Check Out James Wiggins’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to James Wiggins.

Hi James, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Creativity and art were a calling when I was probably 10 years old. Art was a refuge and I have no doubt saved me from a life of mediocrity at best. I was raised by a single Mom who was an actress and artist. I came to Atlanta, from a small town in N. C., in 1978 at the tender age of 19. I fancied myself a writer and poet out to take the world by storm. In 1981 I was reading my poetry at various venues in town. I wanted to get my writing in front of more people, so in 1982 I started cutting stencils of my poetry and painting them around town. This led to billboard manipulations and oddball sculptural installments in public spaces.

The same year I hitchhiked to California, lived in a tent on a marijuana farm in Marin county for the better part of a year, saved up a little money to purchase a 650 Yamaha, and rode it back to Atlanta in of ‘83.

I Continued the street art and In 1986, with a friend, opened the first “roll em in front of you burrito joint in Atlanta, FRIJOLEROS between 10th and 11th on Peachtree in midtown. We had art shows and live local music.

I married the love of my life in 1987. In 1992 we had a child, a son.

At this time, I sold my half of the restaurant and apprenticed under Atlanta
furniture maker Jack Harich for 2.5 years, after which I opened my own furniture studio. I spent the mid to late ‘90’s doing American Craft Council shows and having gallery representation along the east cost from Florida to Massachusetts. In 2000 I began teaching woodworking; however, I was missing my street art roots.

In 2003 I made a maquette for a commission piece. It was a robotic figure. I liked the drawing of the figures face and hung it on my shop wall. A few weeks later my son came into the shop wanting to cut a stencil. I realized the face would make a good stencil. We cut several stencils of “the little face” and painted them on scrap wood. Soon after we started leaving them around town. EVEREMAN was born. I got carried away. 23 years later EVEREMAN is still going strong. As well as the small “Gift Art” pieces, I have done quite a lot of large scale work. There is the 18’ tall “Solidarity Evereman” at 420 Edgewood Avenue and the 1Ton steel Evereman at Wild Leap brewing in “The Gulch” downtown.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Smooth sailing for the most part. I have always believed in myself and my art. My family has been with me every step of the way.
I will say, as I was coming into my own as a furniture designer/maker working in my small 2 or 3 person shop in the 90’s, Atlanta was still pretty conservative in it’s furniture tastes. My jumping off point, from a design standpoint, was mid century modernism. My pieces sold much better in the North East. As a younger generation of Atlantans has matured, their tastes are more in line with mine; however, I rarely take furniture commissions these days. As I was telling my son recently “I have paid my dues, I have made my compromises in life.” Now is my time to create purely for the joy of creating the images that come into my mind.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Are you familiar with “To Kill A Mockingbird”? Boo Radley, a neighbor to children Jim and Scout, left gifts for them in the hollow of a tree. Hansel and Gretel left a “breadcrumb trail” to follow, though the trail left no

Over the last 23 years I have left 10s of thousands of Evereman pieces out in the world for others to find. I consider Evereman to be “Art For All”. The artwork has 4U on it to let folks know it’s to keep. I use magnets to secure the piece until someone comes across it and takes it away. Coming across an Evereman has the ability to take someone out of their everyday routine, if only for a moment and hopefully bring joy. Allowing one’s mind to reflect on what this unusual thing is. Why is it here? Who put it here? Etc.

Mind you, it’s not free, it’s a GIFT from me to the finder. A gift has much more positive weight than does something that is merely “free”. Free can be tossed aside without thought. A GIFT is a conscious effort to connect with another.

I consider this art to be political. A resistance to the dog eat dog, me, me, me aggression of society. What is more radical than giving, in our system of unfettered capitalism?

EMPATHY is key to our humanity.

What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?
I have rarely wavered from belief in myself and my creativity. It is my driving force, my compass, my NOW, my ALWAYS. I wouldn’t be here without the love and support of my wife of 40 years.

One World One Love 4U ATL 2026

Pricing:

• Contact me through Instagram for commissions/pricing

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @Evereman