Bay Area firefighter uses sculpting to alleviate stress: 'Creative outlets are important for everybody'
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - First responders have high-stress jobs that can lead to mental health challenges. But a local firefighter is relieving his stress in a very creative way.
Devon Brady is used to training for fires. He's a 20-year firefighting veteran who joined the department after 9/11.
"I was looking for something to do," said Brady. "And of course, firefighting and EMS was in the news a lot at that time and, started looking into it, and it seemed like something that I could, that I could do and would be interested in."
Before becoming a firefighter, Brady was an artist. He graduated from USF in 1995 with a dual concentration in sculpture and photography.
"I went to work for, theatrical design company, building sets and props and things, doing a lot of work for theme parks and theater and stuff like that," Brady stated.
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When the economy took a nosedive, Brady found himself out of work. That's when he decided to become a firefighter.
"The part about the fire service that I like is that even though some of these calls are really, you know, can be really stressful, everything is kind of over and done with in the course of a day," Brady added.
To help alleviate that stress, Brady has returned to his first love: sculpting.
Pictured: Devon Brady
"Creative outlets are important for everybody," Brady said.
He's doing more than relaxing. Brady has done hundreds of pieces and even has one at Fairgrounds St. Pete. It's part of a multimedia exhibit, called "The Bait Ball."
"I started kind of delving into the math and the geometry of it," said Brady. "And that's what got me interested in that, in that concept of, and then how to kind of illustrate that in a sculptural form."
Brady hopes his artwork helps others find a creative outlet, especially in high-stress jobs.
One of Brady's sculptures is at Fairgrounds St. Pete.
"Rather than remaining on what might be the negative aspects of the job or things that you're holding on to, it's nice to have something to come home and focus on. That's a positive outlet for those energies, for sure," Brady said.
Brady sums up his creative passion with one word: "Prevention is a key component to, you know, to saving lives and to and to making the world a better place. So I think art kind of falls into that prevention," he said.
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