ZACHARY MORPHEW

Zachary Morphew recently became a client of the LaunchLab. He participated in the April Arts Festival Pitch Competition, and won funding for his innovation. Zachary is a Junior studying painting. He is a talented artist who is making big growth for himself and his unique style and ideas.

LL: What is one way that you have professionally sprouted a new leaf this semester?

Z: So over the course of the semester, I’ve been much more interested in making my work printable. Graphic design has really helped with that. I’ve just kind of fallen in love with the idea of making something that was on a computer now physical. That inspired me to start developing a very long screenplay called “American Budapest” or “Ouse, Virginia.” It is about a photographer and his relationship with obsessive compulsive disorder. I’ve been making work about that in a fake artistic movement style I call deconstructivism, which is inspired by Cubism and the deconstructivist movement in architecture. But it doesn’t actually exist. I’m just kind of experimenting with that.

LL: So potentially starting a movement?

Z: Yeah, I’m starting a fake one. I don’t expect anybody else to go with it but that’s what I’ve been doing professionally. Non professionally, I’ve been working on a comic called “So Southwest to the Cat.” Yeah and it’s about a cat getting up to bullshit.

LL:How has this new season of Spring inspired you?

Z: The leaves coming back has really made me quite happy. My work has become significantly more focused on nature and just the beauty of existence. I think that’s not as evident in the work I’m doing through my paintings. In my sketchbooks, I’ve been really focusing more on nature and the beauty of humanity.

LL: Have you had any challenges sowing the seeds of progress in your ventures? Have you had to face any barriers with your work?

Z: The main problem I have that I’ve been really working on is keeping consistent with a project. I’ve never really been too good at keeping to one idea, my mind moves around a lot. What I’ve done at the LaunchLab and also for my painting class, has really helped me focus on one particular thing.

LL: Looking back at all your bright moments this semester, are there any that stand out as having been a result of the help of others?

Z: Yeah, LaunchLab is an amazing innovation center. I’m definitely gonna recommend that to a lot of my friends. I’ve been working a lot with one of my good friends, Grace Campbell. She’s a musician here in Morgantown. She’s pretty incredible. I’m helping her because I’m making art for her, but we really just play off each other really nicely. She’s super clear with what she wants, and she’s gonna be really big someday. So it’s really cool to work with her. That’s a relationship I’m excited to foster over the next like, you know, potentially 10 years. You can’t be successful on social media without other people, because it’s just by the very nature of what it is. So I wouldn’t be anywhere I am today, I wouldn’t have the confidence I have today If it weren’t for people on Tik Tok and Instagram, constantly reassuring me that the stuff I’m making is worth something. I’ve kind of made a brand out of really crappy drawing videos of dogs and stuff like that. And just the reception from that has been extremely encouraging and has helped me blossom as a creative person.

LL: Is there anything you want people to know about that you’re working on?

Z: Grace Campbell’s album “Bloom” will be coming out in a few months, I’m making the art for that; album art and the visuals for it, basically. Aside from a few people who are taking photographs, I’m really excited for everybody to hear the new album. And I recom- mend that you look at it.

LL: In what way have you not been able to come out of your shell this spring?

Can you think of any specific moment that you did?

Z: If anything, I’ve come more out of my shell and become less anxious. I’ve taken up puppetry, and I’ve taken more performances. Last week, I did two public speaking events. One was a puppet show, which I’ve been really anxious for and the other one was actually the reason I got this nervous cold, speaking publicly at the LaunchLab event. I’ve just been improving all around. I’m sure next semester, I’ll be filled with stuff, but right now I’m doing good.