Make Don't Break Presents: It's Going to be A Long Rest Of Our Life by Make Don't Break Collective

MAKING STUFF INSTEAD OF BREAKING STUFF PRESENTS

ITS GOING TO BE A LONG REST OF OUR LIFE

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////ISSUE FIVE

A LOT CAN CHANGE IN A YEAR. Making Stuff started as an outlet. It was an excuse to ask my favorite artists and bands for interviews and updates on what they are working on. A reason to keep all the weird sketches that get made when avoiding other work. Most importantly, it was a reason to keep making things. Four issues later and it’s grown into something bigger than me. It’s a collective of artists that want to interrupt peoples lives with our work. None of this would be here without the artists we feature. Each submission we receive gives new life to these pages & new energy to our zine. It’s going to be a long rest of our life, so we better start making stuff.

Contents COVER

PHOTOGRAPHY CRYSTINA MCKENNA I L L US T R AT I ON MICA GAXIOLA-FLYNN

PHOTOGRAPHY CRYSTINA MCKENNA

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

PHOTOGRAPHY CRYSTINA MCKENNA

“OVER 1300 MILES” RACHEL SANDOF SKY

SCULPTURE DAVID NELSON

COMICS CHRIS TRAN

COLLAGE ETHAN MOROSOFF

“BAT HROOM SEX” PHOTOGRAPHY CAITLIN PARKS MODEL TAYLOR DOMBROWSKI

POETRY TROY CUNIO

POETRY RYAN PANGILINAN

ILLUSTRATION MIGUEL WYLENGCO

“WHAT PROCESS?”

MUSIC CORRUPTED NETWORK

COMICS MARC PALM

PRINT SAM GRIM

PHOTOGRAPHY CAITLIN BROOKINS

COMICS KATIE WHEELER

IN MEMORY OF

ARTIST INDEX

MAKE DON’T BREAK COLLECTIVE JOIN

Photography

CRYSTINA MCKENNA

OVER 1300 MILES

N O R M ALLY W H E N I H AVE A W E E K OFF I G O TO MY B E LO VE D H O ME LA N D OF M I C H I GA N B UT I TO O K A R I S K A N D WENT SO M E W H E R E N E W. Earlier this month I took a vacation to Arizona to visit my cousins Michelle and Brian who I had not seen in several years. It was a week where I was in my thoughts quite often- we drove over 1300 miles all over the state. Three hour car rides (one way) were the norm and they allowed my cousin Michelle and I to talk, sing our hearts out, or be in silence in each other's company. Maybe it was my remittance back into the suns rays or maybe it was one of those weeksbut I felt like I grew more in a week then I had over the last few months. I am continually amazed by life's ability to change you over small spans of time and that change is not introduced by trumpets but rather the sounds of silence or the feeling when your hand is extended out the window and it the air dances between your fingers. Putting myself in a new place allowed me to be more vulnerable and more open to expres-

sion. I was in a with family members who had changed just as much as I had in the time we hadn't been together. I was witness to history and wage gaps. And taking the time away from normal everyday life and seeing things like the Grand Canyon or Sedona let me appreciate its beauty but also be able to see the beauty in a simple good morning text from your crush or liking what you wear on any normal day. Going on this trip let me see the beauty in the land but also within myself and liking what I saw.

R OA D T R I P P L AY L I S T 1. SHOULD HAVE KNOWN BETTER SUFJAN STEVENS 2. BLACK SHEEP METRIC 3. SISTER GOLDEN HAIR AMERICA 4. THE BELL FIRST AID KIT 5. MYTH BEACH HOUSE 6. I THOUGHT I KNEW ALELA DIANE 7. HALLELUJAH THE HELIO SEQUENCE 8. BEEN AWAY TOO LONG THE ELWINS 9. PHILOMENA THE DECEMBERISTS 10. THE STARS JUKEBOX THE GHOST 11. NO MANS LAND SUFJAN STEVENS 12. DANCING IN GOLD THE VON TRAPPS 13. THE PREDATORY WASP OF THE PALISADES SUFJAN STEVENS 14. A BETTER SON/DAUGHTER RILO KILEY

DAVID NELSON

SCUL P T URE

Raised in Dallas, Texas, I moved to Seattle to study at Cornish College of the Arts in 2011. My minimal approach to sculpture, drawing, and installation communicates conceptual thinking through redacted compositions that engages the viewer to question the dynamics of the work based in their experience. The foundation of my work is based in formalism, were the use of compositional elements such as line and form are used with standard materials like wood, steel, and plastic to aid in conveying the thoughts and intentions within the work.

COMICS I TRY TO BE AS EMOTIONALLY HONEST AS POSSIBLE WITH MY COMICS AND THEY SEEM TO BE A OUTLET FOR ME TO DO THAT.

CHRIS TRAN PEOPLE CAN SEE MORE OF MY WORK AT SADDESTVACATION.TUMBLR.COM

C O L L AG E ETHAN MOROSOFF

PEOPLE CAN SEE MORE OF MY WORK ON INSTAGRAM @W_I_D_K

BATHROOM SEX W H I LE BRAI N STO R M I N G APARTM ENT I D EAS W ITH MY RO O M M ATES , W E D ECI D ED W E N EED ED A TH EM ED BATH RO O M . Some ideas included a “sophisticated” mini library with gold and maroon decor, Star Wars, and then an unlikely theme came up- BDSM. I got to work immediately, starting with penis towel holders made of large plastic penis straws, normal coat hooks, epoxy and glue. I added some more kinky touches like mini hand-cuffs, sexy lighting and a flogger-plunger. I wanted people’s time spent on the porcelain throne to be unlike any other bathroom they had experienced, and I think most people can agree that entering the void of our lavatory has always been a... pleasurable experience.

Poetry T R OY CU N I O

TROY CUNIO LIVES IN ORLANDO, FL WITH HIS PET UNIDENTIFIED PLANT, AUDREY JR. JR. HE LIKES WHISKEY IN THE MORNING AND OJ AT NIGHT. HI S BOOK OF POETRY, INKSTAINED HEARTBEATS, CAN BE FOUND WITH SKILLFUL APPLICATION OF GOOGLE-FU.

FL IP FLOP M A N FO R LARRY PERRI ER Flip Flop Man runs 8 hours a day in cheap plastic K-Mart thongs. Flip Flop Man runs on raw sugar, chocolate, and memories of having teeth. Flip Flop Man says he’s a high strung guy. It’s hard for him to stand still. Doesn’t like loud noises. Says, it’s time to go. You can interview me while I run. Flip Flop Man talks even faster than he runs. You see, Flip Flop Man has more demons than most of us. He’s running from alcoholism and loneliness. So far, they haven’t caught up with him. Flip Flop Man covers all Pinellas County with his sombrero. Wears a plaid shirt around his neck like a cape. It streams along behind him in the morning sun. Flip Flop Man has never been happy. Have you ever been happy? Flip Flop Man says you should run together sometime. Sometimes he runs with people even more overweight than you. Tried to write a poem about Flip Flop Man but he already was one.

SUNDAY NIGHT

BUKOWSKI

Mills 50 district is Orlando’s brimming heartbeat.

I was reading Bukowski poems from a book that I got at the university library.

Sentinel correspondents, 2nd generation Vietnamese immigrants, Chinese food, barbecue. Wally’s with whiskey scented burnouts winking at their glory days. Kids at Will’s dropping molly and kicking the walls wishing, no begging, no praying that the weekend stays just a little longer. The Gardens listening darkly to the music, biding their time.

This is the closest I’ve gotten, here

in this vast rainforest of fast food and gas stations, to the exuberance of the Great Anywhere: gators eyeing birds singing live oaks making slow, wise jokes with their bodies while I blow tobacco smoke up, up into the yellow cypress leaves. Beneath the layers of silence- the birds, the wind, my footsteps-there is the far off hum of the highway

there was one about how his literary heroes turned out to be precious toys for a rich woman who happened to own a publishing company. and another one about his friends the raggedy ass poets turned Ivy League professors and literary review editors. Wikipedia says Bukowski died of leukemia but I think he died the minute he heard his books were in a university library.

reminding me my name

FACEBOOK.COM/TKCPOETRY TKCPOETRY.TUMBLR.COM

The Long Road to Figure Out that my Dad is an Asshole RYAN PANGILINAN I DIDN’T GET TO KNOW MY DAD UNTIL I WAS IN MY EARLY TEENS. I MEAN, HE WAS AROUND SORT OF AND IN AND OUT OF MY LIFE, BUT I DIDN’T GET TO REALLY KNOW HIM UNTIL I WAS 13. AND HE WAS KIND OF AN ASSHOLE. He’s a self-centered douche who experienced a midlife crisis by cheating on his wife and getting his left ear pierced, in that order. My mom used to tell me that shitty people would have a long and miserable life ahead of them. “Assholes will live a long time,” she’d say, “but they have that time to think about how fucked everyone over.” If you couldn’t tell, my mom spoke like longshoremen. In a lot of ways, I feel like my dad is the exception to this idea, chiefly because he’s a complete narcissist and potentially a sociopath. The first time I watched “American Psycho,” I was like “Oh shit, it’s my dad!” Yeah, my dad is like Patrick Bateman – except short, brown, and unemployed. My dad will no doubt live a long time. For all the drugs he’s done, wrecked liver, and general stupid

shit, he’s still cracking somewhere in the Nevada desert, pretending that he doesn’t have an adult son out there. Not that I care in any way. My biggest complaint is that I’ll never get to see him regret being a shiftless motherfucker. Chances are, he probably won’t regret it. He’ll spend the rest of his years mooching off his current wife and living the good life. I don’t care, but I’m incredibly bitter about it. But that’s okay. I can be bitter and resentful. I accept that. I accept that after 16, I ceased to exist, despite still having a connection to his side of the family. Ultimately, I want to accept that he can go fuck off and die, but there’s that small part of me that’s always holding out for hope. Aw, fuck it, nevermind.

THE ROAD FRO M NOTHING TO SO M ETHING CAN BE A CHANGING LANDSCAPE, SO WE ASKED FIVE WHAT THAT JOURNEY LO OKS LIKE TO THEM .

MUSIC

CORRUPTED NETWORK CO RRU PTED N ETWO RK ARE A PRO GRESSIVE ELECTRO N IC DUO FRO M M AN CH ESTER PRO DUCI N G H EAD M USIC FO R YOU BO DY. TAKI N G I N FLU EN CE FRO M JUST ABOUT ALL STYLES O F M USIC AN D HAS BEEN D ESCRI BED AS “A CROSS BETW EEN N I N E I N CH NAI LS AN D TH E PRO D I GY ” W E M AKE M USIC FO R O RGAN IC M ACH I N ES . H OW WO UL D YO U D ES C R IBE CO R RUP T ED NE T WO R K? R I C K : With Corrupted Network, we’re trying to move away from the strict labelling of the electronic genre. One moment it might be recognized as Industrial and then we’ll move to straight up techno. The idea of Corrupted Network isn’t to fill trendy clubs but to take the listener on a sonic journey...So yeah Head music. Both me and Johnny are really into Science Fiction, I would say that film sound tracks are my main influence. When CN was originally discussed we thought about a post apocalyptic world, and set about designing a sound track based on that idea. Keeping the concept loose and being inspired the worlds see in things like Blade Runner and Fallout allowed us to explore with a purpose. I think the final product remains true to that original idea. J O HNN Y: Corrupted network was born out of similar frustrations surrounding genre whoring and general bullshit scenes. Not wanting to conform or be pigeon holed. Wanting to provide good melody and rhythm for people’s and their own pleasure. Trying to sonically corrupt the very molecules that make us, us. When the hair stands up on the back of your neck, like towards the end of harbinger as an example. The melody begins to rise, my senses begin to rise. These are the moments I personally live for. When you feel motivated to the point of dancing despite the setting on public transport for instance. Communication through words can be fraught with the potential to inadvertently offend or be misread. In music we find

animalistic communion. Take the dance floor of your local dancing establishment or venue. A beautiful coming together of many different people losing themselves to the beat or the melody. Music can always affect and satisfy your mood. Writing music, for me, is born from frustrations within life. I’m pissed off at that, I’ll write a song, I’m feeling very positive, I’ll write a song, this way it’s a decent outlet and keeps me sated! W H AT H A S WO R K IN G CO L L A B O R AT I V ELY O N T HI S P R O JE C T A D D ED TO I T? R I C K : Well I’m not a musician, I just like to mess with noise and sound. Johnny has a strong music background. So I guess working as a collaborative has allowed us

to combine our different approaches to music composition. To my mind the collaboration is the project. J O HHN Y: Ricks’ take on music is much different to mine and our tastes vary widely but also intersect at various points. This adds something to the overall process with Rick hearing a piece of music one way and me another and where those ideas intersect is where you end up. Working collaboratively on this project allowed us to bounce ideas off each other. It has allowed us to set out with very little and arrive with quantity. It allowed the music to grow and respond to itself, given time. Alter being an interesting case in point. I received a droning and chilled, to my mind, atmospheric soundscape. I absorbed the track, over a few nights, and added highs and lows as a compliment. I then sent it back. Upon receiving the finished tune, in the dead of night before it was released. I listened to it full volume, headphones on. It had all the intensity and submersion of your favourite horror movie. It would also fit quite well in a late night set on PBB Radio (if I may be so bold). Collaboration has added weight and definition to the tunes, it has given them a life they may have otherwise not had. As Rick has already stated CN wouldn’t be if it weren’t for the collaboration. IN A P ER FE C T WO R L D, H OW WO UL D YO U WA N T L IS T EN ER S TO E X P ER IEN C E YO UR MU S I C? R I C K : In a perfect world there would be an amazing visual element to the music, a listener would be able just to trip out and follow the music on a journey. Saying that I would like to allow listeners to interpret their own ideas and visuals with to the audio. In the current world I would say headphones and a bit of imagination. J O HNN Y: In a black and white found footage film about something evil that lives in a forest. Maybe during a zombie apocalypse filmed by Danny

Boyle? I would suggest that full sensory submersion is preferable but music genuinely covers auditory and touch so please eat, smell and look at something you like while listening to our music. Joking aside, if you take the time to look around, which I’m sure you do, you know that the world has its’ own syncopation. This seems to fit all time signatures. This would be the experience I would choose for our listeners.

WHAT DOES THE PROCESS LOOK LIKE WHEN YOUR WORKING ON THIS ALBUM? DO YOU EACH HAVE SEPARATE PARTS OR DO YOU LIKE TO WORK TOGETHER ON THE PROCESS? R I C K : We kind of start with our own parts. In the case of Alter I had a kind of eerie soundscape I didn’t really know what to do with it. I sent it over to Johnny who added some melodic elements, when I got that part back I started on the drums and tweaking things out a bit. It goes on like that, we just pass it back and forth adding and taking stuff out. J O HNN Y: The process of work looks like the rabbit and the cat giving us a lot of funny looks and our girlfriends getting annoyed when we wake them up at 2 in the morning after accidentally unplugging headphones from sound cards. We work together but it generally stems from sending stuff back and forth over the internet. Sometimes we will have a full track and it will just need tiny touches at other times we will have nothing more than a riff. When we have time we will get together and write. Harbinger is a good example. We sat down in Ricks studio to put drum tracks on this and in doing so we came up with something quite different to what we had before. Then we went back to bouncing it across to each other. Eventually harbinger dropped out, with an exceptional piece of editing on Ricks part. It is a very organic process and that was and is the sound we are looking to achieve.

DOWNLOAD CORRUPTED NETWORK CO R RU P T ED NE T WO R K .B A ND C A M P.COM/ R EL E A S E S S O U ND C L O U D.COM/CO R RU P T ED - NE T WO R K

COMICS MARC PALM

I FIRST MET YOU THROUGH THE LOCAL COMIC NEWSPAPER YOU WORK ON INTRUDER, HOW DID THAT GET STARTED? Intruder started with just a few of us who were dissatisfied with other local drawing groups just because there was inactivity and they kind of had like a lot of drama. So it started with the three of us, Max Clotfelter, Tim Miller and I. Max really instigated things saying “I really want to hang out with you guys again, lets sit down and get some brewskis and do an 8 page comic tonight. You know just knock one out.” Max is the master of productivity so I was like “ok sure! No reason why we couldn’t. So we just pushed one out, and that was a lot of fun. So we were like “oh cool! We can do this!” And so that basically got the ball rolling for a bunch of us to start getting together on certain nights, generally Wednesday, which is the most popular drawing group night it turns out. Just hanging out in peoples apartments, drinking and drawing and making zines and little comics. A lot of them were anonymous really grotesque awful things that we were like “oh we’ll just keep this anonymous but we will make them and send them people or whatever” And we were all working on our own solo projects too and inspiring each other like “wow what are you working on?” “Oh thats cool!” “lets do this!” So then, we had been inspired because someone had the latest Smoke Signals, which is a paper out of New York and we are looking at that like “wow this is awesome! You know newspapers are great” We are talking about all the ones we have seen around, you know Portland used to have one and we’re like “man this is rad, why don’t we do a newspaper?” Seattle, as far as I knew, hadn’t had a comics newspaper. I was naive to think that, there have actually been multiple ones in the past. So we were basically picking up on that. I knew someone who made his own paper, so I was like well I can find the guy who can do it. I can lay things out, I’m pretty adapt at InDesign or what the printer would want. So I was like “lets just fucking do it!” and there were like 11 of us at the time just hang-

ing out at Tom Van Deusen’s apartment. We had a meeting, everyone got together and we were like “ok what are we going to name it?” What are the restrictions we are going to do with it? So we all had names and crazy things we voted on. Ultimately it all came down to Intruder, which I picked up. I was working at Scarecrow Videos, there was a movie called Intruder and I was like “thats a fucking great name!” You have the Stranger, the Reporter, Intruder, its a good paper name. Especially when your trying to get stuff across thats more harsh, which our stuff was. Darker, weirder kind of things that are kind of intrusive. So we went with that. I figured out what it would take to get things printed. We had a tour of the printing press which got us really excited. It just went from there, and I’ve been organizing things, taking on more responsibilities as far as quote unquote editor or organizer, putting it together. And then it just happened that time someone asked me if I could pull off a solo show at the COCA out in Ballard. I was like “I don’t know if I can do a solo show but my friends and I just put this newspaper together and we need a place release it so I can get you 11 artists, we can fill this place and have a party. So that was the first thing. It was serendipitous. That set the tone, every time we do a paper we got to do an event. Its a free paper, so if we say “ok well it’s free! It’s out there!” it doesn’t seem satisfying enough, so let’s have a party to congratulate ourselves that we did this. That’s how it’s been going since 2012, March 2012 just about 3 years. We are at issue 14 right now and 15 will be out next month. W H AT H AV E YO U BEEN UP TO L AT ELY? I’ve been getting the latest issue of Intruder (#14) printed/ distributed. Attending art shows that have to do with that as well as a show of Wonder Women art.

W H AT P R O JE C T H AV E YO U BEEN T HINK IN G A B O U T MO S T L AT ELY? This action comic called Punch to Kill. I planning out character designs and making sure I can draw tough dudes and fists really well. H OW D ID YO U L A ND O N T HIS C UR R EN T M ED IUM , D ID OT HER A R T P R O JE C T S L E A D YO U HER E? It all had to do with being a boy obsessed with toys, cartoons, action movies and comics were apart of that. It has always been the medium that I feel I always come back to when other avenues dead end or I get disinterested in them. W H AT D O YO U L O O K AT W HEN YO UR S T U C K A ND R E A DY TO Q UI T? I’ll get away from it and let the dust settle. If I cannot figure something out I like to think about it while laying down for a nap. I can disconnect from what’s going on and in that weird head space I can make a connection that might have been overlooked. H OW D O YO U K N OW W HEN TO S C R A P W H AT YO U H AV E A ND S TA R T OV ER ? It’s hard to clearly know. It helps to just get distance from the thing that’s frustrating you. One gets microscopic tunnel vision and you don’t realize that the thing you are fussing over is not worth the headache. Sometimes, you got to erase or cover up something you’ve worked a lot on. It’s better to let it go then try and make it work. If you don’t you’ll always know where the weak spot is and you’ll never be satisfied with it. IS YO UR P R O C ESS D IFFER EN T W HEN WO R K IN G O N A P ER S O N A L P R O J E C T V S A C L IEN T D R I V EN P R O JE C T? At first I would say yes there’s a major difference but they’re actually sort of similar. It’s all a process of elimination. You need to figure out what the client doesn’t want and focus on what direction is safest to go in. For personal things, you have to figure out what you do want. It also requires parsing out things, but when I’m in front of a blank page, I need to narrow it down from what could be infinite options. W H AT D O ES YO UR P ER FE C T WO R K S ESS I O N L O O K L IK E? I like to start and finish in one go, if I can. So, ideally I’d have a project or an illustration in mind with plans or thumbnail sketches figured out before hand. Let’s say it’s a poster for a show. I’d work at a coffee shop on the pencil drawing. If I get far enough on that then I’d ink it too. Then take it home, scan

it and get to toning or coloring it. Layout and design would follow that until it’s basically finished. Show the client the piece and they respond straight away that they love it and there are no changes. W H AT IS T HE HI G HES T A ND L OW ES T P O IN T S O F YO UR P R O C E SS? It feels like there are multiple ups and downs. I like coming up with ideas, imagining what I could do and actually drawing is a big high. Lows can be when I get stumped or have to make drastic changes. H OW D O W E S TAY IN S P IR ED ? This is never a problem or me. I’m always seeking something new to look at. I’m inspired by movies, animation, TV shows, comics, toys, all sorts of art in galleries or on the internet and talking to friends. Also treating myself to some coffee, drugs or alcohol can help too.

W H AT D O ES S U CC ESS L O O K L IK E TO YO U ? Geez... that’s hard. It’s not money and fame. Although having enough money to be comfortable doing what you want is ideal. Feeling support and encouragement from your peers to keep going in whatever direction you want to, because you’re trusted do it well. All of this and a pyramid! WHAT WERE THE FIRST COMICS YOU DREW LIKE? WERE THEY PRIVATE OR DID YOU SHARE THEM WITH YOUR FRIENDS? When I was 13 or something like my friend and I were drawing our own comics on lined paper. He was really into all these different characters and I was like “ok oh I’ll come up with my own” so we started riffing on each other to do it, but I had never printed anything ever. I always though it would be cool. I was 15 and just getting into alternative comics and picked up “Madman” and probably “Eightball” and then this one came across that was “Too Much Coffee Man” it was when coffee was getting really big and Seattle was all coffee coffee coffee. Too Much Coffee Man was this ironic spoof on coffee itself. I loved it, and there was an issue in there that taught you how to make and quarter page zine. Cut it out, fold it, trim it, all this stuff and I’m like “oh shit! It’s so easy to do! What if I do it with a half sheet?” I had already been stuck on super hero comics, but also on spoofs and satires of super hero stuff too. I just basically made a fat shlubby used to be an ex-midget wrestler, but only because he was actually not a midget. He just dominated everyone so they kicked him out. And so he had this costume, and he was the Ant. I knew of “The Tick” but it was more of a Coffee Man rip off than anything. And so then I started making these spoofy jokey superhero comics. I started printing them up and selling them to kids at school. And then there was a local comic shop who was super supportive and said they would put them up on the shelves if I made enough of them. I got advertisements from the local printer, and when I got out of high school I started working with this guy on the side and he would put his graphic design and photography thing in there so I had sponsors. Everyone was like “your the only kid doing this so why not, keep going.” So that’s where it all started 20 years ago when I was 15-16 making these things. Yeah 1993 is when I started up.

I KNOW YOU SPEAK PARTICIPATE IN DUNE COMIC DRAWING NIGHT, CAN YOU TALK ABOUT WHAT THAT IS? Max puts Dune together, organizes it, prints all the things, and collects all the artwork. But that’s been monumental. It is the greatest thing for cartoonist and comic collectives in Seattle, nothing beats that. At times there can be upwards of 60-70 people at Cafe Racer, heads down drawing. The mission is to do a page or pages in a 4 hour period, turn it in, and next month Max will bring a comic with your art work in it. It only cost 2-3 bucks for printing and its super inclusive. It’s a little secret organization, if you want it or get a copy you have to do something for it. They don’t sell them. Thats been awesome, its kind of scary for some people who are intimidated who think “oh theres really good artists doing it!” Yeah but I’m fucking up and experimenting too, I’m too stoned to do this correctly so whatever, I don’t know how this will turn out but its a good challenge to get something done. That the problem with other groups, people talk about getting stuff done and nothing happens. It pushes you to test yourself to see how far you can go. It will encourage you later because you will you know you did a whole page in four hours before. What can I do with eight hours? I can make a really good page or something like that. And that might be the evolution of that, doing longer times and making longer books. It’s a good possibility your going to fail and it will look like crap but you got something done and you got something out of it too and thats a really awesome thing. You can join a dune comic night at Cafe racer in the U District in Seattle, every third Tuesday night.

SAM GRIM

W H AT P R O JE C T H AV E YO U BEEN T HINK IN G A B O U T M O S T L AT ELY? Right now my life is all about the BFA Capstone project, True North Supply Co. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m created handmade and printed work inspired by the outdoors.

HOW DID YOU LAND ON PRINT? DID OTHER ART PROJECTS LEAD YOU HERE? A big medium for me right now is print work. A lot of design is digital, and I appreciate the precision there. However, I love working with my hand and really getting involved in the process of making. Print is a perfect way to incorporate my design skills and utilize my handmade knowledge and technique. WHAT IS THE EARLIEST ART PROJECT YOU CAN REMEMBE R? I’m not sure if it’s the earliest, but my mom has this marker drawing of a flock robins. It’s great, uneven, and a Sam Grim classic. WHERE DO YOU SEARCH FOR INSPIRATION? Right now it’s all about finding inspiration outside of design. I love the outdoors, handmade things, and comics. WHAT DO YOU LOOK AT WHEN YOUR STUCK AND READY TO QUIT? I try to get out of my headspace. Making something really helps me, so a lot of times I bake or cook.

HOW DO YOU KNOW WHEN TO SCRAP WHAT YOU HAVE AND START OVER? That’s really hard for me to do, I admit! I am definitely the person who commits to something that isn’t working for way too long. I usually try to go back to a point that I was happy with the project, and try to move in a different direction from there. That way I don’t lose all my work but I get a different result.

DO YOU LIKE TO PLAN AHEAD ON YOUR PROJECTS OR MAKE IT UP AS YOU GO? I am a big planner, I like lists and actionable items. I work better with an end goal in mind but as far as process to get there, that can be a little up in the air. WHAT IS THE HIGHEST AND LOWEST POINTS OF YOUR PROCESS?

“ I love working with my hands and really getting involved in the process of making.” IS YOUR PROCESS DIFFERENT WHEN WORKING ON A PERSONAL PROJECT VS A CLIENT DRIVEN PROJECT?

Seeing the final result is always the high point of my process, no matter what something looks like in your adobe file seeing it out in the world is always the best part. Low points can be when I feel like I’m really far away from my intention, and feeling like I can’t get there as a designer can be really hard. HOW DO WE STAY INSPIRED? Do things and talk to people that aren’t designers! There are so many interesting places, jobs, and interests that are out there. Some of the best advice and conversations come from people in totally unrelated job field, or activities you’d never think of as being artistic. Seriously, find something in common with other people and you’ll never run out of inspiration.

Definitely! Client work is a lot of thinking about how your client wants to be perceived, and not letting your personal design style get in the way. If it’s not completely up your alley finding a way to make both of us happy can be hard, but satisfying in the end

WHEN YOU AREN’T MAKING STUFF, WHAT ARE YOU UP TO?

WHAT DOES YOUR PERFECT WORK SESSION LOOK LIKE?

To me, success is all about balance. Balance between work, life, and everything else.

I like working in quiet places where I can really sit down and think. I also like having a lot of room to work, so I can cut and build mock ups while still having access to my computer. I’m not sure if I’ve ever had the perfect work session.

When I’m not making stuff I’m hiking, watching basketball or soccer, or reading. WHAT DOES SUCCESS LOOK LIKE TO YOU

PHOTOGRA-

CAITLIN BROOKINS

WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN UP TO LATELY?

WHEN DID YOU GET INTERESTED IN PHOTOGRAPHY?

Lately, I have been traveling (Texas,Paris,New Orleans) have been actively exhibiting locally and abroad,attended Society for Photographic Education, went through applying to graduate schools – was accepted into all that I applied and now time to choose which program and my next step towards the future!

I first started shooting on film (honestly just even shooting a camera) in undergrad at Cornish College of the Arts. Everything started to fall into place from there. I began teaching myself many alternative processes after viewing Dan Estabrook’s documentary.

WHAT PROJECT HAVE YOU BEEN WORKING ON LATELY?

HOW DID YOU LAND ON PHOTOGRAPHY? DID OTHER ART PROJECTS LEAD YOU HERE?

Most recently I have been working on a project about person and place. Shot on 120 film, photographing fellow artists and friends in a natural place around the Seattle area. WHAT PROJECT HAVE YOU BEEN THINKING ABOUT MOST LATELY? Since the sunshine is starting to come out, I have been dreaming up salted paper print and cyano type ideas.

Analog photography and alternative processes came naturally to me. I have always been inspired by antique/vintage photographs and the history of photography. After being inspire by the documentary on Dan Estabrook and his work, I had to get started on exploring the medium.

WHAT IS THE EARLIEST ART PROJECT YOU CAN REMEMBER? The earliest art project(s) I remember creating are that of sitting on the kitchen counter playing with play dough while my mother was cooking. I am very fortunate to even have memories from before I could walk. My mother always urged me to create, whether that be through storytelling,visual, audio,or sensory. WHERE DO YOU SEARCH FOR INSPIRATION? I am inspired by the everyday around me, old movies â&#x20AC;&#x201C; especially film noir and silent movies,traveling,relat ionships,flora and fauna,the notion of nostalgia,long lost love letters, old picture postcards,art nouveau,language of flowers,Old Hollywood lighting. WHAT DO YOU LOOK AT WHEN YOUR STUCK AND READY TO QUIT? When I am stuck or ready to quit I do one of two things. I get lost on an adventure, subject myself to a new place/time/environment. I embrace the new and loose myself to it. I also have a habit of getting consumed by romantic and femme fatal films while enjoying far too many Swedish fish candies. HOW DO YOU KNOW WHEN TO SCRAP WHAT YOU HAVE AND START OVER? I believe in following and trusting my gut/intuition/ heart. Your ideas and concepts are constantly growing and changing, as long as the original concept was thoughtful and true, there is no reason to start over.

IS YOUR PROCESS DIFFERENT WHEN WORKING ON A PERSONAL PROJECT VS A CLIENT DRIVEN PROJECT? Yes there is significantly less passion and drive to create a project that is not personal. DO YOU LIKE TO PLAN AHEAD ON YOUR PROJECTS OR MAKE IT UP AS YOU GO? Most of the time, I have an idea but usually a question I work from. Everything from there on is intuition,subconscious,and heart. WHAT IS THE HIGHEST AND LOWEST POINTS OF YOUR PROCESS? I think the lowest points that I have come to realize, that I constantly want myself to do better and be better. Also that I need sleep, lots of healthy sleep. Unfortunately I am not an insomniac. The highest points in my working process is when the light bulb goes on and answer and truly understand something for myself. WHAT DOES SUCCESS LOOK LIKE TO YOU? Success to me is being truly happy and at peace with yourself and your practice. Sustaining your life from your practice looks like success to

WHAT DOES YOUR PERFECT WORK SESSION LOOK LIKE?

A perfect work session is completely getting lost and transfixed in the act of making. Whenever I get into creating I am put into a meditative state and feel complete happiness.

COMICS KATIE WHEELER

WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN UP TO LATELY? I’m in my last semester at design school. I’m also planning a wedding, which is more fun than it sounds. Just generally enjoying my late 20’s I guess. WHAT PROJECT HAVE YOU BEEN WORKING ON LATELY? I’m working on my first graphic novel right now. I’m looking at the large stack of pages as I type this, which is very satisfying. About a week ago I didn’t know if it would be done or not for the end of school, but now I can say pretty confidently that I will have a book in my hands by the end of next month. WHAT PROJECT HAVE YOU BEEN THINKING ABOUT MOST LATELY? The book, for sure. WHEN DID YOU GET INTERESTED IN COMICS? I fell in love with comics when I was about 8 or 9, but didn’t consider it a career option until I had graduated from Central Washington University with a degree in Theatre. I had a job as a theater teacher’s assistant but spent all of my free time writing comics and looking at comic book programs at various art schools. H OW DID YOU LAND ON COMICS? DID OTHER ART PROJECTS LEAD YOU HERE? I’ve always loved to draw and tell stories. My mom told me when I was little my teachers were always concerned with my ability to tell reality from fantasy, but she was never worried about it.

WHAT IS THE EARLIEST ART PROJECT YOU CAN REMEMBER? I don’t know if it’s my earliest, but it’s probably my favorite: the frequent star of my comic book I liked to draw while sitting in church was “Frog.” He was a frog and he did various wacky things. You can draw him pretty easily with five little humps . WHERE DO YOU SEARCH FOR INSPIRATION? I know this is going to sound lame, but pinterest has been so helpful in collecting styles that really inspire me. Obviously I spend a lot of time at the comic book shop, but when I really want to just ogle at cool pictures and get excited I often turn to pinterest. I have a rather expanse “illustration inspiration” page. WHAT DO YOU LOOK AT WHEN YOU’RE STUCK AND READY TO QUIT? With my book I just try to get SOMETHING done. So if I’m having a hard time writing it, or pencilling it, I’ll just go to the next stage and say “okay, I’m just going to ink things today. That doesn’t require any brain power but I’m still making progress.” I have to have that mentality of “progress with procrastination” or nothing will ever get done. HOW DO YOU KNOW WHEN TO SCRAP WHAT YOU HAVE AND START OVER? I get a really deep seated feeling of disgust with a piece and then I’ll just leave it alone.

IS YOUR PROCESS DIFFERENT WHEN WORKING ON A PERSONAL PROJECT VS A CLIENT DRIVEN PROJECT? I do daily comics about what my day was like, or an event that happened that was funny, and those are always very cathartic and fun to do. They usually just flow out me in a matter of minutes because I’m not feeling any pressure to produce something other people will enjoy. I love all of them because they really look effortless and very “me”

HOW DO WE STAY INSPIRED? I stay up to date with what is happening in the comic world. There’s so much new stuff coming out that’s its hard to not get excited. And of course looking at stuff that has nothing to do with comics. Watching fun TV, cartoons. Reading compelling stories.

WHAT DOES YOUR PERFECT WORK SESSION LOOK LIKE? Coffee, podcast, rainy day and socks. It’s terrible when it’s nice outside because as a native Washingtonian it’s pretty rare to have those days. WHAT IS THE HIGHEST AND LOWEST POINTS OF YOUR PROCESS? Highest is probably the beginning of the idea and the end of the idea. When I think of it and go “ohmygod I love this, I’ve gotta get it down on paper,” and at the very end when I say “I like how this turned out.” Lowest is the middle when something is missing or wrong and I just feel very apathetic and frustrated.

WHEN YOU AREN’T MAKING STUFF, WHAT ARE YOU UP TO? My partner and I are what my friends call “Do’ers.” That’s why we get along so well; because we don’t like to sit on the couch and watch T.V. for hours. (Which is totally legit, but drives me crazy.) On any given weekend we are volunteering at beer festivals or making limoncello or playing bar golf. We like to make stuff together and find new stuff to love. WHAT DOES SUCCESS LOOK LIKE TO YOU? I think holding this book in my hands will be a huge deal, even if it doesn’t get published. Just having done something on such a large scale and pushing myself to finish it even though it was really fucking hard. It was originally 50 pages and it crawled up to 75. I wrote it last September and I’ll be finishing the whole thing within a year. Even if it’s not the best book that’s ever been written, it’s my first book and that’s still huge for me. The other day I was making little wish goals like, “Someday I would like to do a book signing/reading at Elliot Bay Books. Someday I would like to have a review of my book written. Someday I would like a book release party.” Those are my day dreams right now. Very small scale fame.

I want to stop ha v i n g to d edic ate z ine s to our f r iend s who ha ve been ta k en too soon .

IT’ S FUCKED U P. IT D O ESN ’T M AKE SENSE.

TH IS ISSU E IS D ED ICATED TO YOU.

W E K EEP G O IN G F O R YO U.

artist index Who are these people?

ED ITOR: MI C A GA X I O L A-FLYNN

MAKEDONTBREAK@GMAIL.COM BEHANCE.NET/MICAGAXIOLA MICAGAXIOLA.WORDPRESS.COM

C O- ED ITOR: CRYS TI N A MCKENNA

CRYSTINAMCKENNA.TUMBLR.COM

R A CH E L S A NDOFSKY

TWITTER.COM/RACHSANDERS FRYINGPANCRUSADER.TUMBLR.COM SANDOFFSKY.TUMBLR.COM

DAVI D NEL SON

WWW.NELSONDAVIDANDREW.COM INSTAGRAM @_DAVENELSON_

CH RIS T RAN

SADDESTVACATION.TUMBLR.COM

E TH A N MOROSOFF

INSTAGRAM @W_I_D_K

CA I TLI N PARKS

CAITLIN-WOUDSTRA. SQUARESPACE.COM/VIDEOS

TAYLO R DO MBROWSKI

ROLYATOMB.TUMBLR.COM

T ROY CUNIO

WANTS TO BE GOOGLED

RYAN PANG IL INAN

TWITTER.COM/RYANPANGILINAN

MIG UEL WYL ENG CO

CARGOCOLLECTIVE.COM/WYLENGCO

CORRUPT ED NET WORK

CORRUPTEDNETWORK.BANDCAMP.COM/RELEASES SOUNDCLOUD.COM/CORRUPTED-NETWORK

SAM G RIM

SAMANTHAGRIM.COM INSTAGRAM @SAMMGRIM

MARC PAL M

MARCPALM.TUMBLR.COM

CAIT L IN BROOKINS

CARGOCOLLECTIVE.COM/CAITLINELIZABETHBROOKINS FACEBOOK.COM/CAITLINBROOKINSART

the make donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t break

collective

We are always looking for new artists to feature in our next issue. If you would like to submit work email makedontbreak@gmail.com

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