Make Some Use of Your Discomfort
Bri Dostie, Confluence Collective
I started chasing Bri Dostie down several months ago, when I somehow stumbled across her exquisite illustrations online and saw that she was a newly minted Maine guide. She wound up being an extremely interesting onion to peel, as I was doing more research I kept uncovering more and more things she was involved in, starting up, and bringing attention to.
Bri’s focus on inclusion in fly fishing communities had a torch taken to it this spring after the murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor sparked nationwide protests and rightfully amplified the attention being paid to systemic racism in this country.
Don’t be fooled by her cheerful and upbeat demeanor, Bri is super serious and committed to owning her discomfort around issues of race, bias, and the historic exclusivity of the activities she loves. She also wants the rest of us to take a long, hard look at ourselves and the communities around us to root out the harmful attitudes and practices that perpetuate, and often institutionalize, the treatment of ‘others’ as somehow ‘lesser’.
What I loved most about our conversation is the way she continues to return to hope and the value of listening and learning. As Bri said so eloquently, “imagine what’s possible when you get behind a movement that’s about love, and acceptance, and liberation; and the wholeness that can represent for everybody if you just stick to those core issues.” I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to put my imagination into action.
Connect with and learn more about Bri and Confluence Collective in all the places:
Her website - amazing illustrations
Awesome Blog Post tracking her thought processes about pursuing illustration professionally in November 2019
Confluence Collective website, on Instagram and Facebook
Bri (@happyplatypus) on Instagram
Bri interviewed on The Liar’s Club podcast in September 2019
Other links from conversation:
Junior Duck Stamp Competition (yes, it’s still a thing!)
Gray Ghost Streamer Fly (it’s no Woolly Buggah, but…)
The Feather Thief - by Kirk Wallace Johnson (not an affiliate link, I just like to encourage folks to support their local bookstores - but it doesn’t hurt to check your library for this title first, I already devoured it via Libby audiobook on two long drives!)