In this episode of the Mortal Machine Podcast, I sit down with Cody Barber — a metal artist who’s been living and creating in Marfa since 2013 
to talk about what 13 years in the desert really looks like.

We get into:

• Moving to Marfa with a truck full of handmade chairs
• Getting sober after earning the nickname “Blackout Barber” 
• The loneliness (and safety) of small-town creative life
• Why quitting his bestselling horseshoes almost wrecked him financially 
• The tension between making “real art” and paying the bills
• Building a marketable product without selling your soul

Cody’s powder-coated horseshoes started as a functional experiment and became the thing that gave him creative freedom. When he stopped making them, the money dried up. That lesson hits hard: if you want to make art full-time, you need something that sustains you.

We also talk about what it’s like to move somewhere like Marfa in your 20s. His advice? Have guts. But proceed with caution.

If you're an artist trying to figure out how to survive without compromising yourself — this one’s for you.

🔗 Cody’s work: codybarber.work
 📍 Mortal Machine Gallery — New Orleans

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