July 2011

Table Of Contents July 2011

Artist

6 Aimee Shattuck 20 Casey Ashlock 30 Ivรกn Fernรกndez 44 Kristen Pilsifer

2 Abstraks July 2011

Founder/Editor-In-Chief

Darius Loftis

Art Director

Brianna Calello

Writing Editor

Claudia Puccio

Contributing Writers

David Showalter Jr. Zoe Hyde Darius Loftis

Marketing Pete Cosmos Darius Loftis

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July 2011 Abstraks 5

Aimee Shattuck Written by David R. Showalter Jr.

Aimee is a multimedia artist who practices visual and performing arts. Her talents and experience include painting, dancing, tattooing, acting, sketching, and modeling. This is just to name a few of the many possibilities this young, budding artist exhibits. She knows who she is and is acutely in tune with her sense of self and emotions. The afternoon was wonderful; we met at her day job to discuss beauty, art, philosophy, and life over an iced coffee and recording device.

David Showalter: First and foremost, thank you so much for your time.

DS: Could you discuss in your own words the importance of self-expression? If you did not have art, what would happen?

Aimee Shattuck: Thank you! I’m so excited.

DS: Let’s start by talking about your creative process as an artist. Where do you start? Or do you have a process?

AS: I do a lot of characters. I’ll see a face somewhere and it takes off from there. Sometimes I’ll have a dream about it. It’s never an idea. I’ll be riding the train to work and I’ll be feeling an emotion and I see a face. I’ll take out my sketch book and jot it down then I transfer it on to a bigger piece of paper. It goes from there and becomes its own character. It transforms.

DS: One thing I noticed about your work was the cartoon-like quality and I found the eyes of your characters to be very vivid. Is that the first place you start?

AS: A lot of the time it is the eyes. I use a lot of wood grain and marble to draw on. For some reason I always see an eyeball. Even here I can see a face. [She points at the table] I can see that he’s angry. I see the look in the eyes. Even when I’m bored, I’ll draw an eyeball and it will go from there.

DS: Where do you draw inspiration from?

AS: I draw inspiration from how I’m feeling. I’m a very extreme person when it comes to emotion. I have a lot of highs and lows. Sometimes, when I’m at my most motivated and creative I’ll look back and see how I was feeling.

It’s a very emotional process for me.

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AS: I can’t even imagine not having art. I would be a lost person without art. It has always been a part of my life. I just started doing visual arts about a year ago. I’ve been dancing, modeling, and acting my whole life. In high school, I was unhappy with school and education. I remember sitting in class feeling miserable because I couldn’t express myself. I had no path. I didn’t know what to do. I can remember trying to think about my life and plans for the future. I can’t imagine myself going through the motions. I don’t like to be structured or having things forced on me.

Art helps me to see, to enjoy my life, and appreciate the beauty.

DS: On your webpage I remember reading about your essential beliefs as an artist.You commented on the importance of details. How are details connected with self-expression and beauty?

AS: I think details are what make something complete.

Sometimes in our lives we overlook the details. Speaking literally about art, when you pay attention to the details that is when something is created and becomes whole. All the little details add up into a bigger picture. That is what makes it come alive and flourish.

“For some reason I always see an eyeball. Even here I can see a face. I can see that he’s angry. ” Page 11: “One of the Regulars” 19x21 oil on paper Page 12: “Classy?” 19x21 oil on paper

DS: How often must you create?

AS: There are times when I feel more motivated than others, but most of the time every single day. That is how I

“When I was a freshman in college I went to Manhattan College. That was a huge step for me because I always wanted to go to New York but I was scared of what could happen. I am extremely proud of myself that I did that.”

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get through my day. Art grounds me. I keep all my art stuff at work. This is my home base. I’ll come into work early and create right outside. It helps me to get into a routine.

There are days when I don’t feel like creating and I absolutely have to listen to that because then I overkill. I make art everyday unless I don’t feel like it.

DS: What distinguishes you from other artists?

AS: Art is something that I have to do. I am very passionate. I’m passionate about what I’m interested in. I’ve been through a lot. I use art as therapy. I can create from what I’ve been through. I believe in faith. Art drives me. I can’t help but express myself and be creative. I can see the best and the worst in everything and the beauty in that.

Page 15: “Labyrinth” 9x11.5 oil on paper Page 16: “Rehersal”10x17 oil pastel and charcoal on paper

DS: What does being a female artist mean to you?

AS: I am a tomboy. I hang out with a lot of guys. I am not like a lot of girls. I have never wanted to be “the mom” or “the wife”. I do like to draw girly things, but I also like a lot of scary, dark stuff. I am visually attracted to pretty things, girly, glittery type stuff, but I wear boy clothes all the time.

I have a girly, emotional side to me. I’m such a queen. I’m sappy. A lot of my work comes from those kinds of emotions.

DS: What are you most proud of? What is your biggest accomplishment?

AS: I’m proud that I’m such a motivated person. I was always timid to leave home and focused on the bad stuff that could happen. When I was a freshman in college I went to Manhattan College. That was a huge step for me because I always wanted to go to New York but I was scared of what could happen. I am extremely proud of myself that I did that. From there I moved to Boston and I am trying to make a life for myself. I am seeing where my intuition takes me. I go with my gut. I’ve developed this life and I’ve become the person that I am. I am an artist. I am on my own path. My biggest accomplishment is finding my art. I am proud of each of my accomplishments as a whole.

It all adds up to my life.

DS: Do you have any regrets?

AS: I don’t regret too much because it all lead to what is going on today. I do regret going to college. It had nothing to do with anything that I’m doing now. It was a waste of money and time. I didn’t learn anything at all. I want to learn my own way. I want to make my own lessons. I want to learn from my own mistakes. I was listening to what everyone else told me to do. That is what I regret: listening to other people.

DS: Do you make art for yourself or others? Or is it both?

AS: I love my art. It is for me. There was a period of time recently where I didn’t want to create art because I questioned: What is this doing? Am I making a career out of this? Am I selling my art? I created for myself and asked why I had to share it with other people. At the same time, that is exactly what I am doing. I want to be heard. I want it to be seen and appreciated by other people. I can create

it for myself, but at the same time it’s useless if I’m not heard.

DS: Where can we find your work? Have you sold anything?

AS: I’ve sold one thing. I’ve designed a lot of tattoos for friends and I don’t know if they have ever got them.

People could have my work tattooed on their body and I don’t even know. Wonder Bar in Allston does an art share every month. My friend puts it on. I have shown my work there a couple of times. I’ve only had ten pieces hung there. That’s where I met someone who wanted to buy one of my pieces. I have been working with a couple of bands in the area. I’ve made an album cover for a local musician. I’ve worked for a couple of places around here doing promotional stuff like posters, album covers, and t-shirts.

DS: Let’s talk some more about your experience. What do you do?

AS: I started dancing when I was two. I danced all throughout high school. Since I’ve been doing more yoga, I really want to get more into dance. Dancing is very emotionally expressive for me. I’ve done a little bit of modeling.

I would like to get into modeling more. It is more visual than expressive for me. I’ve done tattooing. I draw on people just for fun. I would be at a party and draw tattoos on my friends. I was a tattoo apprentice. I bought a machine and started to practice but it didn’t pay the bills. I’ve acted.

I grew up acting in local theaters. When I was younger I wanted to be on Broadway so bad. I want to sing more. I am petrified of singing in public, but I love to sing.

DS: What are you working on currently?

AS: I carry my sketch book with me where ever I go.

There are some pieces in there. I have six pieces I’m doing.

Right now I’m working with oils. In the past I used to do just ink and sketching and then I transferred it with water colors and acrylics. Now I’m on to oils and I love it.You literally just keep going at it. The painting never dies.

Especially with my style because I like that smudged look.

It’s perfect for me. I’ve painted on cardboard, on wood, and canvas. I need to learn how to stretch canvas. The ideal would be oil on wood or canvas. I’ve settled into painting for right now. It’s something I can grow with.

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DS: What kind of music do you listen to? How does that affect your art?

AS: I can’t put on music and not dance. It is something that completely changes your mood. I’ve been listening to music all day, every day since I got my iPhone. I love 90’s hip hop. I love old school Fugees, the Pharcyde, Slick Rick, pre-Fergie Black Eyed Peas. I love electro pop. I like the Sneaker Pimps. There’s a new band called Sleigh Bells I really like. They’re electro pop, but they’re hip hop too. I like stuff that you can really dance too. There’s also Jeff Buckley. He is a poet. He is one of my favorite people in the entire world. I don’t like too much in his genre outside of him.

Contact information: Website- aimeejaq.blogspot.com Email- aimdawg@live.com Twitter- @aimeejaq

DS: How is the local art scene from your perspective?

How involved are you?

AS: I try to be. Around here I haven’t found very much. I have done art share at Wonder Bar a couple of times. It’s hard to find the art community. I don’t know where it is. I am automatically attracted to other artists. I feel like I’m in my own community and world. I’m just constantly talking about art, doing art, talking to other artists, thinking about it, and collaborating. I guess I’m in an art community. Is this it? [Both laugh] I don’t know. It must be. Every once in a while it’s cool to go to a gathering. I go to gallery showings [and local museums].

DS: Where do you want to be idealistically?

AS: Fine art is really where I want to be and that is what I want to do someday. Just to be making money off of pieces. I don’t like to be caged. I don’t like to be told what to do. I want to make my own art and take it or leave it.

DS: Is there anything you would like to say to our readers?

AS: I really want to make a statement of following your own path based on your own personal faith and integrity.

Ever since I decided to be my own person that is the only way I have stumbled upon so many opportunities for myself. It is so refreshing to know that you can go with your own gut. If you take a chance, you never know what could happen. Open your mind. Go with your own faith, ideas, and instincts. Follow your heart; as corny as it sounds.

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Casey Ashlock

Written by Darius Loftis

Casey’s work can be viewed as manifesting in many different styles; and he himself will tell you that he’s still finding his own style. It was good to talk with him and have a one on one conversation.

Darius: Explain your style, and the artwork that you produce.

Casey: Alright as far as style is concerned, I’m still searching for one of my own but I have tried a few different approaches. I personally like to work with bic pens strictly, and that’s kinda how I got into doing the cross hatch/basket weave type designs I have been doing lately. I suppose I’m trying to force that into being my signature “style” or whatever. I kinda relate it to the Boston Celtics court with the varying pattern (each little section going in different directions) so i suppose that one could derive a local influence on my personal “style” I perceive it to be a little more subconscious than that though.

D: Where do you derive a lot of your inspiration and influence from?

C: I know for a fact that influence is all around, from the books on my shelf to the memories and thoughts in my head. I feel that a lot of people may try to use influence as a tool for their work but I try to stay away from that mentality by just doing my own thing. That’s one of the reasons why I love being creative, because it’s absolute freedom. There are no restrictions, no rules, no rigid guidelines to follow that in a way mirror human existence.

Art is an utter departure from those things, and that’s why I dig it.

D: Where do you live now, and how does that influence you as an artist?

C: Right now I live in the metro west area, in a nice little part of town. I don’t really consciously draw any artistic influence from my surroundings, maybe that’s something I can work on, though. I suppose it’s more about the people who surround me that impact me more than my location.

D: What are the primary mediums that you use?

C: My bread and butter for sure is my book, straight up that’s my bible. Just a 8 by 11 inch black sketchbook. I have Page 23: “Sarcoptic Mange” 8x12 acrlyic on canvas Page 24: “Untitled” bic pen on paper

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filled up around 5 books cover to cover since I started drawing and one of my goals each time I start a new one is to have it be better than the last one. The books are a great example of progression. It may sound simple but that’s what I prefer. It’s almost like a album or something, it’s all about balance you know? Like collaborations with other artists, different themes, traditional styles, weird ass, more experimental styles. It’s all about balancing those contrasting elements. I mean I will rock anything from a canvas to a shoe, man and everything in between. But I still prefer those damn books. Real book burner type shit. I mean we invest heavy hours into these pages.

D: What other mediums have you experimented with or would like to use?

C: Everything man; paper, canvas, digital stuff. I like messing with audio/visual stuff. I have edited a few short movies together. One thing I would like to get better at is photo realism. Personally I feel that the hardest thing to do creatively is to capture the way a human looks, like to sit someone down and try to illustrate a look in their eye, I have alot of respect for people that have mastered that.

D: Did you have any formal art training?

C: Anything that I have learned I have either taught myself or someone has taught me. No fancy art schools or anything, real grass root type-ish. I mean I wish I had the opportunity and everything but that isn’t the case.

Those people know who they are and they know that I’m grateful. I try to return the favor by helping people when I can, either directly or by inspiration. That’s definitely a very important part of being creative, you may not be aware of it but it’s almost like an obligation. It’s important to inspire other people.

D: What is your creative process like?

C: Haha my creative process, this may sound strange but it is what it is. The majority of my creativity that is realized on paper at least usually manifests during the nighttime.

It is my absolute favorite, it’s an indulgence for me. I can’t Page 25: “Untitled” bic pen on paper

begin to explain how important this time is to me. This can not be forced, mind you, but when the stars align, and the earth’s axis is in perfect balance with the sun or whatever I just go somewhere else man; deep in my own mind to a place where thoughts and images and sounds inter-twine. I listen to myself, I guess, who knows it could be something else? Anything, I suppose. And accordingly I move my pen. These experiences usually manifest themselves into a tangible result on paper. I don’t just sit down and tell myself to draw a house or something. It just happens. It must sound strange but that’s how I get down, and it is very important to me. If for some reason I wasn’t able to express my self in such a manner I would go, quite simply insane. Its therapeutic I suppose.

D: Are there any artists that push you, in terms of your inspiration?

camp, and examples of the mediums we dabble in. The vision is to collect an assortment of different types of creativity, everything from text, to interesting local legends, drawings, photographs, people, stories, ideas, stuff like that. It’s going to be cool. It’s going to tell our story, no matter how strange or eccentric it may be. Also, hopefully working on some stuff for an Abstraks gallery show? That would be cool.

D: (Laughs) That’d be sick! Are you an artist who spends a lot of time on your pieces? If so, on average how long do you spend on a piece?

C: I try to take my time on the things I work on. No need to rush I figure. Sometimes I can finish something in one sitting, sometimes we work on something for a month.

D: Do you follow any contemporary or historical artist?

C:Yeah I definitely have artists that push me, crewmates and the like. These people are important for progression.

People are naturally lazy so it’s good to have heads in your camp that push you. I cant say names though. They know who they are.

D: Are there any current projects that you are working on, or plan to work on?

C: There are always projects on deck, I’m helping a friend of mine out with this idea he has for a comic about zombies in WW2, so that should be cool. Lots of stuff to play with there. Always working in the book too. One thing we want to do is make an actual like, book, not like a book of text but almost like a scrap book. About our

“A problem with smaller projects is the fact that your space can be limited. On the other hand bigger projects are nice because quite simply there is more room, it’s nice to be able to have other artists collaborate with you to illustrate contrast.”

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C: Uh, not really. There are artists I respect but I don’t follow anyone in particular. But you know who is fresh?

This dude Bernie Wrightson, he illustrated Mary Shelly’s Frankenstien for Dark Horse comics a while back, his stuff is on point. The people in my camp are the most important to me though.

D: Do you have a certain preference between working mural size or smaller on a canvas?

C: Honestly each project size has its own unique pros and cons. The smaller projects are nice because they can be filled in less time and things tend to stay cleaner. A problem with smaller projects is the fact that your space can be limited. On the other hand bigger projects are nice because quite simply there is more room, it’s nice to be able to have other artists collaborate with you to illustrate contrast. One problem with working on a larger scale is proportion, some people have problems with making everything look like its in the right place. People put too much gravity into being normal though. (Laughs) If i were to pick a favorite size I most definitely prefer larger scale projects because the more room you have to express something the better off you are.

D: What are your future plans from here?

C: My plans from here huh? Like it’s that easy to answer.

I just want to be able to continue to be creative really.

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It would be nice to be able to make a living off of it but as long as I can still get down that’s all I care about. I’m comfortable where I am, I’ll grow up some day.

Contact:

onetime092000@yahoo.com

July 2011 Abstraks 29

Ivรกn Fernรกndez Written by Zoe Hyde

Waiting in the hallway of 31 Channel Center street, one can’t help but notice the industrial metal floors, the exposed wooden rafters and brick walls that someone has taken great pains to put on display. Ivan’s studio is in an impressive building; I had expected something a little more disheveled, something with spray paint on the walls and no visible mailing address. While I did have to circle the glass façade several times before locating a door, this location has turned out to be far swankier than I thought it would.

Surrounding the elevator is a glassed in elevator vestibule that only grants entrance to those with the right four digit code, and otherwise you have to be buzzed in. Still, I watch as a man with a medium sized dog punches in the correct code, enters, and then immediately drops the dog’s leash and lets him roam free as the door clicks shut. I told Ivan I would be coming by between 1 and 2, and since he didn’t press me for a specific time, I’m not surprised that we seem to have just missed each other. I get a text from him - he’s outside walking his own dogs, that I later find out actually belong to a friend.

When Ivan comes to the foyer to greet me, he has a stack of beat up moleskines in his hand which he extends to me. I asked, in my email to him, about his creative process, what he does to get inspired. This is it, he says as I flip through them; doodles, faces, flowers, ticket stubs from European trains and outdoor concerts, rough sketches of architectural dreams. Later, he shows me his studio/ apartment, which at that moment is nothing more than a bed, a plastic shelving system full of unorganized paints (“I know where everything is, that’s all that’s important”, Ivan says to me as he rummages through acrylics) and some works in progress hung on the walls. This is the studio he refers to La Factoria del Color, a space which he hopes to transform into a triple threat by turning into a gallery later this year. For now, however, we seek out an outdoor café, where Ivan ruminates behind a pair of Ray Bans while I ask him some questions.

Me: so what is your background in art? Did you go to art school or take classes?

Ivan:You know that it’s good to go to the university and do art and so on, but mainly I think to be an artist you have to do it by yourself. So, I did communication and Page 33: “Seres pensantes” 1. 8x8. Ink and acrylic on canvas Page 34: “Thinking Face” 36x48. Ink, sumi paper and acrylic on canvas

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then audio visual art, mainly cinema, so this is my formal training in art. But I don’t have a formal training in painting, just training in communication and visual art. Then I did a lot of workshops and so on in order to have some ideas about how to approach different techniques and the creation process.

Me: And did you do any of those workshops in America?

Ivan: Some of them here, some of them in Mexico, but mainly in Europe between Spain and Italy.

Me: When I looked you up on the internet, it seemed like a lot of people were asking questions about the name, ‘Coyote Painting Walls’, and you mention on the website, it’s not a pseudonym – it’s an alter ego. and my Spanish is not great, but I know that ‘sucio’…

Ivan: Sucio means dirty.

Me: Right.

Ivan: So I like art. I like almost every kind of art, but when I see a perfect figurative painting, I can admire the artist, but I wonder what is the purpose of a reproduction of their real life? We have photography, so we can reproduce reality using a camera. I consider my art dirty because I am not looking for the perfection of the lines but to announce expressivity. using the imperfection of the lines, of the colors, and this is the main reason my art looks dirty, gothic. I admire people that can reproduce reality so perfectly, but sometimes the artist is not able to put his or her interior world into the portrait.

Page 35: “Never More” 1. 12x16. Pencil on paper Page 36: “Coyote in Milan” by Vania Viscardi

Me; A lot of your work seems to feel, as you said, gothic or dark, color wise and stylistically, but there is also a certain intimacy to it. I’m thinking specifically of your use of faces, sometimes overlapping one another, it seems to be about this intimacy in an urban setting. Is that something that you try to put into your work?

Ivan: The main reason I do faces…I don’t know why. But I have been doing faces for a long time. When I was in high school, just instead of listening to what the teacher was saying, I used to doodle. My faces were figurative, I was looking realistically. Then, I sit and I started to draw eyes, and then a few years ago I shifted to these kind of faces that are not realistic but more like caricatures. I think I’m trying to express something with them, but it’s not conscious. I am trying to analyze why I do this, I think the main reason is because [there’s a kind of] sadness that is in this urban environment, and sometimes it’s perfect. It’s dirty, it’s decadent, and it’s made powerful by the colors of the graffiti that, in my opinion, gives the city its happiness and art.

Me: Is graffiti something you’re interested in? Do you do graffiti?

Ivan:Yeah, I like graffiti because, in my opinion, it’s kind of popular art, and public art, so people that are doing graffiti…in the right places, I mean.You can’t do graffiti on a monument or in a building that is historic, but you can do graffiti in places where, it might still be illegal, but they are abandoned, nobody is taking care of them. And you go there, and you put something on the walls, and you improve the place; you give color and dignity to the place. I really appreciate graffiti art because of that. My art is similar to graffiti. The difference is that, when you’re working in the street, in an illegal situation, you don’t have enough time to think about the work, to reproduce the work you want to. The conditions of creating work outside are pretty different than those inside, mainly because you have to be quick and it’s so difficult.

Me: Do you look at graffiti everywhere you go? When you travel?

Ivan:Yeah, yeah Europe is an exceptional continent to find graffiti. I don’t know a lot about the US, I have been here [in Boston], New York, and then the last week in Austin, and New York is fantastic, but although graffiti has its Page 38: Evolution 1 by Coyote Painting Walls. 16x12. Ink and acrylin on wood Page 39: Evolution 3. CoyotePaintingWalls. 16x12. Ink and acrylic on wood

“But the main thing I do with sculpture is to find the object or collaborate with other artists who are doing 3 dimensional pieces and then I put the colors, or I mix the objects, and so on.” origin here in the US, I think you can find better places… not with better graffiti, but the mobility of the artist, like the mobility of the normal person now, is amazing, so you can be [go anywhere] for almost a few dollars. The quality of the graffiti is good here and good there, but it’s easier to produce graffiti in Europe. This kind of paranoia about safety, you know, is limiting our work because you have to pay attention to the police, you have to pay attention to people looking at you, you have to pay attention to the whole set of cameras you can find in every city, and America for that is impressive.You can’t do anything without a camera looking at you. So now the graffiti scene is more in Europe than here in the US, I think. At least if you go to places like Berlin, especially the artist and community part is kind of like an outdoor museum. It’s amazing. Every big artist associated with graffiti has a piece of work now, there in Berlin.

Me: Besides graffiti, I noticed on your website there are a few multimedia pieces that are more sculptural.

Ivan:Yeah, I like to work mainly with 2 dimensional works, illustration, murals, and paintings. But I like also to experiment with other kinds of support, such as video, photography and sculpture too. But the main thing I do with sculpture is to find the object or collaborate with other artists who are doing 3 dimensional pieces and then I put the colors, or I mix the objects, and so on. I am interested in that but at the moment I don’t have enough time to follow in this line, but I really like it.

Me: One of your pieces has a picture of the Virgin Mary, I think there’s another one of Jesus holding a skateboard; what does that iconography represent in your work?

Ivan: I love the religious iconography, and I have a catholic background, I have a strong faith in God. But, you know, I cannot believe in the church, so my use of Page 40: “Fame is pain” 36x48. Acrylic on canvas, Page 41: “Never More” 1. 12x16. Pencil on paper, July 2011 Abstraks 37

that iconography could be read as disrespectful, but I am doing that because I respect a lot the image of Jesus, and Mary, but I respect their personalities…I respect them like humans. I appreciate them and my works are like a recognition of the human part of these people. Also because of that I am treating Jesus more in a human way, giving him objects like the skateboard, because I love the skateboard. I don’t know why but I really like the image of the Virgin, but it’s harder for me to treat the Virgin like I treat the image of Jesus. I humanize Jesus and I try to humanize the virgin too, but it’s harder for me to do, I don’t know why. Maybe because it’s a woman, maybe because if you read the story, and the story is true, in my opinion she has suffered more than Jesus, you know? So maybe it’s that; but I love the two images, and I used to work with them, especially the Virgin de Guadalupe. The image of that virgin is so contemporary; it has been done centuries ago, but you can find it now in pop art. There are so many artists using the same image in the same shape and almost the same colors.

multicultural, so we have people from a lot of countries there, a lot of tourists. We are trying to give this place dignity, and try to convince the poor people living there that they can be introduced into society, creating and trying to improve the street. This is Dr. Karmaleone, it’s a collective working with the social community in via Padua.

Me: Does the role of community appear in your art at all? You travel so much and you’re involved in so many projects, but community does seem to be present in your work.

ozono22@hotmail.com

Ivan: I have been living in a lot of places, and I am already present in that place, so, actually now I am living here in Boston but I am pretty present in Italy and Spain too.

So I have communities there too and communities of artists. I am trying to build this kind of net, between artists in different places of the world, mainly Spain, Italy and here in the US, in order to try to create a kind of independent and alternative scene. More or less following the methodology or logic that has been used in the music industry during the nineties. So I am trying to build this international community where you are not physically present but you can be in everyday contact with people, using the internet, using facebook and every kind of social tool we have now.

Me: What’s coming up next?

Ivan: I have a lot of work to do. I have to prepare some exhibitions for the summer in Europe, and an exhibition about the history of surfing, so I am working in that, and I am working in the [my studio and gallery] Factoria del Color, looking for new artists. Next year we will have many exhibitions come up in La Factoria del Color, and I have a very special project coming up but it’s a longterm project. We have to finish it for 2013, spring. I am working with a designer from Milan trying to design a new concept of an art studio…but I can’t speak a lot about this project, but we’re designing a new idea of an art lab.

Ivan Fernandez Gonzalez “Coyote Painting Walls” www.coyotenoborders.com “La Factoría del Color” www.midwaystudios.com

Me: what is Dr. Karmaleone lab?

Ivan: Dr. Karmaleone is an artist from Milan, and Dr. Karmaleone lab is kind of an organization. There are artists - me, and other artists - from via Padua street in Milan, we started to organize this collective for artists.

Via Padua street is a poor area of Milan, that is pretty Page 42: Coyote at work by Lucia Camerotto. Abstrack July 2011 Abstraks 43

Kristin Pulsifer Written by Darius Loftis

Kristin is an artist based out of Allston, MA with an energetic personality. Her work is created in various mediums, and applied to materials like wood. Abstraks caught up with her to see what motivates and more.

Darius: Did you have any formal art training?

Kristin: I took one year at montserrat. I also lived with my high school art teacher for about a year, she taught me a lot.

Darius: What are your primary mediums that you use?

Kristin: I love watercolor.acrylic.pencil.pen. I love painting on wood, things I find.

Darius: What other mediums have you experimented with or would like to use?

Kristin: I love the way oil paint looks but I dont want to take my time when I’m working on something. I cant plan that far ahead. But I would like to find the patience to use oil paint.

your pieces? If so, on average how long do you spend on a piece?

Kristin: Its always different. Usually a while.

Darius: Do you have a certain preference between working mural size or smaller on a canvas?

Kristin: I like working on murals with my drunk friends.

I have an extra room in my apartment that we call the drunk tank. That’s where all my painting things are. It’s usually a special magical night if we end up in the drunk tank working on the mural! But if I’m giving it my all, I usually work on big pieces of wood. I like wood.

Darius: Where do you live now, and how does that influence you as an artist?

Kristin: I reside in the luxurious Allston, Massachusetts

Darius: Explain your style, and the art work that you produce.

Darius: What are your future plans from here?

Kristin: Sensual. Sexy. Smooth.

Kristin: Keep on keeping on.

Darius: Do you have any artists that push you, in terms of your inspiration?

Kristin: My friends. They are all pretty much amazing at most things of the inspiring nature.

Darius: Where do you derive a lot of your inspiration and influence from?

Kristin: Smooth jams and incense.

Darius: What is your creative process like?

Kristin: I usually write my ideas down, I sketch them a few times then just go for it, get freaky.

Darus: Are you an artist who spends a lot of time on Page 47: “Untitled” watercolor pen and acrylic Page: 48: “Untitled” watercolor pen and acrylic

46 Abstraks July 2011

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Contact: blobbylove@gmail.com Page 52: “Untitled” watercolor pen and acrylic Page 53: “Untitled” watercolor pen and acrylic