on approach
Hi! Kenta-Thomas and Eli here - we are so excited about our third issue, all about approach. With every issue we find ourselves more and more in love with our community, and believe us when we say, we appreciate you! We really can’t do this without you all. As things have been transitioning in our personal lives and with our publication, we decided to take a more refined approach to this issue. We are so excited for the stories, perspectives, and works that we have gathered this time around - they are SO GOOD! Approach to us is how we enter into a new challenge, the process, and the method that is behind the work. Our approach to many things have changed since starting this publication, but we feel just as passionate about this project since the first day. We hope you enjoy this issue, as you ponder - what is approach to you?
The Team: Editorial Kenta T. Naoi - Founding Editor Elijah McKinnon - Co-Founder, Managing Editor Denayja Reese - Associate Editor Jake Guidry - Copy Editor Katy Lester - Copy Editor Patrick Ortiz - Photographer Jason Le - Photographer Marko Chavez - Photographer Features Mazama Graze Magazine Ashely Owens aka GrandapStyle Different Fur Studios
Contributors Alyssa Kies Stephen Amato-Salvatierra Allison Burt-Tilden Francesca Wedemeyer Antonio Serrano of BAMF! Abbey Abate Jordan Hernandez Natasha Shompole Maxine Sferra Scott Kaplan Katie Reggie Deborah Panesar Elanore Park Kelly H Kim Davalos Jarvis Subia Katy Lester Eleanore Park Partner Adair Graphic Communications Fork and the Road
Printing Adair Graphic Communications Advertising | Distribution howdy@invitationannual.com Invitation/Annual is published quarterly by MUDENTE LLC. All rights reserved. All material in this magazine may not be reproduced, transmitted or distributed in any form without the written permission of Invitation/Annual. The articles published reflect the opinions of the respective authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the publishers and editorial team. Printed in USA by Adair Graphic Communications (Dexter, Michigan).
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CONTENT Editorial A Sunday with Sarah Kay Facilitated Conversation: Different Fur Studios Essentials Through the Senses: Eleanore Park Featured Perspectives Mazama Graze Magazine In Pursuit Of Magic Ashley Owens of GranpaStyle Contributed Stories Alyssa Kies and Stephen Amato-Salvatierra Francesca Wedemeyer Antonio Serrano of BAMF! Abbey Abate Jordan Hernandez Natasha Shompole Katy Lester Contributed Works Allison Burt-Tilden Maxine Sferra Scott Kaplan Katie Reggie Deborah Ballinger Kelly Huibregtse Kim Davalos Jarvis Subia
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MAXINE SFERRA
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maxine sferra
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featured perspective - mazama
MAZAMA
words by elijah mckinnon + photos by patrick ortiz www.shopmazama.com
Founded around the idea of blending some of the most beautiful yet simple ingredients together, Mazama Wares prides themselves on knowing what it takes to make things work. Based in Portland, Oregon, Mazama takes a very unique and innovative approach towards the design and production of their line of handcrafted ceramic vessels. After sharing one too many cups of homemade jungle juice with a few of the founding partners a couple of months ago, we made sure to keep in contact with this diverse collective of designers, makers and creatives. Swooned by their attention to detail and knack for getting their hands dirty we set aside sometime to catch up with Meghan, one of the six founding partners. Once we were finished revisiting the silliness of the “Spring Break” themed party she and her team hosted a few months back, we dove deep into all that is Mazama. Rooted in a highly conceptualized narrative, Mazama is the culmination of years of experience and ideas that has manifested into a extensive line of ceramic vessels. “I am actually not a trained ceramicist by any means. But I just love to make things. I think that this is very common with
the people of Portland and the people of our generation. We just love making stuff!” Meghan says. Working in the corporate arena for many years inspired Meghan and the entire team behind Mazama to produce something that was more hands on, and that would allow them to get their hands dirty. They wanted to make something that would not only allowed them to introduce attractive products to the market but also have the opportunity to design goods that were timeless and essential; a very important value for Mazama. “The real genesis came from this idea of craft beverage and gathering around beverages,” say Meghan. After some initial investments in 2013 and a successful Kickstarter campaign the idea that was rooted in storytelling and a sense of community had manifested into a small business. One of the most distinctive qualities of Mazama is their approach to designing and producing their handcrafted ceramic drinking vessels. Meghan explains how when they first started how concerned they were about making something that was a very consistent
product that was also unique to hand thrown ceramics. This is achieved by using templates made from laser cutters that are exclusive to Mazama to ensure that each vessel is the exact same height, the exact same diameter and fit the exact same volume. “It’s a really great mix of precision and accuracy along with the very organic and messy nature of ceramics,” says Meghan. In an essence, there is a coalesce between new technology being utilized to make something that is so fundamental such as an old school ceramic cup. Meghan further elaborates on how Mazama’s approach to manufacturing provides them with a unique business advantage. “The great thing about handling ceramics is that it tells you what your approach should be rather than the other way around. They want to dry how they want to dry and they want to be made the way that they want to be made.” Mazama’s current business model can only alot for so much scaling up before it doesn’t make any sense. Because of this, they are currently working hard to fine tune their business so it forces them to remain extremely close to their original mission. “We’re definitely open to the idea of expanding,” says Meghan, but Mazama’s main focus is sticking to their love of craft beverages. This dependency allows them to introduce products that are of the highest quality, which is crucial to the brand and is the reason they pride themselves on doing one thing really well rather than doing a bunch of things “half-assed.” Since everything is handmade, quality control is imperative to Mazama’s production. They have come up with a rule book of sliding scales in the form of a wheel for their products and “if anything starts to look funky, we cut it!” Meghan explains. 10
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Since day one, Mazama has been intent with making something that was equally as pleasing to hold as it is to consume. This has served as a major asset for the brand seeing as they wanted to build more than just ceramics. There are so many magical moments that are shared between people over beverages, whether it be coffee or a glass of jungle juice. Mazama’s approach to their authentic craftsmanship relies heavily on doing what feels right and not being forced.
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APPROACHING illustration by katie reggie
MONDAY - WORK
TUESDAY - STUDIO
WEDNESDAY - SLEEP
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katie reggie
THE
THURSDAY - SCHOOL
WEEK
FRIDAY - PARK
SATURDAY - TENNIS
SUNDAY - BRUNCH
works - abbey abate
ON APPROACHES by abbey abate
At a time when access and gratification are so easy and instant, there is much to be said about things that take time. In the creative world, extra time might be considered the most lavish luxury of all, considering that, more often than not, a slowly churned product yields the most striking results. During the creative process, the approach is the first advancement, where ideas begin to trickle and a concept begins to formulate. Most cordially, the approach is simply the beginning. At its most intimidating, it is the truth that bares its teeth from the start and, whether anyone likes it or not, it’s the only way to get going. It is the foundation that establishes its own entity before the execution begins and, for that reason, the approach is the most daunting, demanding, and prolific part of the creative process. Though each Creative approaches his or her craft in a different way, a common thread that draws together these individuals is beginning with an idea. Though the process of creating something is vast and complex, at the onset, the first thoughts decide the route of the project. In addition, they decide the capacity of the project, instituting what one might be capable of.
established a heightened standard for the modern creative. Though this phrase has reached all ends of the world with different translations, it’s safe to say that Mies wanted us to know that the best of creations exists with only the most painstaking attention to particulars and thorough refinements. As a Creative approaches a project, an awareness of this sense of specifics can supply the most rewarding results. With a mindful eye for detail, at end, a project can move itself from a simple completion to a true achievement. All creative works need structure and boundaries to make a concept truly resonate. In recognizing its true potential, a conscious approach provides the creative with the bedrock of a concept. With a detailed tendency, the beginnings of a concept don’t simply fall into visibility, rather, they demand their place at the forefront.
From beginning to end, ideas are refined into a more sophisticated evolution of themselves. In essence, beginning anything carries its own severity. In a story, the first words set the tone, or purposefully neglect to, for the entirety of the piece. In a painting, the first brush stroke constructs the basis of the rest of the artwork, through to the finish. In an adventure, the first sensory interactions are the most memorable. When you consider this as the approach, the clarification isn’t seen until the project’s end, making it’s establishment that much more crucial. When renowned architect Ludwig Mies van der Rhoe coined the phrase “God is in the details,” he 18
works - kim davalos
blueberries in season poem by kim davalos
he asked me how i would like him to pleasure me, and i said, “the way i like to eat my blueberries.� it begins in the sink cool water runs over my hands on a june summer sunday morning when i have nowhere to go, so slow goes my fingertips into the bunch of berries wash off any dust or possible pesticides observe kitchen window sunlight that hits the water place the blueberry bunch into a beautiful clay bowl
and fizzle onto my tongue pressed to the top of the roof of my mouth now reveling in the freedom firework explosions, this is seduction.
[a bowl that was bought from a kind lady who began making her own pottery after quitting medical school to find more silence in her mind i appreciate her and her art in this moment of cupping the bowl in my hands].
we approach sex like toddlers grab as much as we can there is too often too much emphasis put on the climax so concerned with swallowing that we forget to savor the berry juice our taste buds are not like what they used to palates only craving the familiar of toast unbuttered or vanilla on plain cones there is sexuality’s secrets in fruit a dance of sugar stained blue gratitude that begins far before its suppleness even touches the lips its all in the simplicity of the every day senses.
pick up a plump and tender berry from the top of the heap salivation begins from anticipation, present in the sensation, my center begins to hum and as i dig my front teeth into half of the berry find my cherry red stain lipstick smeared over my fingers with the juice this red and blue reminds me of my american freedom, sexuality and sensations that are mine to experiment with, to experience, and essentially proclaim bursts of local grown sweetness pop
sensuality is found in the way the bookmark sounds like an ocean wave crashing into the crease after finishing a chapter gratifying and begging for more erotica should excite in how concrete sidewalks smell after the first years rainfall the moment you step out for fresh air breathe, in ecstasy is earth shaking through the steam of my morning coffee i will drink in the way the mahogany liquid
burns my tongue [dont we all enjoy to be burned somehow?] often best by sipping slowly knowing better than to rush the craving or the thirst we seek to satisfy thus, gush goes the blueberry onto tongue red stained lipstick and berry stained hues on my fingers lingers what has come to pass and will arrive back briefly and leave only to be discovered again this is seduction when blueberries are in season. kd
facilitated conversation
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different fur
Facilitated Conversation w. Different Fur When it came time to think of approach, my mind immediately went to Different Fur studios. Located in the heart of San Francisco’s Mission District, Different Fur has been a safe haven for a roster of recording artists as diverse as it’s surrounding neighborhood. Everyone from Brian Eno to E-40 to Gary Clark Jr has found a home in the inviting, inspiring space. The studio has a deep history, having been open for over 50 years and has seen the progression of the music industry from the inside out. Currently at the helm is Studio Director Patrick Brown. When we sat down with Patrick to discuss the process of Different Fur as a business and as creators, one thing became clear immediately. For Patrick and Different Fur, the method is not only in the madness, it is the madness that is the best part of it all.
words + facilitated by denayja reese photos by marko chavez
IA: What do you think is the beginning of your process? PB: We don’t have a strict tone. We just have a general process of trying to give people what they want and what they need. Which can sometimes conflict a bit. People are hiring us to give them what they want but it’s our jobs as engineers, and also producers, to tell them when something could be better. IA: Do you find it rewarding working with new artists that have never recorded before? PB: I’ve been here for 10 years and it’s always funny. You can tell they’ve never been in a studio before. They’ll ask a question and you just know they’ve clearly never done this or if they did, they weren’t paying attention. It’s always, for lack of a better word, cute, but that’s just especially when you have to guide people more. IA: What are some things that you just won’t do? That you just don’t find interesting. PB: We value ourselves as a studio being pretty open to do whatever. We’re fully equipped to do digital, analog, pro-tools, anything. As a general rule, we’ll do whatever as long as it gets to where we want to end up. IA: Who has come into the studio recently that had a particularly interesting process? PB: We had Crashfaster in recently. They’re an 8-bit Chiptune band. That was really interesting because I’ve done two records with them and their last one was a deep concept record. It took years to create and everything had a specific order. With the EP we just did, the process was something completely different.
It was to just go in and bang out an EP, which was kind of fun because we just got to go in and make things. We had all these rough demos and we just took them apart and moved them around. Everything was free form from beginning to end. IA: Do you find that process liberating? PB: Yes, and especially with Crashfaster because we were working with so many different things. We used everything from Old school 808’s and 909’s to Ableton, pro-tools and old Casios. Every kind of level of what you can work with. From an old, beat up Gameboy to one of the best synths you can get. You know, it can be really fun to set everything up ahead of time. Then, sometimes it’s fun to figure out all of the songwrit-
ing ahead of time, then bring everybody in and play it out live. There’s a famous The Morning Benders video that was recorded here and Nic Pope did it in three takes, picked the best one and that was it. IA: How do you know when something’s finished? PB: I’ve found that, like anything else, the biggest thing that separates the people who succeed from the people who don’t succeed is that they know when to say it’s finished. Which is the hardest decision there is. Sometimes you can’t let go and you keep fucking with it. Sometimes that is what it takes. Sometimes it’s walking away for a week and coming back and realizing it’s great. You can mess with it forever. We can argue over where the vocals should be un22
til the end of time but the truth is, a song is always a song. The reality is that at the point when you’re ready to make that decision, it’s probably ready. It’s probably already better than someone who hasn’t put half as much thought into it. When I am done with a record, I give it a good listen on my stereo at home, then again when the masters come back and then I don’t listen to it until it comes out. I usually get done and think I could have done better but then I go back later and it’s usually better than I thought the first time. IA: Yeah but the average music fan isn’t going to hear the things you’re hearing. P: A lot of times people will come to us because of those things the average person doesn’t pick up on. We are trying to impress multiple people. It’s a balancing act of knowing it has to be good technically but it’s about the song at the end of the day. IA: Having been at Different Fur for 10 years, how did you go about gaining the trust of the San Francisco music industry? P: When I started here, I was an intern. I didn’t know that I would be coming in and taking over. I sort of crept into that position through decisions that I made. At one point I had an office upstairs. I think doing things the way I did put me in a position to do things differently than things that were being done before. At the time there were a lot of studios that were pushing all analog and trying to create a much less LA or New York studio vibe where you just come in and do your recording. They were going for more of a community feel. I wanted to merge the two, to say we can be community focused and have the DIY local pride but still step our
game up. We can compete with New York or LA without their pretension and prices. I think that was a hard choice as far as directions to go. Trying to get the best of both worlds and not be limited to any style is difficult. It takes a lot knowledge, time and practice. The same thing goes for the actual process. It’s a lot of work and we don’t always get it perfect but at the end of the day it’s all about doing good work. Really, we’re more likely to be the guys to tell you what you don’t want to hear. IA: That makes people trust you. PB: Sometimes. Sometimes it makes people hate us. It puts you in a position where sometimes people get mad at you. Sometimes clients will walk away and that’s okay. I have to stress that studios are very personal places. You have to trust the people you are working with. Even if you like them and you like the place – it might not be the right place for the record. Sometimes people need eight rooms and we just can’t do that. Sometimes people want to be in a barn. IA: Have you ever done anything like that as an engineer? PB: Absolutely. I am actually working on doing more things like that. I just bought a 8-track tape machine and am working on some custom preamps that I can use in other spaces. I think it would be cool. The whole idea of a record is that it’s a moment in time. It’s supposed to be a storage device of someone’s creative output at a specific moment. As much as a book or a magazine, it’s an encapsulation of thought. Sometimes people forget that. You have to think of what you’re trying to make. What you’re trying to express.
IA: What do you think of the much less organic, more pop music style approach where the song exists long before the artist who sings it ever gets to it? PB: I have no problem with that version of the recording process. I think it’s great. First of all, it’s always been like that. People think that just started with Katy Perry and Carly Rae Jaspen but that’s always been going on. As long as there has been popular recorded music, there have always been people who write the songs and people who sing the songs. There were people whose only job was to write the songs. Publishing companies owned songwriters and they would sell the songs. It’s been going on forever. I think too much weight is put on that. People have problems with auto-tune or production. I think it’s more of a problem of not liking the music or the business behind it. IA: Do you think there is a difference between someone singing a song they wrote and one they didn’t? PB: I just watched Inventing David Geffen and the only reason Laura Nyro had a career was through writing songs for other people. People sort of know who she is but not compared to Carly Simon. I think it’s a mistake to rule one out over the other. I think people forget that we’ve circled back to this place where the money isn’t in the recording anymore, it’s in the publishing. The idea that I would be upset by someone who is singing a song that they didn’t write would be ignoring the history. How do you think The Beatles got started?
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stories
THE UNWRITTEN MANIFESTO OF BAMF! words by antonio serrano + photos by camila cossio
At BAMF! we like to work with as many types of projects for as many clients in as many industries as possible. As an international design agency, it’s something we decided when we founded the studio: Never get bored and always start a new project with fresh eyes (and although it’s something most design studios claim to do, it requires a lot of effort to achieve). We’d hate to be specialists in luxury chocolate package design. We enjoy new stuff and new ways of doing it. That doesn’t mean we don’t have an “established” process, but rather that we tailor our process depending on the client, industry, deadlines and team members involved. As a studio, we usually start by researching the category, client and competitors; in other words, understanding the the needs of our clients and their respective markets. Then we move onto brainstorming concepts and sketches, followed by two or three critiques to figure out and refine the best possible solutions to our clients’ problems. Other than the broad logistics of this process, it’s pretty much different in every case. One of our first challenges was convincing clients to let us work on projects where we didn’t have any experience. This was a really tough one—and it still is—although we’ve developed some experience in communicating the benefits of letting someone try out something new. The end result often surprises our clients in a good way. Little by little we’ve positioned ourselves as a creative studio, rather than a branding house or graphic design firm. So it’s more common now for clients to call us with any type of creative problem (which obviously needs to be solved through graphic communication). Just by talking to us they can see we’re used to solving problems by thinking rather than by using graphics. Sometimes it’s about the message, sometimes it’s
about the text, sometimes it’s about what the brand stands for, sometimes it’s about the user experience, and yes, sometimes it’s about graphic design itself. A particular client once came to us with a brief to redesign his flyers; after talking with him for a couple of hours, we knew a flyer redesign wasn’t going to solve his problems and we decided on a complete brand repositioning and redesign. Since the re-launch, sales have increased 30%. Another big challenge is not letting our guard down and getting used to or comfortable with a certain kind of project. Package design, for example. We’ve done many—well over 100—package designs over the course of six years (we started out as an independent design studio in 2008), and it’s hard to innovate when you’ve done something that many times. We need to push ourselves constantly to keep our team fresh and to come up with different ways of approaching the same kind of project. Sometimes we shift the team around, sometimes we push deadlines closer, sometimes we structure critiques in a different way, sometimes we mix our client or project search so we don’t end up with three similar jobs back to back. You get the point. But all this hard work pays off in the end. Our creative proposals differ a lot from other design studios, so they stand out more when seen next to our clients’ competitors (and they let us know this with great joy; we get many comments on the broad range of our creative proposals). Also, we feel more motivated with every project: Every project feels like a new kind of project, something we’ve never done before. And sometimes it is. 26
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Obviously this way of doing things has created its fair share of learning opportunities (to call them failures would be to lie). We’ve had some clients terminate the project more than 90% through and refuse to pay, while other times they’ve chosen not to start the project at all, even after approving the initial proposal. Sometimes it’s because we lack experience in certain fields and fail to foresee problems with those types of projects and sometimes it’s because our clients are not as patient as we are (which we understand—after all, it’s their investment we’re putting on the line). More than 90% of our clients, however, call us back for another job or recommend us to their peers or friends, which lets us know we’re doing things right. And we’ve developed some very strong relationships with certain people, ones who call on us to solve their creative problems even when moving to a new job in a different company and industry. We’re proud of what we’ve achieved, but can’t afford to rest on our laurels and lay low for a while. This particular philosophy requires us to constantly go out in search of different projects, clients and brands, to innovate with every project (even the ones we’ve done more than 100 times), to try stuff we’re not used to trying and to constantly get out of our comfort zone (which grows a little with every project). But it also has it rewards: Working with local, national and international brands, non-profit organizations, museums, the Mexican government, amateur writers, an Italian children’s soccer team and artistic and cultural events is something we couldn’t have managed any other way. As designers, we feel brands need to constantly innovate and we’d be ashamed to promote this if it’s not something we did ourselves. It’s certainly hard; if it were easy, everyone else would do it. This has also helped us branch out into new territories. We started as a print-based branding studio , but now we specialize in web, motion graphics, advertising and even public art events. It’s been one hell of a ride and we hope to keep this as our unwritten studio manifesto.
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featured perspective
GRAZE MAGAZINE words by elijah mckinnon + photos by jason le www.grazemagazine.org
Currently in its third year of production, Graze Magazine has shared countless stories that focus on not only what’s on the table, but also the people that come together around it. At its core, “we really believe that Graze is a literary endeavor,” Brian says, “so it’s almost a little bit of a surprise how much [the] interest in the food culture has evolved in our community.” Inspired by an established sense of community, Brian Solem and Cyndi Fecher—founders of the Chicago-based, semi-annual food and literary publication Graze Magazine have spent a large portion of their professional careers connected to the literary world. For instance, Cyndi explains how she has always been interested in pursing her own passions within this particular arena: “Graze came about as a way to put energy into something that I cared about in terms of food and working on a project with a friend.” Similarly, Cyndi and Brian were motivated by the convergence of spending time working on something that was meaningful and providing an outlet for talented writers and artists. The magazine was formed one evening in a parked car, where they solidified the concept and divided up the roles and responsibilities. “We discussed if this project was good for us and our friendship because that was something we anticipated being something to think about from the get-go. Right then and there we went for it!” Brian says. In essence, this project represented the culmination of the years of ideas and concepts the two had shared. Speaking to the name of the magazine, Cyndi explains that they knew they wanted it to be an action word, something that was all-encompassing. Brian adds, “Graze just felt right; it sort of captured the social element of eating food.” Their approach towards producing their semi-annual publication is a commendable one. Since Graze is not a theme-based magazine, they allow their contributors to have complete freedom over what types of creative stories or artwork they want to submit. “I think that what has happened, in sort of a really lovely way, is that there seems to be a thread that comes through each issue,” Cyndi says. Aside from being guided by the Graze community, their small, yet nimble team allows the duo to continue to push boundaries and soar even higher. This collective of magical wizards consist of an associate editor and an art director that both act as gatekeepers for content submitted to the magazine, while Cyndi and Brian handle everything from business 30
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operations to managing the editorial calendar. In addition to their full plates, they recently became the “Mom and Dad,” so to speak, of another endeavor called Fork and the Road, a food and bike tour in conjunction with Graze. “The opportunity emerged and we’re giving it a shot,” Brian explains.
care and humility go into just getting something started rather than the particular project or task itself. “The approach is everything that happens before letting it go into the world,” Cyndi says. “Sort of like pulling the arrow all the way back before releasing it.”
Both Brian and Cyndi rely heavily on their creative judo to guide Graze. Not only do they pride themselves on being extremely organized, they also hold many strengths in strategy and execution. “We’re all interested in compromising and believing in each other’s vision,” Brian says. In addition to building community and producing something that is meaningful, they both believe that there is something incredible about working really hard for something that you love. As a publication, it is oftentimes a challenge to target two different communities but Graze simply straddles a fine line between both the literary and culinary world. “I think that we have been well received in both,” Cyndi says. “It’s been fun to walk that line and see where we fit in.” When asked how they have been able to sustain their publication over the last three years they collectively explain how some of the major takeaways from the entire experience has been not being afraid to take risks. Brian elaborates on this concept by highlighting how Graze is a beautiful example of why “trying and being vulnerable can be so worthwhile.” They collectively agree that the only difference between doing something and not doing something is a line of magic that just needs to be crossed. This is what allows you to look at the world differently. Cyndi and Brian are prime examples of how much 34
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stories
THE (RE)APPROACH: WHY IS APPROACH IMPORTANT? words by jordan hernandez
Perhaps it was instilled in us at a young age, how to approach things. Don’t touch the stove with bare hands if it’s hot. Don’t run by the pool when it’s wet. Don’t talk with your mouth full. Check your mirrors before changing lanes. Don’t run with scissors. But when did we all start learning to grab life’s heat with our bare hands, so to speak? We still wear oven mitts when we’re feeling cautious, but when we feel brave we also like to feel raw. Some days I am left to wonder about the meaning of things that are involved before we reach a final outcome. To see things down to their grit and grime and speculate what they looked, sounded and felt like before they became finished products and people felt whole. Did they have qualms, the way I do with certain things? Are there little quips, annoyances they let strike them as a nuisance? I know that in this world, there are others out there who go to bed with layers of grief so thick they would need a machete to make it through their mind’s thickets. There are other springs in others’ beds that poke and jab them, the same way our daily labor does. But where are these kindred ties like us? I’m searching for those missing links in a long chain of replicas. Isn’t one of life’s many cruelties the unwavering ability to dissect someone’s heart and swab it for its secrets? To muddle around and bask in all the small truths you may never know? But what are the things that keep you up at night, those tiny fractures that keep your heart beating, slow and steady, pumping and pulsing? These questions often allude me, as they’ve gone from rhetorical to ever present. For me, the days often blend into one. I wake up early, even when I don’t have to. I smile at the neighbors I share a wall with who don’t know my name and the ones who crank their mariachi music on the weekend mornings. I punch in for 38
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work, watch the clock all day, and then it’s on to a train ride home. Where I no longer am aware of what people’s faces look like anymore. Everyone is on their phones, trying to avoid others’ existence within two feet of their own. Sometimes I toss change to the homeless guys on the corner. But we all like our own grinds, at our own pace. Then we let it perpetuate, our need to be noticed and desired. To be wanted. To have someone say, “I see you, you magnificent being of light.” But the problem is that reciprocation has become an illusion. Everything is onesided. We are flashcards to others. Things they flip through, memorizing snippets of your biography before discarding it and reshuffling the stack. Those of us that can’t stand the heat have stayed out of the kitchen. The ones who stood too close have been burned; the rest of us, well, we’re just floating. We go home at night, wash our dirty faces and fight to keep our eyes open. Turning and tossing, trying to find the cool side of the pillow that soothes us. This is the cycle. People, whoever they may be, call it vicious. But I call it lethal. A spin cycle churning without enough water. Once I asked someone if they were full. They replied, “What kind of full? To the brim where we gather buckets for the overflow? Or the kind that is just enough to say it’s half full in a hopeful kind of way?” I never gave an answer because I couldn’t. I searched and prodded but the simple truth is that you’re the only one who can decide how full you want to become. How finished you are when you’ve been approaching your own life since it began. What I am learning through the belligerent stints, the cantankerous spells, is how to resurface. How to re-approach. How to wring myself dry of the misguidance, the rejections and the periods instead of semicolons. I have discovered which parts of me have sprung a leak, and how to allow the salt to evaporate from my lungs that have been sinking me instead of buying my bones. Sometimes you’re the current and sometimes you’re the wave. But you have to learn how to approach the wave before you can ride it.
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APPROACHING NICK LIPTON words on words with -
words + photos by scott kaplan
Lipton pays his bills as a Senior Copywriter for the world renowned Leo Burnett agency, creating brands and branded content, which he aptly puts, “Makes millionaires, billionaires.” His work and campaigns span from big tobacco to youth culture and was at one point Senior Editor of the infamous snowboarding publication, Yobeat. A Portland native, he first cut his teeth in journalism but quickly became a partner at Yobeat, pumping out daily articles, interviews, videos and more while still in college full time. Once a walking cliche’ of Bukowski, locking himself in his room chain smoking cigarettes- empty bottles of merlot strewn about (he was in a merlot phase…) he plugged away writing about the intricacy’s within the world of snowboarding with a unique voice and perspective that was new to his generation and unlike those before him. He looks back on that time and laughs, saying, “How bullshit the wholetortured artist thing is.” 40
scott kaplan
However, his head on approach to the workhe put in by forcing himself to sit and write actually paid off. It got him recognition from small agencies to major players like Nike. And he has since maintained a strong creative network, traveling and working with people across the globe, infusing his diehard energy and contempt for mediocrity at every turn. At home Lipton is surrounded by art, displayed like trophies- personally given to him by well known photographers, graphic designers and artists like Jimmy Fontaine, Magda Wosinska, Jon Contino and Kenji Nakayama, all of whom he considers friends now. Lipton says, “The single hardest thing to do in any creative medium, no matter what you do - is truly doing it.” Saying, “I’m not going to be partying, I’m not going to be going out, my relationships are going to have to suffer…my real life is going to have to suffer, so I can put in the actual time it takes to craft something. One beautiful lesson I’ve learned in advertising is that you’ll get writers block. But you can go out for a smoke, eat a burger, whatever you have to do, but in two hours you’ve gotta come back and start banging it out, just let the garbage pour out and if it’s been 10 hours and nothings happening, leave. Change your surroundings. If you actually care about what you’re doing it’s going to be in the back of your mind regardless, and maybe on your tenth whiskey or when you’re in the shower- BAM - it comes to you and that idea will spark everything and you’re good to go again.” But more than anything he says, “At the end of the day it really comes down to if you’re going to settle. Is it going to
be ‘veg-out’, or are you gonna work stupidly hard on something? In the real world you either sink or you swim, and I decided to swim.”
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APPROACHING FLOYD DAVIS great sparks of innovation come in the strangest forms and places. words + photos by scott kaplan
For Floyd Davis the innovator of the Gentleman’s Boombox, and founder of Artpentry- it came on the heels of an intimate relationship, while packing up his belongings he laid his boom box inside of his suitcase and everything suddenly clicked. A simple yet genius idea; he would design a set of speakers inside a portable suitcase. A display artist and carpenter by trade, as well as a musician (and hip-hop artist) - the fertile ground for this interdisciplinary idea was probably already laid. An early entrepreneur at the outset of the new “maker” revolution in the late 2000’s, it would be another few years before Floyd received the recognition he deserves for his creative vision. “When a great idea is simple yet so obvious, but hasn’t been established yet... the moment it becomes talked about you run the risk of it slipping from your fingers,” Floyd says. “I experienced this first hand. I remember people telling me how great of an idea this thing was, and then hear
them saying that they were going to do it themselves, in front of my face! I was like woah man this is my idea! But I couldn’t stop anyone from taking the idea and doing it on their own.” Rather than give up or sell the idea or patent it to a company for possibly a high return he decided to approach his idea with the best intentions, knowing that his design and his method would rein supreme for bringing this functional artwork to life. Floyd decided to manufacture his Gentleman’s Boombox on his own and enlisted the help of some of his closest friends. Floyd never stopped creating other works of art either. He continued to work on commissioned projects for local restaurants, bars and boutiques, gaining a name for himself as both furiously creative, dependable and lightning fast for the complex kinds of builds he became known for creating; not to mention his charming personality which would make anyone want to hang out around his
workshop for hours even while inhaling plumes of sawdust. But it was his origional stroke of genius, the Gentleman’s Boombox that brought his most influential partnership to date, with Redbull Music Academy. “Redbull changed my life.” Floyd says, “They’ve given me the creative freedom and opportunity to take my projects and ideas really to the next level.” And Floyd has done just that. Floyd’s business Artpentry has grown and shows no sign of slowing down, as of this July he has open the doors to a whopping 7,000 sq ft gallery space and workshop in the heart of the Pilsen arts district that will be home to his operations and host to many new and exciting creative collaborations to come.
stories
HUNTER/GATHERER words by alyssa kies + photos by stephen amato-salvatierra
Kevin is worried about his fish. “The fish talk to me,” he says, matter-of-factly. I raise my eyebrow, and Kevin explains: he’s not hearing voices, but he’s listening just the same. Over the past two weeks the fish haven’t been swimming up to the surface at feeding time. Before, they’d line up just under the surface, practically wagging their tails with excitement before he even dropped the food in — and that was when he would feed them up to six times a day. Now he feeds them once a day, and not one of them even pokes their head up. He thinks their lackadaisical behavior is a sign the water’s too hot. I’m amazed. I want to talk to fish, too. “This is not a forget-about-it type of garden, and I’m a forget-about-it type of gardener,” he says of his backyard aquaponics setup, “I’ve learned more in the past four months than I have in the past ten years.”
it? Is it still relevant if consuming local, organic food can be just as mindless as eating conventionally – as hollow as buying a free-range chicken sandwich? Kevin’s lifestyle is the values of food movement incarnate; anyone that was inspired by a Michael Pollan book to consume less corn syrup will be invigorated by Kevin’s approach to eating (Kevin also has a new book coming out in December). Hunting, fishing and foraging wild foods are gradually entering the mainstream as alternatives to purchasing farmed foods. Currently the trend is somewhat confined to high-end restaurants in major cities, but nascent wild foodies don’t need to shell out a week’s worth of pay for ingredients that can be found for free. For this issue centered around the idea of approach, we sought out two people with radically involved approaches to being a consumer. --
Over the past decade, Kevin Feinstein (who also goes by Feral Kevin) has made a name for himself teaching and writing about foraging. But recently, California’s drought has made scavenging wild food difficult. So in March, he took up aquaponics as his latest hobby and potential moneymaker. As the food movement has grown, Kevin’s become a Bay Area microcelebrity, earning mentions in Time, 7x7 and The Bold Italic for his wild but still practical ways.
Two hours before dawn on the Idaho plains, Harry Pali decides to start moving. It’s dark. He’s hoping to find cover amongst the low grass and scrub where he can wait and watch for elk before they start traveling for the day, an activity that only lasts a few hours – a small time frame to get a shot at the elk he has been stalking for days. Harry, a lean, rugged 62-year-old Hawaii native, is the only human as far as the eye can see.
As consumers begin to question the industrial food system, more people are seeking alternative ways to get their food directly from the source. Farmer’s markets and community-supported agriculture programs have blossomed in recent years. The organic and health food market has exploded.
But the herd has decided to get up early as well. They’re already moving before Harry has reached his blind. He has no cover. As the elk move past him, the lead bull catches Harry’s scent. Harry freezes, eye to eye with the massive creature. The bull turns to face him, chest out, and stomps his foot in Harry’s direction. He snorts at the intruder; the bull’s message is clear. Harry will not shoot an elk today.
But as the food movement has grown in popularity, it’s had to deal with some big questions. Is it still valuable if it’s only accessible to those that can afford
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alyssa kies + stephen amato-salvatierra
The herd departs. In the year since Harry took up archery, he has never successfully shot an animal. But even after days-long journeys following elk through their expansive territories, he doesn’t feel like he’s coming home empty-handed. When else would he get trace elk trails that are generations old and intersect the plains like freeways? Where would he experience a storm on the side of a 10,000foot peak, moving like a locomotive, leaving a trail of incinerated trees in its wake? But Harry says his philosophy is the exception to the rule in the hunting world. He refuses to shoot wildly and maim an animal only to lose it as it runs off to carry out a slow and painful death. “I try to hunt as humanely as possible,” he says. He’ll wait for the perfect kill shot to present itself — and if it doesn’t, he won’t shoot at all. Plus, he tacks on the added challenge of shooting with a bow instead of a gun. Harry’s adventure stories (ask him about climbing El Capitan at fifty years old) and his kind, open personality have made him a legend in San Francisco’s Outer Sunset neighborhood. Everyone I talk to seems to know him.
-Harry and Kevin had very different upbringings, but their intense and thoughtful personalities seem to have led them down similar paths. Kevin was raised in the suburbs of Nashville, Tennessee. His life took a turn when he realized that he didn’t know anything about food. It was the late ‘90s, and he did what many of us do when we want to learn something new: he went on the internet. “I followed the rabbit hole,” he said, getting into permaculture (a self-sustaining system of agriculture modeled from natural ecosystems) and foraging all at once. 46
water he can go without seeing stars or blacking out. Once, he did black out and the only thing that saved him was his subconscious decision to unlatch his weight belt. “I’ve always had it in my mind that I wouldn’t live past a certain age,” he says, “Well, guess what? I lived past that. And now I have all the scars and injuries to show for it. They’re coming home to roost.” Harry now lives with chronic pain and is prescribed numerous medications (which he doesn’t always take). “If I gave all the medicine I’m supposed to take in a day to a horse, it would drop,” he says. Harry, on the other hand, grew up in Hawaii climbing papaya trees and spearfishing with his dad after work. They moved to the mainland when he was five years old. After he came of age and moved to the Northern California countryside (where seasonal hunting and fishing are popular sports), he reconnected with his childhood experiences. He recalls thinking, “I remember this. I recognize this. This is who I am. This is what I want to do.” He started progressing through different sports while working in the construction industry as a heavy machine operator. In ‘91 he began competitive bass fishing, an activity he kept up for 14 years. The only reason he stopped was because of back surgery, but he didn’t slow down. He switched to kayaking. “Sometimes I don’t know moderation,” he admits, “I always hit the wall.” His wife, Rose, convinced him to finally retire from the demanding construction trade, which only gave him more time to pursue his hobbies. He took up freediving, enjoying the challenge of seeing how far he can push his body, how deep under-
Now his latest preoccupation is bowhunting. When we meet Harry, he’s standing in the middle of the street, shooting arrows at a target located inside his garage. Harry’s garage is super efficiently organized with decades worth of sporting gear; after talking with
him, I see Harry’s garage as an autobiography. He opens a cooler and shows us a whole pig that’s he’s brining, and precisely explains the entire process for roasting it in the ground. “I go to extremes to where I’ll start something and if it’s got my interest, I’ll go to great expense to get really, really good at it,” he says, “I devote the time to learn the techniques and learn the reason for it.” Harry and Kevin share this in common. They are both deeply knowledgeable about their passions and respected for what they do. They’ve also had to adapt to conditions that prevented them from continuing their respective activities: for Harry, the challenge has been chronic pain and injury. For Kevin, the catalyst that provoked him to take up aquaponics was the drought. “We’re in this worst-case scenario that people don’t even understand,” Kevin says. To be fair, most people don’t return to their favorite spots for finding wild food only to find that their future salad has died of thirst. “If you’re getting food [solely] from the wild,” he says, “You’re dead.”
is quite honestly spiritual. They have an unmistakable appreciation for life. “One of the common misconceptions about foraging is that I can live off of what I forage,” says Kevin, “Maybe I could, but then I wouldn’t be living in society. Humans are social. If you don’t have a community, it’s harder to live as a human, even if it’s in a natural way… I would describe my approach to consumerism as trying to fit myself in a local, regional and global ecosystem, including social and economic ones — and being an active member in all of them. You know when you watch ‘Planet Earth’ and you see these animals fitting into these weird, tiny ecological niches? We all do this, every day with everything we do.” Harry goes on: “For me, anytime I get involved in something like this, even just shooting arrows in the street, it’s therapy. It’s very therapeutic.”
-The four basic lessons about hunting and foraging that I learned from talking with Harry and Kevin were these: 1. Be flexible 2. Don’t expect to replace your diet with food you’ve caught yourself 3. Start simple 4. Learn as much as you can I realized that there was so much to learn before starting out to collect food or throwing some seeds in the ground. Harry and Kevin are grounded by such strong values that guide their actions in a manner that 48
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featured perspective - in pursuit of magic
IN PURSUIT OF MAGIC words by elijah mckinnon + photos by kenta thomas naoi www.pursuitofmagic.com
There is something about light and magic; those moments that allow you to better experience an extension of yourself and the objects around you, in just a split second. In Pursuit Of Magic (IPM) is a global movement that manifested between two street artists in 2012. Founded on the principle of being a constant “crusade to elevate consciousness and amplify meaning in the world”, these two artists have provided an opportunity for people to continue to explore light and magic. Serving as a reminder that, the magic we pursue, is also pursuing us.
it is strictly in the hands and minds of the viewer to define what it means for themselves. There is something quite remarkable about walking around a large metropolitan city such as New York, being surrounded by the hustle and bustle of life occurring all around you. Then, as if by design, you’re embraced by a subtle stenciling that reminds you that we are all in pursuit of magic in some way, shape or form. “When people find the words they seem to be lifted up into a state of joy & hope,” says one of the founding artists.
On a particularly bright day in the Lower Westside of New York, we briefly caught up with one half of IPM to discuss how they approach spreading light and magic around the world. One of the beautiful aspects about the messaging behind In Pursuit Of Magic is that
There is a lot to be said about the organic approach to this movement transpiring through many different communities. The two artists met on a photoshoot and knew right away that they were meant to create something together that the world could 52
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love and admire. They decided to meet on that following Tuesday and not leave one another until they became aware of exactly what that was. “That’s when the words In Pursuit Of Magic came to us. We didn’t have a clear sense of what it would become at first so we took it one step at a time listening clearly to ourselves & one another.” While still being unaware of what those words meant exactly, their newly sparked connection led them to the decision to take the first step by making two stencils and setting out into the streets of New York and California. “We let the rest unfold.” There is something quite mystical about these two street artists. Both highly concerned with spreading positive vibes and energy through the work that they produce, In Pursuit Of Magic is much larger than them. In fact one of the artists mentions that they both felt “it was something much bigger than the moment the words arrived.” The artist further explains how each of them interacts with the world on a daily basis coming from a space of “deep respect & love.” There are many reasons why people who have encountered the three word mantra identify with it differently. As creatives, our energies are constantly. The majority of the things that deeply resonate with us begins with our current mental and emotional states. Both of the artists believe that the reason these words speak to any and everyone is because ot the powerful energy that fuels them. “It’s amazing the power and resonance that words can have in peoples lives, it’s been a powerful tool for awakening and change,” says one
of the artists. Not only do both of the artists believe that seeing the words at the right moment can shift the movement and flow of your day, but it also has the potential to influence your approach towards life. They explain how when individuals connect with the words “they seem to be lifted into a state of joy and hope” which provides them with a deeper understanding of themselves and their purpose for being.
side how you approach the collective. Until we are all somehow connected to each other. “We are living a life IN PURSUIT OF MAGIC and we will keep spreading the message and being agents of change. It leads us and we listen…” says the artists.
This is something that is apparent in their approach towards the pursuit of magic. They are very conscious of protecting their anonymity because they are more concerned with the movement being more about the words and less about themselves. There are so many positive things that have manifested from the two artists being In Pursuit Of Magic and a majority of that begins with the words deeply resonating with a diverse mix of individuals of all ages and backgrounds. One of the artist elaborates, “ It’s a point of connection for some and an affirmation or reminder for others. Whatever it may be, it always makes people feel lighter.” Knowing that others will find the “trail of magic and join into the collective joy” is the main focus towards their approach. “We’ve heard stories where seeing these words changed the course of peoples lives in very positive ways.. there’s not much more we could ask for…” says one of the artists. The movement is constantly evolving and they are positive that it will continue to be apart of their lives until the end of time. They both believe that approach involves the movement towards one another and with that other individual at your 56
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MINI PEAR ALMOND GALETTES recipe + photos by kelly huibregtse
INGREDIENTS For the galette dough: 4 c. flour 2 T. sugar ½ tsp. kosher salt 1 c. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces ¾-1 c. ice cold water For the pear filling: ½ c. sugar 1½ tsp. cinnamon ½ tsp. nutmeg ½ tsp. kosher salt 5-6 pears 2/3 c. slivered almonds ¼ c. heavy cream Raw sugar, for finishing
INSTRUCTIONS serves 6-8 Make the galette dough: Combine the flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Cut in the cubed butter with a pastry cutter until mostly pea-sized pieces of remain. You can also use a food processor and pulse a few times until combined. Do not over mix. Sprinkle the ice water over the flour mixture 1-2 tablespoons at a time and shake to distribute. Mix the mixture with your hands until it starts to come together in a coarse ball. Sprinkle the dry bits with more water and bring together into a ball. Divide the dough into 6-8 equal balls. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, up to overnight. Make the pear filling: Preheat the oven to 375˚ F. Combine the sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in a small bowl. Slice the pears in half. Remove the stem and bottom. Place pears flesh side down and thinly slice lengthwise, maintaining the pear’s original shape. Assemble the galettes: Roll the galette dough out on a floured surface one circle at a time. Each round should be 6 to 8 inches in diameter. Sprinkle a handful of slivered almonds on the dough rounds, then sprinkle with a heaping teaspoon of the sugar mixture. Layer the pear slices starting from the center, leaving about one inch from the edge. Fold the crust up and over the pears to make a 1-inch border. Brush the crust with heavy cream and sprinkle with raw sugar. Bake galettes on a parchment paper-lined baking sheets. Bake for 35-45 minutes or until crust is golden brown and pears are tender. Remove to wire rack to cool. Serve warm or at room temperature.
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kelly huibregtse
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THE ANNUAL PEAR
INGREDIENTS ½ c. water ½ c. sugar 2 pears, peeled and cored 1 ½ oz. lemon juice 2 tsp. fresh thyme 2 oz. bourbon Soda water Thyme, for garnish
INSTRUCTIONS makes 4 cocktails Make the simple syrup. Heat the sugar and water in a small saucepan over medium high heat until dissolved. Remove from heat and let cool. Make the pear puree. Blend the pears, lemon juice and fresh thyme in a blender or food processor until pureed. Assemble the drink. Fill four high ball or rocks glasses with ice. Shake the bourbon, 2 ounces of pear puree and 1 ounce of simple syrup vigorously until chilled. Pour over ice and top with soda water. Garnish with a sprig of thyme to serve.
stories
FALLING DOWN A HALLWAY WITH DJAO
words by katy lester + photo by patti miller
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katy lester
It’s no secret that in recent years electronic music has experienced growing, international popularity; and in many ways, it has become the public’s idea of the absolute pinnacle of partying. Although the electronic music scene first began as a new way to produce layered music in a digital era, and connect with like-minded people, it has since developed into a realm where producers and DJs play music for an audience that is more interested in the party itself than the production value of the music. The approach has gone from one that was genuine, to one that can lack real substance and person-to-person connection. Of course, the rave scene is not for everyone, and for those who do still crave actual connections among people, smaller avenues of electronic music exist and even flourish from artists like SBTRKT to Shlomo. In Seattle, the ambient-electronic and experimental-electronic sub-genres have experienced particular success. Alex Osuch, better known by his stage name DJAO, has had a hand in transforming and developing the scene in Seattle for several years now, and when you first listen to his music, the reason why is clear. In stark contrast to big-name electronic artists, you can tell there’s something unique happening in AO’s music. The music is certainly more ambient than the majority of electronic artists, but more importantly there is a keen sense of sincerity. There is a kind of personal connection that is both rare and difficult to achieve in the majority of electronic music of today, but DJAO makes it a priority to connect with his listeners as one of his main approaches in producing music. Although he’s been DJing since he was in high school, Osuch didn’t begin to produce his own music until late 2009, after he had already graduated college. Osuch then joined Pacific Northwest collective and label Dropping Gems, which represents various artists in the surrounding area. Since joining Dropping Gems, Osuch’s sound has been influenced by a wide variety of artists. When I sat down with him, we listened to everything from jazz to chillwave to abrasive, minimalist rap; and although it’s a bizarre mix, aspects of each of these can be found in his
music. Vocally he draws from artists like Toro y Moi and Washed Out, describing the effects as, “like falling down a hallway”. From jazz, he gives the listener short piano riffs to lock into, sailing them off into a comfortable daze. Another important aspect to his approach is how slowed down the music is. Often times, he’ll take a drum pattern that typically belongs to house music and slow it way down to fit the mood he desires for that particular track. With the production of his forthcoming album, simply titled DJAO, one of the driving factors in his approach was to be as transparent as possible with his listeners. “On the first track [of the forthcoming album] I wanted to use my voice without any effects on it, because I didn’t want to hide anything,” Osuch said. “But for anyone who’s familiar with my work, they’ll be expecting to hear [my voice].” Of course, his voice is only one element of overarching honesty within the album as a whole. In the song, “Depressing Jog Ends Well,” Osuch makes it a point to suddenly change the tempo of the song and add in other unexpected elements, parallelling what one would actually experience on a jog. The track ends with the sound of him opening his door, and walking into his home. The next track is titled, “Kitchen,” and the one after that, “Basement.” Osuch explained that he named and ordered the tracks this way to give the listener a sense of what his routine might be on any given day. Each move on that he makes in his music - whether it is big or small - is done so with honest intention and self-assuredness. Which, is often why it is a true reflection of something seemingly mundane such as his regular routine. With his music, Osuch offers us a glimpse into his life, and manages to translate his daily errands into a hazy, otherworldly space for the listener. Because of his wide mix of influences, Osuch has definitely developed a sound that is particular to him and outside of any other existing music genre. While he often boils it down to sounding, “zoned-out,” his sound covers so more ground than that. Osuch finds new ways to envelop the listener in non-linear progressions, droning bass, vibrant and textural synth, and far-away, crescendoing vocals on every track. This ultimately results in a cohesive hum and leaves the listener with their own original, organic feeling.
The doctor drew a horseshoe with a line across the mouth on my mom’s hospital bed table. This sketch was supposed to placate us. The doctor, the horseshoe, and the line made no sense inside my mother’s skull but they would all be there in a few hours. After an entire year she decided to get the surgery that could kill her rather than the alternative; wait for an aneurysm to decide for her. The line was a clip that would hold the aneurysm and prevent it from rupturing. The surgery would leave a scar running along my mom’s hairline and they would have to temporarily remove a piece of her skull. She would not remember how she got that scar because she would be deep under anesthesia. In this way, approach can mean just another scar on the human form. Maybe we don’t remember precisely what happened to leave its mark on us or how it plays into the life we choose but it maps the stories and details that keep us moving. That year started drawing small wounds around my complacency. Seeing my mom accept the gamble of modern medicine forced me to consider the life I had accepted. A state of presumable mediocrity that let questions sit in the dark corners, left untouched and feeling unfamiliar. My nose started bleeding on the way to Concepcion. A man at the airport had a sign with my name on it and drove me to my new home. When I met my host family I held a tissue to my face with a speckling of blood along the edges. Same at my new office. The first thing I figured out was that I did not speak this fast and sliced version of Spanish getting tossed my way. The diminutive was nice though, in Chilean Spanish everything is small and friendly. The coffee is a cafecito or a nap is a dormecito. I was lost in a language littered with minified nouns. The physical state of Concepcion was still filled with broken buildings from the recent earthquake. My boss explained that the buildings had been left in their destroyed state because in order to remove them they had to be fully demolished which involved blowing up
the remains and then clearing them for new construction. I realized that the buildings and the aneurysm, are both just decisions with possibly devastating results. On a macro scale with cities and the micro scale with the delicate architecture of the human brain. Despite all that science tells us we want a divine sign saying that it is the right time to take the chance for the cleared space, the growth, the next flight, the new construction, whatever it may be. The internship that brought me to the tiny city tucked between ocean and river unraveled and I left to work in a hostel for lodging in Santiago. While making beds and serving breakfast, I would hear stories from Martina about her families dramas and she would apply aloe vera on my sunburns from the hours I would spend in the pool. One night I met Phillipe, a Belgian wrapped in Peruvian sweaters with llamas dancing across his chest. He never wore shoes. We drank all the red wine left in the bar and tear gas leaked over the walls, into our eyes and mouths. During the day I would work and learn Spanish and he would smoke weed and take me for ice cream and empanadas. At night we fell asleep to the hum of the tattoo machine in the next room and drunk Australians fighting. The Australians became our friends in the morning and in the course of a few days I had a bus ticket that would take me with them to Buenos Aires. It was interesting to watch my fear of not knowing my place and plan thaw into a warm and open invitation. There I was, freshly twenty-three years old, somewhere deep in Buenos Aires that kept us after hours because it was my birthday. We danced until the owner invited us back to his house where we bought champagne and watched the sunrise. The Australian sisters left and Ben stayed with me and we fell in love with Bianca, a friend of mine from home After many dancing nights we knew we needed to leave BA when we walked downstairs into a scavengers hunt for coke that had been
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hidden throughout the lounge by a pack of wild ones. With hair sweated to our foreheads, eyes bulging and a promise of aggression we ran for our ferry. The ocean calmed us and I rented a scooter to run along the edges of Uruguay. Late one night while Ben was working on his application for university I went on a scooter trip for more wine and chocolate. I thought it was the end of everything when a cop drove me to the police station after my parked scooter had clipped another car. As I cried and he drove I offered him chocolate and he told me about his son who played basketball. By the time we got to the station he wrote down my name, made me a coffee and took me back to my scooter. Back at our hotel I sank into a hot bath and tried to understand the risks bobbing and weaving around me. Through Argentina to Bolivia, where I submerged myself into risk without pause. We sat on a stoop waiting for the bus that would take me away from Ben and my recklessness to Cuzco. I had set aside a small promise to climb Macchu Picchu before I went home to my bridge, and mountains, and freckled, laughing sisters . Ben argued that we should stay together but my stubborn, exhausted mind wanted to be completely alone. The strange mountains gave me back a sense of calm and the thin air pushed me back into balanced humility. The questions started creeping back into me through the new focus I needed to breath. On the bus to Ecuador, I turned over the remnants of different versions of myself and tried to see who they were all moving towards and woke up in the sleepy surfing town of Montanita. A pack of surfers took me with them to small satellite towns with empty beaches where I could take off my top and eat ceviche. Sitting in the airport I knew that a divine sign would not escort me to my seat and back into my old life, or a new one. The questions continued to stream through me instead of huddling in a corner. Leaving reintroduced me to a possibility I had abandoned, that I could demolish a life
that had fortified. I did have some new scars and a better idea of my life and how easily it could move and change. That’s the best part of scars, they draw attention to a part of you in a different way. In that way, scars tell the best stories.
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sundays with - sarah kay
SUNDAYS WITH SARAH KAY words + photos by kenta thomas naoi
“I just bought a standing table,” she replied in glee as I asked her how her day was. We sat down at a small park just in sight of her childhood home, a patch of trees and cobblestone pathways tucked away in the middle of Tribeca. “It’s really exciting, but it requires the renegotiation of pieces of furniture and my life... now that I actually own it, it’s actually happening.” Her humor was unexpected, a hint of sarcasm hidden underneath her soft edged smile. Sarah Kay is a poet, educator, and founder, co-director of Project Voice, a group dedicated to using spoken word poetry as a medium to educate and empower students and communities around the world. Sarah is amongst the lost breed of New Yorkers who actually grew up in the city. “When I was a growing up, it was possible to grow up here and not be a millionaire.” She points to the buildings around us. “All the buildings are shorter, see the loading docks - all of these used to be warehouses, and the trucks would pull all the way in, but now you look around and you see boutiques and you see little tiny gourmet espresso bars.” No doubt the scenery has changed, but she still seems to find a nostalgic veneration for her city, from the alleyways where she once shot a film project, to the concrete streets leading up to the Bowery Poetry Club (where she got
her start), her sense of home is rooted with her family. What I admired most about my interaction with Sarah was her identity of self, knowing that despite how often she traveled to meet new faces and leave familiar ones behind, she would always make time for her loved ones. “You travel a lot, how is that?” “I’m on the road 80% of the time - I basically live out of a suitcase. … (but) I reserve time in August to go be with my family in Montauk, Long Island, which I have been doing since I was born, another place that was very different from what it is now.” Sarah who attended Brown University, started Project Voice with her poetry partner, Phil Kaye, during her schooling days. “The way I started, every year I would go to California to do poetry workshops during Winter Break ... and it became this annual tradition that we loved.” Upon graduation she jokingly recounts how she had this crazy idea, “... what if we did something wild, and what if we tried to focus on this for a whole year and let’s just try it … and that was the year I gave the Ted Talk.” The Ted Talk seemed to give Sarah and Phil the validation and visibility they needed to really do this full time, something neither were wholly expecting. When I asked Sarah about her approach to life and work, she took a few moments to carefully deliver her thoughts, something I noticed about her personality. Sarah has a voice like Autumn, it’s warm and wondering all within the same sentence. I noticed how deliberate she was with the way she listened and the time she would take to think about what she was going to say. “I think the navigation - the celebration - I try to do,” referring to what we discussed about her approach to poetry. “Anytime I ever write a poem it’s because I have something that I am trying to figure out.” She went onto explain how poetry, the act of writing and performing it, is different for everyone and how no one reason is better or more relevant. She reiterate this when discussing her approach to Project Voice. “I am not interested in creating an army of poets, (although that could be cool) what I am interested in is helping build a population of humans who are capable of certain things.” Some of these things being empathy: the ability to listen, to collaborate and to passionately speak on their beliefs, ideas, and life. Poetry to Sarah, is about celebrating our selves, and she does this by helping guide her students through their ideas rather than imposing an agenda on their work. “I try to approach life as a celebration - on quiet moments that no one else celebrates. She [my mother] taught me [that] everyday I wake up, and the first words I say are thank you, and every night the last words I say are thank you. The very act of existing is celebration - that’s how poetry affects the way I approach life. Some people call it optimism, but I think it’s more melancholy or nostalgic.”
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stories
STRUCTURE & APPROACH words by natasha shompole
1. discipline time management drafting/writing editing deadline 2. focus subject/topic inspiration research
When I think approach, I think inspiration, experience, discipline, passion, creativity and luck. Most of the time these elements do not come around at the same time or even in the same order, and when missing, a project that seemed straightforward at conception morphs into an ugly mess. A week after the year began I started contemplating what I wanted to do with the rest of 2014. The previous year I resolved to take my creativity seriously and challenged myself to write a collection of poems and publish a chapbook. So when January rolled around I wanted to go beyond that and do something bigger. I wanted to create a body of work that, come December, I could look at with pride and a little self-adoration and say, “I did that!” Since I had already experimented with writing a collection of poems, the next logical step was to push that boundary. The exhilaration of completing a creative goal, for no other reason except that I wanted to, was intoxicating. After very little contemplation, I settled on a year-long writing project. I defined the projects’ parameters to finishing a col74
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lection of 30 poems a month and posting the work at the end of each month on my blog, Kingdoms in the Wild. Writing was not new to me: As a preteen, I wrote everything from badly rhyming poetry to fan fiction. I would write intensely for a week or a month, then not write another word for a year and be completely fine. But it was vastly different from having to meet a deadline. Though I did not expect the process to be easy, I was not prepared for the frustration that hit me when I suffered my first real creative block in mid-April. There was no way for me to predict what would happen until it happened. In the midst of my frustration I remembered reading somewhere that the word passion comes from the latin root pati, which means to suffer. With that in mind I realized that I was not ready to give up and I started troubleshooting to find out why I was unable to write. It immediately became clear that I had no sense of direction. I had the larger picture in mind but not what it would take to reach the goal each month. Every time I sat down to write, my mind was went in a thousand different directions, resulting in a lot of wasted time. I thought back to times that I had to do creative projects and remembered writing classes in college. Assignments came with prompts that explicitly outlined the subject and the rubric detailing what you would be graded on. You could research your work, write the paper and receive a grade. My creative work was missing the structure that those assignments had. I created a simple rubric outlining the things I thought were necessary
for me to accomplish my goal: 1. Discipline Time management Drafting/Writing Editing Deadline 2. Focus Subject/Topic Inspiration Research I started with discipline. Setting time to write is hard when you are busy; to make matters worse, I had no idea what worked for me. Trial and error revealed that I work better with longer chunks of writing time fewer times a week. Once that was taken care of I moved on to the more fluid parts of creating. My first stroke of luck came when I attempted to distract myself from my impending deadline and inability to write. While I had seen the Harry Potter movies, I hadn’t read the books. Desperate to do something that would take my mind off my writing completely, I started reading the series. I was immediately struck by the use of Latin words for the spells, one of which was Lumos. Curious, I decided to do some research. It wasn’t long before I stumbled on the word luminiferous: to produce or transmit light. Fascinated with the word, I decided to name my April collection after it. At that point I knew the months’ collection would center on light and darkness in human relationships. Seven months into my writing project I have somewhat of an approach to each collection. Each month begins with a few days searching for a topic to focus on. I let luck lead the way, taking time to read books, watch movies, have conversations and listen to the news for inspira-
tion. This is not only important in expanding my world, but also serves as a relaxation technique. Taking time to have fun reduces the amount of pressure that comes with having to create something. By the end of the week I have enough to sit at the computer to research and narrow down a handful of phrases to a subject or topic to explore. Then I write a draft, take time off before returning to edit, and polish for the end-of-the-month deadline. Lack of approach is what led me to contemplating the importance of it for creative projects. It taught me how to see my boundaries and how to work around them. I have learned to set goals and stay on track by setting times to write, edit and research. I also learned the value of finding stories in everything by taking the time to observe my surroundings, which often reveals layers to things that would otherwise seem mundane. Leaving space for evolution has been fundamental to the progress of the project. Through experience I have learned to follow my instincts. This is important because often there are topics that I have to let go because I was not ready or able to write about it in a way that matters. Finally, as my own master, learning how not to push aside and ignore a deadline has forced me to work harder, waste less time, dig deeper and give more.
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featured perspective - ashley owens
ASHLEY OWENS OF GRANDPA STYLE words + photos by kenta thomas naoi www.grandpastyle.com
The door opens to a photoshoot, this was typical of her Saturdays. It is before noon and already her home is in a creative frenzy. Ashley welcomes us and proceeds to iron her white shirt. In the midst of it all, she jokes, “Sam is still asleep.” Apparently it’s not unusual for her husband to wake up to all of this. “He’s used to it.” Before we leave she throws on her signature blazer, and checks the mirror one last time. Ashley Owens, founder of Grandpa Style, tells us that she wasn’t always this fashion forward--in fact, in high school she was kind of a jock, a basketball player with a curiosity for drawing, unsure of what any of that meant. But her knack for a more traditional menswear style seemed to always be present. “I distinctly remember being five or six and my mother and grandmother were padded-suit wearing women, and so they would always have some sort of blazer on and I remember thinking I couldn’t wait to wear suits. I just feel - you know people dress in a way to portray something about themselves or feel comfortable, and the suit is the most iconic thing, it makes me feel comfortable.” We asked if she wore men’s suits, to which she replied, “ … pretty often - I was interested in suits from the beginning, and that’s why Giorgio Armani was someone I idolized.” Apparently wearing men’s suits come with some weird prejudice. She takes a sip of coffee and recounts the times people, usually men, would feel offended by her fashion aesthetics, challenging her for wearing men’s clothes. “It happens so often, I don’t really think about it too much.”. For Ashley, however, it’s not about how other
people understand her sense of self, but the way she is able to freely express it through her stylistic choices. Ashley is a Parson’s graduate who studied men’s wear and suiting during her collegiate days, and grew increasingly interested in the process of tailoring, but she knew that she never wanted to be a taylor. Instead, she was focused on understanding how things were made. “I am so interested in the way something’s made, and in the process rather than just the final product. To understand how to get what you want, you have to understand how something is made.” After graduation, she worked for brands that specifically manufactured in New York City with some of the best factories. When we as consumers think about approach, we consider the structures that allow for clear process, but for Ashley, her approach on life and with fashion is the ability to be free. “For me, my personal approach is [that] creating is a way of communicating, and when I’m not allowed to express myself stylistically I feel so oppressed.” She takes care to mention that fashion is a strange industry, but that it accepts and often welcomes the weird and outlandish, and allows for people to express themselves freely. This is why she finds comfort in what she does. “It’s more about knowing who I am first, and also to be able to understand what it means to communicate who I am, not about people who are taking that in, but because it’s so important to express, because if you don’t you become a shell of yourself.” Creatively, her approach involves exploring things that are affecting her life and her environment. This is apparent in the types of content she produces for Grandpa Style. 78
At 16, Owens remembers going into a thrift store and buying men’s blazers, and explains how that was a pivotal moment in her life because it marked a transition into being authentically herself. When she eventually attended Parsons, people would tell her that she reminded them of Annie Hall or Katharine Hepburn, in that she had this elderly style. “People would say, ‘ok grandpa,’ and it became Grandpa Style, and it was a nickname and everything became that.” Owens eventually bought a domain for Grandpa Style and started a blog that reviewed men’s brands, but eventually her commitment to school left her with no time to continue it. Upon graduation she began thinking of ways to relaunch Grandpa Style. She wanted to interview her friends about quality and process, and after working in the industry she began getting frustrated with the current state of fast fashion, so she decided to quit her job and start talking about quality. Her website eventually picked up a healthy following and she continues to grow her site. Like her approach to fashion, Ashley’s approach to life is one of genuine intent, without rigid structure that allows for things to happen organically. She felt the need to talk about quality. “There were these sites that had too much of this agenda, and I wanted to just put it out there, what does quality mean to you?” “Whatever you do, what ever that is, just do it well, it seems so simple, but so many people just do things to get by, and it’s just not part of it… I think artist’s become stale when they are no longer being personal, vulnerable, and honest.”
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DEBORAH BALLINGER
works - deborah ballinger
words + illustration by deborah ballinger
Inspired by history, culture and flora and fauna I create my work much like a collage artist; all my drawings are created by visually collecting and gathering elements that each hold meaning or symbolism. From these I draw in fine 0.3 mm mechanical pencil, using H lead, to create and pick out the finest details possible. For me detail is the most important thing in my work, whether that is the physical detail in the image or the tiniest element included that holds the key to the image.
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works - jarvis subia
AN APPROACH TO THE INNER BRO.
poem by jarvis subia
I am that bro in the tanktop. The one you see in thick rimmed shades, Slicked haired, And walking with a strut that says “Sleeves aren’t good enough for this body.” Yes, I am that guy. Urban Dictionary defines bro as Thee obnoxious party males who are often seen at college parties, Usually standing around holding red plastic cups Waiting for excitement to happen so they can scream something aggressive that demonstrates how much they enjoy partying. That answer pretty much makes the last cup of beer pong. How some days are drunk mornings reeking Of Bacardi, and Marlboro Reds, and bellyrings from last night, And first words to belch out of my mouth are “bruh” or “dude” or “Cool story come at me bro do you even lift.” Screamed out like a back alley vomit Trying to keep down all this fermented stereotype. I’ve spent so much time fighting this whitebeater personality But I am that bro. Going to class in his Nike Crossfits as if they were a gold medal for the collection of supplement pills that could make any geriatrics cabinet become a first aid kit. Spending time in the gym like I got a final in bicep curls tomorrow For my major in narcissism (Yes, it means care about myself.) How one more rep and one more drink always equate competition, Always competing, even when pride is the only prize to hang from my neck. Will catch myself in full gawk of another person, Staring in to places they never asked my eyes for. As if barking cat calls through retina will make eyes less puppy then dog. Calling family into males I am close to because All us men want to do is be close to each other. A family tree running liner. Maybe we are this way because some of us are rooted to fathers who vicariously live through the branches of their sons penises. This is the way we are, This part of who I am, who chooses to be close to another. This mind is faulted, We are all imperfect. But when you become brothers with somebody You can’t help but care for family.
sponosored by
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thefieldtrade.com
the new field trade dot com coming soon
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essentials through the senses - eleanor park
ESSENTIALS THROUGH THE SENSES W. ELEANOR PARK Eleanore Park is no stranger to channeling her senses. After gaining some amazing experience at some of San Francisco’s most highly buzzed about restaurants she relocated to New York City to explore new opportunities in the hub of the culinary world. Influenced by chefs such as Danny Bowien, the mastermind behind Mission Chinese and Brandon Jew of the infamous Bar Agricole, in addition to many others has prepared Eleanore for this next chapter in her life. As she continues to broaden her network and wealth of experience there is something that will always remain the same, which are the senses that are activated when Eleanore is either approaching a new recipe or flawlessly executing one of her colleagues.
How do you personally define approach? Approach is a personal act A manifestation of embodied cognition Moving forward Utilizing past experiences Weaving together personal constructs As a chef, how do you approach a new recipe? It depends if I’m approaching a new recipe that I’m personally developing or cooking someone else’s. When approaching someone else’s recipe or someone else’s dish, the two things that accompany me are knowledge and humility. It’s a balance of confidence and being open-minded to someone else’s approach and vision. It’s trusting that you have the skill set, the intelligence, the taste, and the sensibility to execute another chef ’s idea. The other half is understanding that your approach might be different than theirs— that you have to be able to pull back if they return back with feedback or constructive criticism. Creating a new dish is also balance of humility and confidence. I always go back to a place of cravings and comfort, and then move forward from there. What are some of your favorite senses that are activated while cooking? Sight and smell. Humans are visual creatures, and I think we rely on sight the most as far as navigating through from moment to moment, and building conceptual constructs.
Smell is so personal. When I studied neuroscience as an undergraduate, I remember learning how the part of our brain responsible for olfaction is near our memory centers, and it made complete sense. Smells can transport you. Food is nostalgic and comforting. It makes sense that they go hand in hand. How do you know when a recipe is complete? I think cooks like any sort of creative types are extremely self-critical. There’s always a feeling that you could make it better somehow. There’s always a balance between wanting to add more to a dish— but then, there are times when a dish can shine through better if you’re able to take away one or two things. Ultimately, as long as it’s delicious (and maybe beautiful), then I feel like a dish is complete. Over the years, who has influenced your approach and technique as a cook? It’s a network of people. Unless you’re really hard-headed, it’s impossible to leave any kitchen, and say you haven’t learned anything. When I worked at Zuni Cafe, I was really green, and gained really basic fundamental skills like tasting every single dish that goes out, the importance of sourcing your product. I worked briefly at Mission Chinese Food when they first opened. It was always mesmerizing watching Danny [Bowien], who has since become a friend, cook. He has this amazing ability of tasting and creating. It’s al-
most like watching a musician with perfect pitch recreate a composition. Brandon Jew has been a huge influence. He was extremely tough when I was cooking at Bar Agricole— but I appreciate him now, especially realizing how talented he is for being such a young chef. I want to say Brandon taught me how to cook— and I’m trying to think if that’s an exaggeration. It probably is, but maybe it’s not. He’s really dogmatic and stubborn almost to a fault— but the things he considers to be important whether it’s sourcing or doing something the harder way, he’ll stick with… even if it ruins everyone’s day doing it. If Brandon built my fundamentals, then I would say Stuart Brioza at State Bird Provisions, really ignited what it means to be conceptual. He has a labyrinth brain. I think that a lot of young chefs think that creativity should be in the forefront of cooking. But I honestly don’t think you can create until you’re a good robot first— as militant as that sounds. And I’ve had this argument with other cooks and artists. But you can’t move forward without a strong foundation of fundamentals. Stuart is brilliant— but in a way that a lot of younger chefs lacks because it’s the kind of creativity that comes with time and seeing what works and what doesn’t.
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DUMPLINGS AND MAITAKE MUSHROOMS EN BRODO SEASONED BRODO 2 cups chicken stock 2 cups water 4 sprigs of mint 4 sprigs cilantro 1 clove garlic, crushed 1 lime salt Combine chicken stock and water in a medium saucepan, and bring to a simmer. Once broth has come to a simmer, take off heat, add mint, cilantro, and garlic. Let steep for 10 minutes. Add a squeeze of lime. Season with salt to taste. Set aside and serve with dumplings. PAN ROASTED MAITAKE MUSHROOMS 4 cups maitake mushrooms, cleaned and trimmed 1 sprig rosemary 2 sprigs thyme 1 tablespoon butter 1 tablespoon grapeseed oil or any neutral oil like canola or sunflower oil salt Heat medium cast-iron pan over medium-high heat; add rosemary, thyme, butter, and oil. Once pan is smoking, add mushrooms to the pan. Turn mushrooms once they begin to brown on each side, about 2 minutes on each side. Season mushrooms with salt to taste. Turn off heat, remove mushrooms, and set aside. Serve with dumplings and brodo. PORK AND MINT DUMPLINGS makes approximately 3 dozen dumplings 1/2 lb. of pork 2 tablespoons ginger, grated 1 small shallot, finely chopped 1 tablespoon ground coriander 2 tablespoons mint, finely chopped 1 tablespoon white soy or soy sauce 1 tablespoon sesame oil 2 teaspoons salt 2 30-pack square wonton wrappers 1 egg
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1 tablespoon grapeseed oil or any neutral oil like canola or sunflower oil Step 1: Bring medium pot of water to a boil. Meanwhile prepare dumplings. Step 2: Combine pork, ginger, shallot, coriander, soy sauce, sesame oil, and salt in a medium bowl until ingredients are well incorporated with one another. Step 3: Beat egg slightly and mix with a splash of water; set aside. On a lightly floured surface, lay out wonton wrappers in batches, keeping unused wrappers under a damp cloth or in the refrigerator so they don’t dry out. Place 1 teaspoon of the dumpling filling in the middle of each wonton wrapper. Lightly brush edge of the wonton wrapper with egg wash. Pinch opposite corners of the wrapper to form a triangle. Pinching from the center of the dumpling, use your fingers to seal the dumpling, ensuring there is no excess air in the dumpling. Pinch the two bottom corners of the dumpling together to form a tortellini shape. Step 4: Place each completed dumplings on a lightly floured baking sheet, and set aside in the freezer. Repeat with remaining filling and wrappers. Step 5: Drop dumplings in boiling water for 2-3 minutes or until they begin to float to the surface. Meanwhile, heat medium-sized pan or cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat, and add oil to the pan. Transfer dumplings from boiling water to hot pan, allowing color on both sides, about a minute and half on each side. Step 6: Serve on top of seasoned brood with maitake mushrooms, trout roe. Garnish with radish sprouts, cilantro, and finely sliced scallions.
works
THE WORK APPROACH words + photos by Allison Burt-Tilden
Describe your approach to your work?
environment around the subject.
I try to treat every project with a fresh and open perspective. I often feel more like a director than a photographer, the photography aspects of the work is more technical. Discussing with the client to understand their ideas or expectations and working together to attain their vision. Since Pxlvue is both a photography and post studio, I do often shoot with the post process in mind and how I can shoot to best facilitate the desired style and outcome.
What is your motivation fail-safe? The opportunity to explore. Enjoying the outdoors and new places, experiencing a place undiscovered to me is a great inspiration. I’m always looking for new photographers on Instagram as well. There’s such a wealth of inspiring work available to us with such quick and easy access.
Josh Latham – Photographer, Owner & Post-Production Editor, Pxlvue @joshualatham http://www.pxlvue.com
If you had to distill your work down to one element, what would that be? Narrative. In both my personal and commercial work, ultimately what I want to do is set a basis to evoke a mood from the viewer. A lot of my personal work is based on experiencing a sense of connection with a place. I try to bring that same approach to my commercial work, giving an overall sense of 94
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Describe your approach to your work. HS: I have a pretty gentle approach to my work and business. I am not trying to turn what I am doing into a bigger business, so I often turn away work when I am too busy. I have steady work and make a decent living working part time. Being self-employed allows me to be a part-time stay at home mom. If you had to distill your work down to one element, what would that be? HS: This might be one of the more difficult interview questions I have been asked! There are moments in fashion that happen every great once in a while that are pure magic and send a shiver down your spine. Fashion is very much about creating a fantasy. When you see something so beautiful, so ethereal, so individ-
ualistic that you are amazed by it. It can happen during a fashion show, when a photographer captures an incredible editorial photo, or when someone tries something on for the first time and is transformed. Creating that feeling is probably the element that I would distill all of the parts down to- "awe" for lack of a better word. Of course, I love to create that feeling for people, but it is generally just being a part of the fashion world that creates that is what keeps me going. What is your motivation fail-safe? Time with my family. I love working, but spending time with my family is the most important thing. I try to not waste time and be as organized as possible so I can get the most amount of work done in the least amount of time.
Holly Stalder – Owner & Designer, Holly Stalder Design @hollystalder www.hollystalder.com
Describe your approach to your work DG: I start at the (sometimes extremely difficult) beginning. Along the way, I cultivate a point where the creative joy and solo studio laughing can take over. I do my best to trust those instincts and if I do, the work becomes something more nuanced and beautiful than I first imagined.
Dakota Gearhart – Video and Installation Artist @tiffkota www.dakotagearhart.com
If you had to distill your work down to one element, what would that be? DG: The message. What is your motivation fail-safe? 1. Accepting self-doubt as part of the mountain of my creative process. 2. Forcing myself to understand I’ll be gone one day. 3. Remembering my heroes. 4. Letting the world sing to me.
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Describe your approach to your work? My work — the labor of it anyway — is uncharacteristically regimented. My brain only seems to fire on all cylinders between the hours of 9am and 3pm, and so as often as I can, I set that window aside for time alone in my home. This makes day-jobbing super burdensome, but I make do when I need to. Oh, I should say: I’m a writer. I try to spend most of my free time attempting to write words to songs. It’s a process that I’m still not very good at, and most of my systems are kind of flawed. I collect fragments of phrases on 3x5 note cards, each containing a single line written in pencil. I have hundreds of them, in a long aluminum box meant for recipes. Most of them I keep because I find them pleasing phonetically, and most of them never get used. When I get stuck — which is most of the time — I shuffle my cards.
I have a rhyming dictionary and an old book of mostly arcane idioms. I keep a series of composition notebooks in which I try to put these puzzle pieces together. This all takes what I feel is an inexcusably long time. I find myself often jealous of people who say that they enjoy the creative process — I am incredibly impatient, and I find the process frustrating until it nears completion. John Cage said a couple of things about this that I take a bit of solace in: “If you work at your art you don’t have time to be inspired.” “Out of the work comes the work.” If you had to distill your work down to one element, what would that be? Rhythm. The biggest part about what takes me so long to complete my work
is that to my ear, the words are aincomplete until they function narratively, emotionally, phonetically and rhythmically. They have to feel good to say aloud on all of those levels, or they get erased. Rhythm is often the hardest and most precious one for me, and from what I can tell, the one that’s least important/noticeable to anyone else’s ears but mine. What is your motivation fail-safe? Carbonated water, general anxiety, and amphetamines. Josh Latham – Photographer, Owner & Post-Production Editor, Pxlvue
Zac Pennington – Writer, Vocalist & Composer, Parenthetical Girls & Crying @parentheticalgirls www.parentheticalgirls.com
Describe your approach to your work: JM: I really dislike the idea of having some kind of inspiration. The idea that you can sit in a field for three hours, take in beautiful landscapes and come up with something glamorous is totally ludicrous. I think that the only real inspiration is to work really hard. I had no idea what I was doing when I started making perfume but I was really passionate about it. For me it was a matter of learning how to make something that was different than what Sephora and the like are carrying and to create that “non-perfume” sort of vibe. I knew what I wanted and had to spend a lot of time and money wasting materials to get there. So when it comes to my approach, inspiration never factors in. I think there’s a myth around creative-like people just sitting around drinking beer when all of a sudden their lifestyle
creates this great new thing. That’s a very romantic vision but it’s not like that in my experience. No matter what you do, it all comes back to the work you put in.
Josh Meyer – Owner & Perfumer, Imaginary Authors @imaginaryauthors www.imaginaryauthors.com
If you had to distill your work into one element, what would it be? JM: I don’t know if I have an answer for that. I think it comes down to work ethic and my passion [for doing this]. And how people engage with my perfumes. What is your motivation fail-safe? JM: I really love what I do. It doesn’t feel like work at all. Yeah, motivation is just not an issue. That said, some tasks, like filling bottles or answering emails, can get pretty monotonous but I can always take a break to do what I really love which is working on blends. It’s also helpful to just have a good work / life balance. 98
Describe your approach to your work? I paint in egg tempera and make porcelain jewelry, and you’d think my approach to these two materials would be pretty different, but it’s not. In both cases I start with sketches that are so sloppy and cryptic they only make sense to me, and even then only to this one small part of me, wherever the idea is forming. After that I get my materials ready. I mix my own paint, so I’ll prep all my colors before I’ve painted anything. Egg tempera is a tricky medium: it’s almost like translucent nail polish. Once you make your first stroke, there’s no adjusting it or mixing back into it. It’s unforgiving. Because of this, I like to take my time mixing the paint, and getting the colors and consistency just right. If I’m working in porcelain, wedging the clay feels analogous to mixing paint: it’s a chance to focus entirely on the material before you think too much
about the form. In either case, after everything is all set up how I want it, I just dive in! If you had to distill your work down to one element, what would that be? Ritual. My recent paintings dissect the traditions of American football and American quilting, and juxtapose the sometimes beautiful and sometimes ridiculous rituals inherent to them. I’m fascinated especially by football, which is typically considered a very masculine sport, but then there’s this element of pageantry and performance that I love. I am interested in the ways we perform our gender identities, and how ritualistic that can feel at times. What is your motivation fail-safe? I’m fairly rabid about getting in enough studio time, either painting or working with clay, but I definitely hit that point where getting anything productive
done just feels impossible. When that happens, my habit is to drink about six cups of black tea until I’m practically buzzing, and then to just force myself to start something, anything, even if its just cleaning up the studio or mixing some new pigments. Also, with the jewelry line I have the best motivation fail-safe there is: a partner! Lindsay and I motivate each other every day, and it’s so nice to know that if I’m struggling with a design, or just feeling uninspired, she’s there to help me problem solve... or just get me more tea!
Rachel Warkentin – Painter & Ceramicist @barrowpdx www.achel-warkentin.com/aureole/ http://www.barrowpdx.com
MUDENTE, a creative agency based in San Francisco and Brooklyn. Thank you for taking the time to support our publication! Until next issue check us out at www.MUDENTE.com to see what we are up to - and stay tuned with Invitation/Annual through our ever growing online content and join the community - we enjoy having you around. Cheers!
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