What moved you to make with your hands?
It’s a constant quest to learn, I love making with my hands. On any given day I could be drawing my designs, sculpting, painting, photographing, storyboarding, making clothing patterns, wood carving, photographing other people’s work. Dying clothing, coming up with new processes for clothing such as painting garments, leather forming hats, masks, shoes etc.
What are 3 reference points of inspiration for your work:
“Time, handmade and quality made. Making art/items that last and are not bound to fickle fads. I like to create outside of the popular ideas of how beauty is defined. I make because without this process, I feel lost. “
Complete interview @ Ghost Dancer
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CAN YOU GIVE US SOME INSIGHT INTO YOUR CREATIVE PROCESS? DOES THIS PROCESS DIFFER BASED ON WHETHER YOU'RE DESIGNING OBJECT ART, CLOTHING OR MASKS... OR IS IT THE SAME ACROSS ALL?
I think I would call it creative cross-training. I go into intense work mode and spend months working 6 days a week and then I will take time off. I am fully present when I am working and try to take a full break when I am not.
My through line, when I am working, is repetition and routine. My morning routine is really important to me - wake up; make a veggie juice; meditate (now walk the dog as we just adopted a street dog in Bali) and then start work. This sets the tone for my day, this routine is essential during work time and happens whether I am feeling creative or not. It helps with the sometimes difficult reality that I have to put in the time even when I don’t feel creative or inspired because that’s what I do. If I’m not doing it then where does it lead?
I recuperate by taking time off where I am easy on myself about routine and allow myself space to explore and be inspired by life and travel and nature. I repeat this cycle multiple times through the year… I would consider the entire cycle my creative process.
I spend a lot of time working on processes and my business partner and I have built a workshop that supports the creative journey from idea to a physical outcome. We built the workshop out of recycled Javanese boat wood and have our creative zones, a photo studio, a garden, and housing for our employees. We work (and live) with a team (some have been with us for over 10 years), that are motivated, creative and caring, and together we make the ideas come to life.
WHERE DO YOU FIND INSPIRATION?
I get asked this question a lot. Curiosity, beginner’s mind, my childhood in rural Idaho, traveling and constantly learning and adapting. But I wonder if inspiration is coming from me or through me? I mostly don’t feel a sense of ownership over what is coming through, only an appreciation for when creativity does flow.
HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE FOR YOU TO DESIGN AND CRAFT A PIECE FROM START TO FINISH? WHICH STAGE IN THE PROCESS IS YOUR SWEET SPOT?
I don’t even know where this question starts – does it start when you lay awake in bed dreaming, conceptualizing?
I think most people want to know how long it physically takes to carve or sculpt but that is only a small part of the creation process. Sometimes we imagine tracking a journey from inception to production – how many ideas, drawings, samples, hands, fails, happy accidents, calculations, photos, etc it takes to make a piece… There is so much for a story of one piece.
Most of our processes are very slow. We have never let how long something will take to determine if it is pursued. Our mediums and processes are very time intensive. We don’t push our team to make a quota – we don’t track output like that. We are making handmade pieces and we value the time this takes. It all varies so much.
I like developing processes and techniques and I can work on these for months or even years. I am always working on new processes and even improving old ones when I have more knowledge and tools to work with. Once a process is developed (although rarely is there an end) it may take a few weeks or months to finish a piece. I have specific places I like to go to design. Orcas Island, Japan.
As consumers, we place a lot of value on items by how long they took to make, but from a creation perspective I think that is not always the best way to look at art and give it value, (but) I understand it’s a way for humans to quantify.
WHAT IS IT ABOUT HANDMADE CREATIONS THAT SETS THEM APART?
The tactile sensation, the feeling, texture, quality, relatability. An undeniable sense of aliveness.
Interview by Niccii Kugler for NASH AND BANKS