Himself

"here are 22 lessons/things i’ve learned about life and myself throughout the years

1. i am resilient
2. i love to travel see the world. invest in memories and experiences!
3. to let go of my expectations i place on the people around me
4. sometimes bad things happen even with good intentions
5. i can struggle to achieve a balance between life and work
6. i can trust myself more than i think
7. i have beautiful people in my life
8. i can do anything i put my mind to
9. i love orange juice
10. treat my body like the temple it is, listen to it!
11. i struggle to let people in, but some of the most beautiful interactions i’ve had with people have been because i opened up
12. one new experience i’m afraid to embrace can change my life
13. it’s okay to cry
14. embracing my inner child can bring more joy than trying to conform to what i think other people want from me
15. there is peace in accepting that i am completely out of control of the world around me, i can only control who i am to those around me
16. i love being surrounded by musicians and artists. the people in my life are my daily inspirations, pushing me to better myself and my art
17. step outside of your comfort zone, you never know what’s on the other side
18. to love myself for who i am
19. protect my energy, some people just aren’t worth it
20. sometimes something beautiful can rise from all that pain
21. learn to live with regrets. i’m not perfect and that’s okay
22. enjoy today, because there’s no promise of a better tomorrow!

much love to my family, friends, and everyone else in my life, i wouldn’t have made it this far without y’all 💜"

There is a lot of wisdom here. A lot.

I’ve read it 3 times and picked up something new I can apply to myself each time. It is making me think, and reflect. So of course I wanted to share it here in the blog – and Justin graciously gave me permission.

Thank you, Justin, and I can’t wait to see what else you create. I’ll be in touch about those Glover Gardens t-shirts and aprons. 😊

© 2021, Glover Gardens

Note 1: the art at the top of the post is Justin’s cover for “Watch the Moon” by Thomas Wenglinski (feat. Clunis). Thomas is AKA our Musical Millennial. This tune can be streamed or downloaded from numerous music sites, or you can find it here on Amazon.

Note 2: Glover Gardens is not a commercial blog, and all recommendations are based on positive personal experience rather than being paid ads.