Meet Rob “uglyface” Mcg | Spoken Word Performer, Visual Artist and Creative Healer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Rob “uglyface” Mcg and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Rob “Uglyface” McG, how has your perspective on work-life balance evolved over time?
This question really resonates for me in this season of my life. When I was younger, I was in a constant panic of where to go to monetize my art but at the sametime not selling the integrity and the core values of what I held so dear and at many times, saved my own life. I think many creatives feel this. In this day and age, there are so many options on how to market ourselves and build our brand that it can be overwhelming. I stagnated for a bit trying to weigh out the choices of “who I am as a person” versus “what I want to represent in the world and how much I’m willing to sell myself for.” But at the end of the day, I simplified everything down to it’s core roots of the “Why?” I had a flourishing art career at one point but what does that even mean?Flourishing. Flourishing how? In what areas? I think hustle culture is rooted in the fear of the unknown of tomorrow, and is very easy to fall into and stumble into burnout. But as I grew older, and starting learning to value my time and energy by saying “No” and taking the projects that actually speak to who I am and what I want to represent, my quality of life went way up. I’m happier with my art now more than ever ’cause I’ve found a nice life rhythm and I believe that takes time. I’m more focused now on listening to what really speaks to me than always running around trying to do everything and I believe when you’re peaceful that is the best foundation for your art to come to light in it’s most purest and honest form which is what I feel, every creative strives to achieve.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
The origin story starts with music and family. My Dad and Mom met in a band so there was always music playing in my household growing up, specifically jazz, soul and funk. My brother instinctively took to instruments and I took the road less traveled, diving head first into a newly growing music scene in the 80’s called “hip-hop” lol. By the 5th grade I was breakdance battling neighborhood crews and rival schools and by 9th grade I was sneaking out of the house at midnight and repelling into dirty canals to paint. My family didn’t have much money to pay for art classes or supplies so I did what I could with what I had and found an ingenuity within the confines of poverty. But looking back on it, it just stoked the fires. I was so determined back then to just be seen and heard through my art and found a romance and liberation in being in a dirty canal alone with a 5 gallon bucket of white primer, a back pack of spray cans and a tiny Coleman lantern for light. I never did graffiti in public areas because I wanted to actually take my time and create something I was proud of. It was more about the freedom of creating than destroying public property for me, so I had this special little canal that I used to go to, when things were rough at home that I could run to and openly create. I know I was working through a lot of unprocessed angst but the genesis was there nonetheless. I painted till the sun came up and then would go to straight to 1st period covered in paint, sweat and dirt. I was chained to a school desk so then the writing and poetry came into the picture. I moved a few times during high school so being the new kid was like second nature so I lived in my sketchbooks and poems which isn’t too different from today. I’ve had some beautiful “shining” moments in my career but the ones that mean the most to me ironically have nothing to do with money or business but more of touchstone type moments in my life that when I see these paintings that I have created that are hanging on my walls penetrate through the commercialism of being a “professional” artist or a poet. And I think that’s the heart of what my story is, is that money is good but if it’s counter to who I am, where I came from and the values I serve then it’s not for me and that’s okay.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
To be honest I’ve lived in Colorado for a mere 4 years and I’m pretty reclusive as an artist and writer. Most times if I do go out, my face is buried in my IPad in a coffee shop or I’m working out. I do go on hikes from time to time and I’m trying to make that more of a practice in my life but my coffee shop picks are as folllows

Treehouse Cafe
Stompin’ Groundz
And if I have my fancy shoes on then I go to The Exchange downtown.

I would definitely love to take some friends to the salt room at Edenology for cool holistic options for heath and wellness.

Dozo Sushi has some really good sushi and ramen.

And of course the Colorado Springs signature hike of Garden of the Gods is probably where I would take my friends if they were visiting.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
This is a big question lol. I feel like the Oscar Orchestra may start playing in the middle of me writing this but here it is:

Arthur Bellfield and the Colorado Springs Poetry Slam community.

This is my tribe. Arthur does a lot of work behind the scenes to create a beautiful community of voices from all walks of life to speak in a safe space and environment.

Caitlin Elizabeth and Caitspace Ltd.

I’m proud to say that I’ve teamed up with Caitlin and through Caitspace Ltd. I’ve been able to start my journey as a therapeutic art practitioner to teach art (visual and written) as a healing tool to people in recovery from substance abuse and various forms of trauma. Caitlin, in a very short time, has been building bridges to open up spaces in the recovery community to encourage sober living and healing through art and spoken word. It is within this aligned purpose we’ve recognized the potency of healing through art, not only for ourselves and our own story but how it can used as tools for other people to heal as well and speak their story as well.

And finally, Mom, Dad, Andrew, Tim, Lina. You are my heart.

Instagram: the.uglyface