Our people: Mural maker

J.T. Berry teaches art and history at Clovis Municipal Schools I-academy, the former Lincoln-Jackson Elementary School on Grand Avenue. With his art background he has been involved in the creation of some murals in the Clovis/Portales area.

Talk to Berry long enough, you learn the 36-year-old has an affinity for historical movies, particularly World War II movies, but you'll also find he has an affinity for the 1994 movie "Forrest Gump."

"That's like one of my top five favorite movies," Berry said.

Berry sat down on a bench along Main Street, downtown Clovis Thursday for an interview.

Q: "What does 'J.T.' stand for?

A: "James Travis. I was named after my grandfathers. My dad's father James and My mother's father Travis.

Q: Tell us about your family.

A: My significant other is Becky. I have two step-sons Isaiah and Elijah. My younger brother is Tyler. My mom, Barbara St. John, was a teacher as was my grandmother. They taught elementary school. I have an aunt who teaches in Bovina. My dad, Glenn Berry, passed away last year. I have two half-brothers, Larry and Hunter St. John.

Q: What's the story of you and Clovis?

A: I was born at Plains Regional Medical Center in 1987. I grew up here. I went to Mesa Elementary School, my mom was one of the first teachers there. Then I went to Yucca Middle School and on to Clovis High School. I remember growing up I had a lot of great teachers. I was in middle-school band and played tuba. I also played middle school basketball."

Q: Tell us about your career.

A: "I started getting into art when I was 4 or 5 years old and my mom let me play with watercolors in the kitchen. And Play-Doh, I loved Play-Doh. I used to make little Play-Doh figurines. I really got into art in middle school. My teacher was Terril Defoor. I focused on drawing, pencil drawing. For college I went to Eastern New Mexico University. I had a scholarship to go to West Texas in Canyon but I went to ENMU and got a Bachelor of Fine Arts.

I started teaching at Yucca Middle School in 2011, taking over for Mr. Defoor. In 2014 I moved over to the Freshman Academy. Now I'm at the I-academy teaching art and history.

Q: In art, what is your favorite medium to work with?

A: "Drawing is the building block for everything. Everything builds on itself. I didn't explore color until I was in high school. I did some work in sculpting but it was crafty stuff.

I got into painting in college. Realism, Realism with exaggerated color schemes. I have a personal collection of my paintings.

I've done mural work. Ethan Lewis and I worked on a mural together that's somewhere on the ENMU campus. Art teacher Gina Davis was asked to create a mural for Bandolero Brewery in downtown Clovis and she asked me to help, she and I worked on it."

Q: Do you have a dream of your own business involving art?

A: "I don't know. I've spent the past couple of years soul searching. This will be my 11th year teaching so I'm going to stick with it.

I thought about an antique shop with a coffee shop and a space where I possibly could work on my art.

Becky likes to bake and so does my mom. We've entertained bakery ideas. Maybe an antiques-bakery-coffee shop."

Q: Tell us about your father.

A: I leaned into creativity because of my mom and dad. Mom liked to decorate her classrooms and Dad loved woodworking and working with his hands. In the classroom I get to create, I get to teach.

Q: Do you have a favorite saying?

A: I probably have several but they're not fit to put in the paper. My dad had a saying I never understood but I say it too, "Can't never could do nothin'."