Bayou Artist: Amy Tatman Bernard

BAYOU ARTIST, AMY TATMAN BERNARD, IS NOT ONLY AN ARTIST, SHE’S ALSO PARTNERED WITH OTHERS TO LAUNCH AND GROW MORE THAN ONE SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS OVER THE YEARS. SHE’S USED THOSE BUSINESSES TO GIVE BACK TO HER COMMUNITY AND THE WORLD IN LIFE-CHANGING WAYS.

ARTICLE BY APRIL CLARK HONAKER AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY KELLY MOORE CLARK

ABOUT EIGHT YEARS AGO, author, speaker and career coach Emilie Wapnick coined the term “multipotentialite.” It was meant to describe those people who have many different interests and creative pursuits in life—those whose lives run counter to the idea that everyone should have one true calling. Through her book “How to Be Everything” and a widely circulated TED Talk, Wapnick celebrated multipotentialites and educated the world about the unique strengths and talents of this group.

Whether she knows it or not, local artist Amy Tatman Bernard is a member of the multipotentialite club. “Focusing on one thing is great, and I could probably get a lot better at it,” she said, “but I just like a lot of different things. I like to try it all.” Not only is Amy an artist. She’s also partnered with others to launch and grow more than one successful business over the years, and she’s used those businesses to give back to her community and the world in life-changing ways.

“It’s hard for me to focus on one thing,” she said, “and there are still a lot of things I want to try.” Speaking of business, she said, “We see opportunities, and we want to go there,” but she feels the same about art. According to Amy, “Art is an expression, and there are always new ways to express yourself.” She’s always loved art and would have loved to major in it. But as a young adult, she couldn’t see herself making a living as an artist. As a result, she majored in business technology management and earned an associate’s degree. That degree has certainly come in handy during her entrepreneurial ventures, but art has remained a common thread, weaving its way through those ventures as well.

Amy’s interest in art was first sparked in fourth grade during a science lesson. The teacher asked students to copy an insect from the textbook onto their papers. While the teacher expected a quick sketch of the main features, Amy turned in a highly detailed duplicate that garnered praise and recognition. Soon after, she began taking private art classes and has continued to paint on her own ever since. Throughout school, she was always the go-to person for anything “artsy” or creative, which meant she drew the pep rally posters and designs for the yearbook. By the time she finished high school, Amy admitted she was burnt out on art, so studying business and keeping her artistic skills a secret during college allowed her to refuel her creativity.

After graduating from Tech and a brief stint in Nashville, Amy and her husband Brent returned to Ruston and opened a gift shop called Daddy’s Money. Many of the shop’s items could be personalized or hand-painted. “It wasn’t real artistic,” Amy said, “but I used my hands and was honing my skills. Even today, I paint fast, and I think that comes from the fast pace of having to do 100 party cups in a night.”

When Daddy’s Money closed, Amy served as the Louisiana sales representative for Ty Beanie Babies during the height of the craze. Then she and Brent started Beehive Wholesale, which eventually transitioned into a retail business that overtook their warehouse. Their son now manages the Beehive Outlet in Ruston, and Amy rebranded the wholesale portion of the business about 6 years ago, calling it Bops. With the rebranding came a new purpose, which was to give back. Bops now gives a portion of each sale to programs that empower women, and the new motto is “Live creatively. Give freely.”

he desire to rebrand with this new mission grew from an experience Amy had with a local non-profit. The non-profit had asked Amy to fund sewing machines for a program in India that teaches women how to sew and helps them start their own businesses. Amy was eager to support the program, so when the non-profit decided to move its support elsewhere, Amy took over the responsibility of funding the program. She’s now helped more than 275 women complete a year-long sewing course that provides them with a personal sewing machine upon course completion.

“In addition to making a living, I get to help other women entrepreneurs realize their dreams,” she said. “It’s rewarding to help a woman without any opportunity and just give her a chance. It doesn’t always work out, but we give them an opportunity to do something in their homes.” According to Amy, the alternative for most of these women is hard labor in the fields away from their children, but this program allows them to take care of their children while they work. “To see that keeps me going,” she said.
Over time, Bops has continued to expand its reach. In fact, they recently purchased land in Rajahmundry with hopes to break ground on a permanent school and community center there during a visit to India this month. In addition to supporting women and their communities with education, tools and facilities, Bops also sells their work. They source products from artisans, family-owned factories and women’s cooperatives in India, Guatemala, Indonesia, China, Nepal and the U.S. “Everything we do and sell helps women’s entrepreneurship,” Amy said, “even the products from China. A lot of those items give us the margins to fully fund our sewing program.”

A newly launched affiliate program will also allow bloggers and social media influencers to spread word of the Bops mission while earning commissions. “I think it will be a great way to grow our brand and help other people,” Amy said. “To be able to give back is the best part of my job.”

Maintaining the level of success that allows Bops to give back keeps Amy busy, but it’s the kind of busy that feeds her soul. “I get to travel a lot, which exposes me to different cultures and colors, which really inspires me,” she said. “I’m really grateful for that, and I love the fact that the work is ever-changing. If I had to sit at a desk every day and do the same thing, it would kill my soul.” Another factor that keeps Amy on her toes is the trends. “Things come in and out faster than they used to, so I’m constantly looking for the next thing,” she said. “Even if I like something unique, I have to choose what the majority of people will buy.” At the same time, choosing items that are responsibly sourced and reflect the “boho artistic vibe” definitive of Bops is important to her.

espite staying busy with work and family, Amy has made time to focus on her painting, especially in the last 10 years. Although she sometimes paints for product, she generally paints for herself, making it a great outlet to express herself authentically and forget about trends. “I can create art for specific purposes, but it’s not what I like to do,” she said. “When I’m totally letting go, the art looks different. I would rather create what I love. I want to paint, because I love to paint. At this stage in my life, I don’t have to paint for money or a living. I can do it for myself.”

Growing up, Amy always felt she had to do the right thing. “I was very structured, wanting things to be perfect,” she said. “I really struggled with letting go.” In the last few years, she’s tried to loosen up. “I’ve tried to let the art do what it’s going to do, to bring out a natural flow and have it not be so contrived,” she said. She feels like the pursuit of perfection and the rigidity she experienced when she was just starting out as an artist held her back. “I’ve really worked on just making art and not worrying if it’s good enough,” she said. “I try not to be so hard on myself.”

In this loosening-up process, Amy said she’s learned a valuable lesson: “to believe in yourself and not worry about what other people think, to be your own person, to do what you think is right, to follow the path you should be on and not listen to the critics.” According to Amy, critics will give you a million pieces of advice, but the reality is that some of them will understand what you do, and others won’t. “Meanwhile,” she said, “you’ll just be creating work.”

Like most artists, Amy started out painting things—cups, apples, trees, landscapes. But over time, she found herself drawn to the freedom of abstraction. “You go through a process of trying to put your own interpretation on things,” she said. What’s interesting to Amy about abstraction is that it’s actually harder in some ways than painting realistically, because much of the inspiration comes from within. It’s also hard, because the painting tends to do what it wants. “But not knowing how it’s going to end up is exciting,” she said. “I love to have an idea or start and then see where it goes. It takes on a life of its own, and then it’s just pulling out what’s already there. Sometimes a tree emerges, and it makes sense.”

Although Amy is definitely drawn more to abstraction as a genre, she’s still discovering who she is as an artist. “I feel like I’m still just beginning to find my style,” she said. “I don’t feel I’m quite there, but I feel like I’m close. I think every artist is always working on that, but I feel like that’s my greatest challenge.”

Because she didn’t major in art in college, Amy hasn’t had a lot of formal instruction in painting, but she likes to attend workshops. She enjoys the intensity of a workshop and the pressure to produce. In fact, she says she does her best work when she’s surrounded by other painters. They keep her from getting distracted, which tends to happen when she’s alone, and they also provide immediate, constructive feedback.

In every workshop she’s attended, Amy’s learned something useful, but some workshops have been better suited to her style than others. Recently, she and her sister Doris attended a Betty Carr workshop together. Carr is an impressionist landscape painter, whose style was a better match for Doris than Amy. During the workshop, Carr gave extensive instructions about how to prepare a palette. While everyone else in the workshop, including her Doris, followed instructions and maintained a neat palette and workspace, Amy was dying inside at the thought of it. Eventually she let herself go and just did what felt natural. For Amy, that generally means making a mess, using vibrant colors and getting covered in paint from head to toe. Wearing a smock or apron tends to be pointless, so she doesn’t bother. Fortunately, Carr was very gracious and allowed Amy to be herself.

According to Amy, people sometimes laugh at her, because she likes to touch and feel the paint. “I want to manipulate it and move it,” she said. “Sometimes your fingers do what a brush can’t. I can’t even imagine using latex gloves. I just have to touch it.” While the process itself is inspiring, Amy also finds inspiration in the world around her—through nature, hiking, physical activity, music, other artwork and being around creative people. Even creativity in business can spark Amy’s own. “To see someone break away and be really successful because of a wild idea really inspires me,” she said.

When she looks at other artwork, especially good work, it can take a while to process because of all the possibilities. “There’s something about painting,” she said. “It strikes an emotion in people. It’s an art form people can relate to.” When she paints, Amy wants people to feel connected to it, and she wants it to strike an emotion. “Hopefully it brings up a passion and an excitement when they see it,” she said.

As an artist and a businesswoman, Amy starts each new venture with hopes of success, and she’s had a great deal of it, but she said, “It hasn’t always been a success. I want people to know it’s been a struggle. I’ve started lots of things that have failed, and I’ve made sacrifices that some people wouldn’t have made, but it’s all brought me to the place I am right now.” Every day, Amy is growing not only as an artist and businesswoman, but also as a person. “I don’t know everything,” she said, “but I try really hard, and I read every day. You have to keep growing, because it’s how you respond to failure and mistakes that determines how successful you’ll be.”

Amy said she and Brent have been approaching life on full throttle for the last thirty years, so it’s time to slow down and take more time to enjoy it. They’re still going to pursue business endeavors, just on a different scale. “I don’t see myself ever not working toward something, so I’ll still be busy,” she said, “just in different ways.” She’ll have more time for hobbies, travel and painting. “It’s your only life,” she said. “Make the most of it.”