Interview with Farmer Bob (aka. Robert Hardgrave)

1)First of all,..can you present yourself..?
1)I'm a middle aged white dude living in the northwest section of theStates. I am average height and weight, have short hair and a beard.

2)Do you think of yourself as an artist,or what?
2)I suppose so. I wake up in the morning thinking about drawing andspend a good portion of my day drawing.

3)What is creativity?
3)Using that special portion of your brain to problem solve and imaginethings. I feel you don't need to be an "artist" to use yourcreativity. It's instinctual.

4)Does your environment influence your art,either in style/format or interference?
4)It can at times. In the spring time I tend to draw a lot more treesand vegetation sorts of things and in the fall I use yellows, orangesand browns. I am more influenced by human condition and circumstancethough.

5)What are some of your influences and inspirations?
5)Music, other artists, cultural art, life, death, disease...

6)What's your favourite mediums(pen,charcoal,paint,canvas,etc.)to workin/on?
6)Ink is number one along with any water based paint that flows well.

7)Who are some of your favourite painters/artists?
7)There are so many. Any artist where you can see that they love whatthey are doing. I love art that looks as if it just flows from theperson.

8)How long does it normally take you to complete a piece of your artwork?
8)It is really hard to say. I work on about 20 things or more at a time.I get ideas for other things while I'm working on something else. Iwork at a steady pace I would say.

9)What else are you interested in besides visual arts?
9)Music, eating good food, visiting with friends, meeting new people...

10)Got any new projects planned?
10)I just finished up a bunch of work for an exhibit at BLK/MRKT in LA,(http://www.blkmrktgallery.com/), which is still hanging throughAugust 19th. I am preparing for another exhibit for this November atBLVD Gallery, (http://blvdart.com/), here in Seattle with WarrenDykeman. I am making a new snowboard design for Morrow in the nextcouple of weeks.

11)How would you describe your art to someone who could not see it?
11)Fantastical, organic, lush, graphic, contrasting...

12)What other talent would most like to have?
12)Super speed to do all the things I want to get done. Or maybe just beable to stop time.

13)What are your most beloved items?
13)My wife, my hands, my health.

14)Favourite books?
14)I just picked up MARGARET KILGALLEN - THE SWEET BYE AND BYE. It is atthe top of my list right now.


15)Do you remember the first draw you made?
15)I remember drawing the images from my lunch boxes in kindergarten.Mickey Mouse and Snoopy.

16)What kind of music do you like and do you listen.And is the musicimportant for your art.?
16)Metal is my all time favorite music. It is the only music I craveeveryday. I believe it appeals to me by the way my brain operates. Itis very important to my drawing process.


17)Any advice do you have for artists?
17)Be honest, enjoy what you are making and make work for yourself asmuch as possible.

18)Your contacts.E-mail..Links.
18)http://farmerbobsfarm.com/
http://artdorks.com/collective/
http://www.blkmrktgallery.com/
http://blvdart.com/

Interview with David Ho

1)First of all,..can you present yourself..?
1)David Ho. I’m a Virgo born in the year of the rooster. I live in the US

2)Do you think of yourself as an artist,or what?
2)Yes I consider myself an artist. Nothing else I do all that well.

3)What is creativity?
3)To me, I think people have creativity or they don’t. I think I’s an inborn trait. Creativity is what can inspire an artist...



4)Does your environment influence your art,either in style/format or interference?
4)I dont think so. I live in a fairly suburban place, all my art comes from inside.


5)What are some of your influences and inspirations?
5)I get inspired by mostly movies. I love watching special effects. the artists who create those visual effects are truly talented.

6)What’s your favourite mediums(pen,charcoal,paint,canvas,etc…)to work in/on?
6)Currently I work digitally


7)Who are some of your favourite painters/artists?
7)Odd Nerdrum, Dave McKean, Mark Ryden, John Jude Palencar,



8)How long does it normally take you to complete a piece of your artwork?
8)Usually one to 2 weeks.


9)What else are you interested in besides visual arts?
9)Well for a while I loved doing home improvement. I learned to tile my balcony, change my faucet, restain my cabins, I play lots of badminton to keep in shape. and cus art usually doesn’t pay too much, I also invest in real estate.



10)Got any new projects planned?
10)Not this moment. but in Asia, a publisher is currently interested in publishing it as a childrens book. We'll see.



11)How would you describe your art to someone who could not see it?
11)Hmmmm.... dark, cold, fantasy yet with a fine arts edge I guess.


12)What other talent would most like to have?
12)Hmmm, I wish I could draw with my left hand. I was born left handed, but my parents changed my habit to write and draw with my right hand now.



13)What are your most beloved items?
13)My chinese goddess wooden sculpture.



14)Favourite books?
14)Hmmm I dont read that much but if you ask me bout my favorite artbook I must say its HR Giger’s Necronomicon.



15)Do you remember the first draw you made?
15)Yes, now that I look at it, they look unbelievably childish, ahahah.



16)What kind of music do you like and do you listen…And is the music important for your art…?
16)I listen to all kinds. I used to love rock in the 90s, I listen to hip hop too. If theres any kind of music that influences my art, I would say its rock. bands like Tool, Guns And rRses, even The Cure...



17)Any advice do you have for artists?
17)Yes, not much money involved in art unless your dead. If i were to do it over again, I’d do art on the side, while getting an upper management job.



18)Your contacts…E-mail….Links…
18) http://www.davidho.com
ho@davidho.com

Interview with Christine Shields

1)First of all,..can you present yourself..?
1)Hello, Presenting me - Christine Shields.

2)Do you think of yourself as an artist,or what?
2)Yes, I think of myself as an artist, also as a musician, and daydreamer.

3)What is creativity?
3)To me creativity is allowing something greater than yourself to come through the unique filter of yourself, and be born into the world as an object, sound or thought.

4)Does your environment influence your art,either in style/format orinterference?
4)My environment absolutely influences my output. I am a big psychic sponge, and absorb what is around me, so I must be careful, or major interference occurs; but also it is a positive force if I am taking in helpful information.

5)What are some of your influences and inspirations?
5)I am very inspired by the Dream or Spirit world(s), by all kinds of art from different time periods, by music, by many interesting characters I see walking through my crazy neighbourhood, by psychology, human behaviour, and spirituality, and by the ways of animals, trees, water, sky, etc...

6)What's your favourite mediums(pen,charcoal,paint,canvas,etc.)to workin/on?
6)I like to paint on paper or smooth wood, or plaster walls.

7)Who are some of your favourite painters/artists?
7)Some favorites are Henry Darger, Chris Johanson, Cathe Kollowitz, Georganne Deen, Gerhardt Richter, Josef Bueys, Frida Khalo, Dianne Arbus, Sue Coe, Alice Neel, Andy Warhol, Rebecca Horn, Margaret Kilgallen, Tony Millionaire, James Kelly Marshall, some unknown cave painters, lots of "native" art from all over the place, hand made signs for beauty parlors, and grocery stores, by unknown artists, Grandma Prisbee, Creativity Explored( a collective), Le Dernier Cree (ditto), Brian Chippendale... many many more artist that I love who's names are hidden away in the crevices of my mind.

8)How long does it normally take you to complete a piece of your artwork?
8)From an hour to a month.

9)What else are you interested in besides visual arts?
9)Music, Love, my amazing friends, animals, swimming, dreaming, riding a bike, movies, living, learning, books. Also, I like to eat blackberries quite a bit.

10)Got any new projects planned?
10)I am putting a group show together about the Spirit World, that will be seen in Portland, Oregon, San Francisco, and maybe some other places. I have a band called SteepleChase, that is playing out and getting ready to record some songs. I am making books that a fabulous place called Booklyn is selling for me. More paintings, songs and books!

11)How would you describe your art to someone who could not see it?
11)Dreamy, full of color, and layers of perception. Some are portraits of people I have known, and some are of my interior world of ghosts, forests, animals, and feelings.

12)What other talent would most like to have?
12)I would like to be able to play the fiddle, and I think it would be really fun to surf. Of course, I wish I could fly.

13)What are your most beloved items?
13)I have some wooden toy animals that were my grandfather's. Also, my Martin baritone ukelele, and my small collection of art.

14)Favourite books?
14)The Baron in the Trees by Italo Calvino, The Magic Toyshop by Angela Carter, Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte, My Home is Far Away by Dawn Powell...there are so many, but I can't think of them right now.

15)Do you remember the first draw you made?
15)The first thing I remember drawing, and I drew it over and over, was an A-Frame house for Bears. In between each floor were many jars of honey, lined up. I was obsessed with bears. I brought my mother a rock. I said "Please bake this rock in the oven. This is what Bears eat."

16)What kind of music do you like and do you listen.And is the musicimportant for your art.?
16)I like a lot of music. Off the top of my head: the Velvet Underground, Bach, P.I.L., the Carter Family, Gillian Welsh, Lungfish, Cat Power, the Sun City Girls, Devendra, Johnny Cash, Quintron, Will Oldham, Can, ther Boredoms, Jim O'Rourke, OOIOO, Joanna Newsome,Os Mutantes, John Fahey, the Stooges, X, the Gun Club, Bright Black, Vetiver, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, Nina Simone, the Staple Family Singers, The Slits, The Raincoats, ...there is so much more...Music is such a big inspiration for me. I need to listen to it a lot. Also the way of music, the way it comes out of you, or brings things out of you is very important for me in art. It is easy in this world to get inside of your brain too much, to become too rational. This can be poison for the creative process. I find that playing or listening to music brings me back into a way of being that is natural for me, and promotes creativity.

17)Any advice do you have for artists?
17)Be your own biggest advocate, Do whatever it takes to love yourself and believe in yourself. Learn to hear your own voice and trust it, instead of worrying what others might think. What makes you unique is what you have to share with the world. Don't forget why you started making art ( because it is fun, and makes you feel good, for example). Reach out for what you want!

18)Your contacts.E-mail..Links.
18)My website is http://christineshields.com. Also you can check out me band at: www.myspace.com/steeplechasefolk

Interview with Hiroya Kurata

1)First of all,..can you present yourself..?
1)My name is Hiroya Kurata, 26 year old male, currently travelling around EU.


2)Do you think of yourself as an artist,or what?
2)Well,,,, I guess, I draw and paint and all that, because I want to be an artist ( of what I think), some day or some moment


3)What is creativity?
3)To trust one’s flash of inspiration and to bring that to action


4)Does your environment influence your art,either in style/format or interference?
4)Of course, of course!


5)What are some of your influences and inspirations?
5)It’s endless, since we are uncontiously influenced by so many things, but far as I know,
friends, girl friend, walk, nature, dog, memory, city, books, movies, toys, etctec

6)What’s your favourite mediums(pen,charcoal,paint,canvas,etc…)to work in/on?
6)Pilot Hi-Tec 0.4 (black), Pilot V corn C!!!
And some piece of wood and garbage from streets


7)Who are some of your favourite painters/artists?
7)I have a lot , but well known one’s are, Joan Miro, taro okamoto, Twist, Skwerm, Simone Shubuck, Phil frost, Enrico Baj, Toriyama Akira and many more


8)How long does it normally take you to complete a piece of your artwork?
8)It depends on the style and size, but normally from 10min to 7days


9)What else are you interested in besides visual arts?
9)Music, girls, sports, travel, books, food


10)Got any new projects planned?
10)Nothing Big, but planning to go to ny from Oct, and hopefully find someone or whoever, who is kind enough to support me with a Visa, which I’;ve been dying to get for the passed couple of years. Ahn , I’ve lived in Ny for couple of years and tried to live and work in various cities, like Tokyo and Berlin, but I guess I really like the atmosphere of Ny, especially Brooklyn , greenpoint area, and one of my biggest project this year to go back there.


11)How would you describe your art to someone who could not see it?
11)I think my works are quite easy to describe. ”Tree coming out from a manz head and a swing coming down from that branch….” Or like; “ a fight between a baseball player and a samurai” , that kind of stuff.


12)What other talent would most like to have?
12)Uuuuuuunnnn, guitar


13)What are your most beloved items?
13)I pod, sketchbooks, pen, baseball cap, dicikies, laptop,,and so on


14)Favourite books?
14)I’ve recently started reading this Japanese book by Takashi Murakami, “Geijutu Kigyouron”.
I’ve always hated this Murakami guy, but recently changing from hate to respect.


15)Do you remember the first draw you made?
15)Nop


16)What kind of music do you like and do you listen…And is the music importan for your art…?
16)I listen to anything that I like. Recently a heavy rotation of my friends band called, “The Hazama Band!!”.. and Terry Linen. of course it’s important! I don’t know if it’s directly shown into my drawing and stuff but yeh.


17)Any advice do you have for artists?
17)No way, I would love to have one though!


18)Your contacts…E-mail….Links…
18)www.shiloku.com
shiloku@gmail.com

Interview with Lucien Shapiro

1)First of all,..can you present yourself..?
1)My name is Lucien Shapiro.

2)Do you think of yourself as an artist,or what?
2) I guess I’m an artist I like to make stuff called art. But I have a ways to go before I could ever be happy with it

3)What is creativity?
3)Creativity is the ability to solve problems that are worth solving.

4)Does your environment influence your art,either in style/format or interference?
4)My environment influences and inspires. Nothing like walking out out your front door leaping over a crack head and a puddle of piss to get your morning cup of coffee

5)What are some of your influences and inspirations?
5)My family, friends and music keeps me going , city and country. Life and death.


6)What’s your favourite mediums(pen,charcoal,paint,canvas,etc…)to work in/on?
6)Favorite medium is mixed media sculpting//

7)Who are some of your favourite painters/artists?
7) Favorite artists Jon Wayshak, Brad Isdrab, Dave Corirea, Alex Pardee, Myssi Christensen, Coro,Heman Baglione, DJ Burt Erik Siador, Nate Van Dyke, Ela, Norm , Amanda Lynn,Reyes, Saber, John Casey, Tim Hanrahan, Matthew Barney, Eva Hesse, Lee Bonticou, Lee Ballard, James Jesse, David Chong Le, Mars-1, Nome, Snap Jackson, Stanislav Szukalski, Cam De Leon, and of course Michelangelo, Leonardo, Giacometti, and any god damn person that wastes their time making great things. If I forgot you it wasn’t on purpose I got a lot going on right now.. But I love your work too.....

8)How long does it normally take you to complete a piece of your artwork?
8) I work on many pieces at once usually. Depending on sizes each piece can take months to produce . I feel the works are are never fully completed, they just come to that stage where it is time to move on to a new project.

9)What else are you interested in besides visual arts?
9)Well I also talk into microphones babbling about what a wonderous vast earth we live on.

10)Got any new projects planned?
10)Yea I am driving a cross America and sculpting my impression of people I run into along the way. Then turning the trip into a book, also planning on a new art book some time in the next year or two.. Other then that I figit and twitch a lot.

11)How would you describe your art to someone who could not see it?
11)A collaboration of things turned into other things beginnings of a puzzle never quite complete. Hairy and almost realistic . An impression of 80's pop culture horror, cartoons, and toys.and my want to figure out the unanswered question we all search for.

12)What other talent would most like to have?
12)I would love to be able to never sleep so that more could be accomplished and seen. But you know you gotta sleep sometime.

13)What are your most beloved items?
13)My lizard Leon and pieces of the past.

14)Favourite books?
14)Haven’t been reading an incredible amount lately. But the age of the spiritual machine, and the secret meaning of things are what I’m reading now. Favorites come and go..

15)Do you remember the first draw you made?
15)Not the first ever but I’m sure it looked something like crayon scribbles.

16)What kind of music do you like and do you listen…And is the music importan for your art…?
16)I love music and it is very important to me, I will list some and by no means is this all I listen to

Anticon, Prefuse 73, Atmosphere, Aretha Franklin, Fiona apple, Audio Pharmacy, Company Flow, Cage, Aesop Rock, Fish Bone, Scarub, 13 and god, Subtle, Mike Patton, of 1942, Aceyalone, Alias and Tarsier, Paper Vehicle, Pedestrian, Alice in Chains,Aphex Twin, Lewee and the Regals, Babblefish, Bad Religion, Charles Manson., Beans Beatles, Bjork, Portishead,Bk, Blackalicious, Blockhead, Dj Shadow, Boom Bip, Legends, Sixtoo, Tychonichi, Buck 65, C rayz Walz,Casual , Cloud Dead, Dose, Jel, Cuf. Dax,Mf Doom, Beethoven , Marley, Bicassso, Beck , Abilities, EQW, Eligh, Eyedea, Four Tet, Gangstar, Fu Shcnickens, Perseph one, Funkdoobiest, Gas lamp killer, Ghost face killer, Grouch, Haiku d'etat, Herbie Hancock, Henry Rollins, Guns n roses,Hieroglyphics, Icarus Jones, Turtle, J dilla,Janes Addiction , Jean Grae, Sole, Metallica, Milla, Mr bungle, Neil young,Biggie, Odd Nosdam, Pink Floyd,Sage Francis, Saul Williams, Buddy Wakefield, Sebitones, Themselves, Tom Petty, Tool, Wu tang , Bob Dylan, Neil Young, and so much god damn more.......

17)Any advice do you have for artists?
17)Don’t waste your time... unless you care for nothing more then creation..

18)Your contacts…E-mail….Links…
18) www.lucienshapiro.com
lucien@lucienshapiro.com
thanks

Interview with Beth Robinson

1) First of all, can you present yourself?
1)My name is Beth Robinson. I am a doll artist that currently lives in Burlington, Vermont. I have been making art dolls since 2003. In the last three years I have made over 300 dolls for galleries, for charity, and for a variety of collectors, photographers, and animators across the globe. I have received international press from the magazines: SPIN, "Stuff" in the US, "Maxim UK" and "Maxim Hong Kong," "Rue Morgue" in Canada, and "Nokia CP" in Turkey.
I sell my creations through www.strangedolls.net, a website I design and maintain.

2) Do you think of yourself as an artist?
2)Yes I do.

3) What is creativity?
3)Creativity is like Vitamin C – you need to replenish the supply every day in order to remain healthy.

4) Does your environment influence your art, either in style/format or interference?
4)Very much so. I process conversations, interactions, bad dreams, even the daily news, through the dolls. It is almost like I require the dolls in order to put my head in order.

5) What are some of your influences and inspirations?
5)I think the above question answers this. Daily life is my inspiration and a strong influence.

6) What’s your favourite mediums (pen,charcoal,paint,canvas,etc)?
6)For years I was a painter and illustrator. When I discovered doll making, I was thrilled to employ a wide variety of mediums. The dolls require painting, sewing, clothing design, and sculpting. I love being able to use all of these mediums in my work as opposed to being limited to one.

7) Who are some of your favourite painters/artists?
7)There are so many amazingly creative people out there. I have discovered, through the internet, that the list is endless. I seem to encounter artists all the time that thrill me and take my breath away. It is so hard to nail it down to a select few.
My favorite traditional artists are Andrew Wyeth, Rembrandt, Hieronymus Bosch.
My favorite modern painters are Saturno Butto, Mark Ryden.
Favorite doll makers are Elizabeth McGrath, Scott Radke, and Whalefish Studios.

8) How long does it normally take you to complete a piece of your artwork?
8)It truly depends on the piece. It can take anywhere from a week to a month depending on the piece.

9) What else are you interested in besides visual arts?
9)I spend a lot of time on the dolls so my free time is minimal but motorcycling, graphic design; activities with friends and family are what occupy “non-doll time.”

10) Got any new projects planned?
10)You will have to stay tuned to strangedolls.net to see what I come up with each month!

11) How would you describe your art to someone who could not see it?
11)Strange, little afflicted characters.

12) What other talent would most like to have?
12)That is a hard question to answer. I am quite happy with being artistically inclined. I suppose if I had to choose another talent, I would be a brilliant mathematician.

13) What are your most beloved items?
13)That’s an interesting question. I had an apartment burn down at one point in my life and that cured me of having strong attachments to “stuff.” I suppose the things that are most beloved to me are the things that are irreplaceable. My father gave me my baby teeth from his “tooth fairy” stash. Recently I inherited an old Victorian painting from my grandmother that I had always loved as a child. My boyfriend is also an artist and he has created several irreplaceable items for me – several piece of artwork and a rag doll.


14) Favourite books?
14)Currently it is “The Fortunate Pilgrim” by Mario Puzzo

15) Do you remember the first drawing you made?
15)I do. It was a drawing for an art contest in first grade. It was a simple kids drawing of me, my house, my pets - the usual. But the positive feedback was so nice that I decided to enroll in drawing classes. Unfortunately my interest in the classes did not last long.

16) What kind of music do you like and do you listen to? Is music important for your art?
16)I usually listen to music while I am working so I prefer to have something that is moody and can blend into the background. I’ve been hooked on Barry Adamson and Zoe Keating lately.
My music tastes are actually quite eclectic. I love everything from Chopin to Rammstein to Creedence Clearwater Revival to Rasputina to Tom Waits. My mood usually dictates what I want to listen to.

17) Any advice for artists?
17)I am going to use a wonderful quote that I found from artist, Cyn McCurry, when asked the same question:“Being an artist is wearing cruel shoes and liking it.”

18) Your contact information:
18)Beth Robinson
info@strangedolls.net
www.strangedolls.net

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Interview with Marci Washington

1) First of all, can you present yourself..?
1)My name is Marci Washington. I’m 26 and I live in Oakland, California where I graduated from the California College for the Arts in 2002.

2) Do you think of yourself as an artist, or what?
2)I usually say painter.

3) What is creativity?
3)I think creativity is this weird thing in people that makes them see things differently and then insists that this strange view is made tangible. Creativity is a way of thinking, art is a way to share it with others.

4) Does your environment influence your art, either in style/format or interference?
4)Environment is a huge force for me. I would say that it’s one of the biggest factors influencing my work. Whenever I move, it takes me a while to settle into what’s around me. In Los Angeles everything is so grey and stark- all of the color left my paintings, and my backgrounds went flat black. In Oakland, the plants and colors around me start to creep in. You can’t ignore the overgrown gardens, the way people here let nature run a little wild. In LA, all of the yards were so controlled and manicured- it really made me think of plants differently. They lost some of their power. I moved back to Oakland in February, and I’m still trying to adjust and come back to color a bit.

5) What are some of your influences and inspirations?
5)My number one influence is fiction and history- the power of a story to shape the way you think of yourself and the world around you. I want my paintings to be small pieces of a narrative that I hope can say something about the human experience in the world and the effects of the fictionalization of that experience. Stylistically, the things that have influenced me are asian and Indian painting, as well as my experiences in print making. I’ve just recently noticed that I spend a lot of time trying to make paintings that look like prints.

6) What’s your favourite mediums (pen, charcoal, paint, canvas, etc…) to work in/on?
6)Right now I’m really into drawing- a sharp pencil and some nice paper. I used to paint in oils, but now I’m totally in love with gouache and watercolor on thick print making paper. Flat black gouache is sexy stuff.

7) Who are some of your favourite painters/artists?
7)Elizabeth Peyton totally changed the way I thought about painting. Marcel Dzama and Edward Gorey I love for their wonderful narratives and sense of humor, and Laura Owens for her space and color. I’m also really lucky to know and work with a lot of other people my age who are making really great work right now.

8) How long does it normally take you to complete a piece of your artwork?
8)I spend a lot of time on the drawings. The paintings happen pretty quickly, but half of them are no good, so it ends up that I work pretty slowly. Maybe two or three paintings a month end up as something I’d let other people look at.

9) What else are you interested in besides visual arts?
9)I really want to make a movie or a film project of some kind. Me and my sister are trying to think of something good to work on together. I really like movies. I’m also a big reader, so I’m into books and try to keep up with new stuff and find more good old ones that I haven’t read yet. I like the library, botanical gardens, and the zoo. I like animals and riding my bike. I make jewelry too.

10) Got any new projects planned?
10)I start graduate school in September, so I’m getting ready for that- working a lot and saving up money. I’m really excited to have a studio and maybe do some larger work. I’m in a group show at Receiver in San Francisco in August that should be really good, so I’m getting ready for that too. I’m also working on some pirate jewelry- all bone and coral and pearls- so exciting!

11) How would you describe your art to someone who could not see it?
11)Small bits of stories from midnight gardens and darkened drawing rooms, people with ulterior motives and secret desires, and plants and animals with their own secret world.

12) What other talent would most like to have?
12)I wish I could sing like Dolly Parton or Patsy Cline. I’d really love to be able to belt out a good country tune with that kind of deep growl and light as air sweetness. They make me ache. I try to do it, but only when I’m home alone or in my car.

13) What are your most beloved items?
13)A pirate head made from a coconut that I got from Disneyland when I was a kid, a book of poems and stories that my grandparents gave me when I was seven, a copy of the Besler Florilegium, my favorite sweater, and my car.

14) Favourite books?
14)The Magic Toyshop, and The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter, Middlesex, and The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides, Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte, and Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte.

15) Do you remember the first drawing you made?
15)I’m not sure if it was my very first, but it’s the first that I remember being really proud of- a portrait of Greta Garbo that I copied from my grandmother’s old Vanity Fair book while I was there visiting. My grandmother still has it framed in her bedroom.

16) What kind of music do you like and do you listen…And is the music important for your art…?
16)I really like music, and usually listen to it while I’m working. I like slow kinda dirgy stuff for while I’m doing line or detail, and then faster poppier stuff for just laying down paint. Right now I’m listening to Band of Horses, Clap Your Hands and Say Yeah, Tilly and the Wall, and The New Pornographers. Morrissey is always mixed in there too. Music is pretty important- it helps me stay focused and sitting in one place for hours.

17) Any advice do you have for artists?
17)This sounds kinda cheesy, but I think it’s really important to stay true to yourself and what you have to say, based on your own experience. To never worry about trends or fitting in with any particular style, and to just keep doing it no matter what other people say. Let the irrelevant criticism roll off you, and take the relevant as a very personal thing and vow to show that person wrong. Always try to be better.

18) Your contacts…E-mail….Links…
18) www.marciwashington.com

marcibones@yahoo.com

Interview with Nobuko Hori

1)First of all,..can you present yourself..?
1)Nobuko Hori.I make music, animations, graphics, and collages.


2)Do you think of yourself as an artist,or what?
2)I think everyone are somesort of artist. cook is an artist. Farmer is one of an artist I think. So I’m one of them.


3)What is creativity?
3)For me, make things i want to see,and hear. To find new and inspirational concepts. Like a small kid. We can do anything we want with our imagination. That is creativity to me.


4)Does your environment influence your art,either in style/format or interference?
4)Yes to both but I’m in control of my environment.


5)What are some of your influences and inspirations?
5)Soundscapes, ambient lighting, natural textures, human sensation and emotions during my day dreams.


6)What’s your favourite mediums(pen,charcoal,paint,canvas,etc…)to work in/on?
6)I’m always trying to find new materials and change its natural textures. So it can be anything.


7)Who are some of your favourite painters/artists?
7)Yoko ono.


8)How long does it normally take you to complete a piece of your artwork?
8)It depends on what kind of artwork, so it’s hard to say.
animation spent 3 month or more.
Graphic, a couple days or a couple weeks.
Collage, 1 hour, 1 day.


9)What else are you interested in besides visual arts?
9)Making music, reading book, sleeping.


10)Got any new projects planned?
10)Right now, I’m finishing some cover art work for new album releases of friends. Also trying to finish my first solo album from Music Related (http//www.musiscrelated.net) based in NY. planning crazy art/music shows in Tokyo.


11)How would you describe your art to someone who could not see it?
11)Jumping around jam. And milky hairs


12)What other talent would most like to have?
12)Playing the violin.


13)What are your most beloved items?
13)My bed.


14)Favourite books?
14)"Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World,"
Haruki Murakami,Fedor M. Dostoyevsky, Kobo Abe, Tove Jansson.


15)Do you remember the first draw you made?
15)A lake on mom's schedule book with mom's all of skin foundation and make up.


16)What kind of music do you like and do you listen…And is the music important for your art…?
16)I like so many kind of music.
Especially Avant Pop. Like Honeymoon Killers, Look De Bouk.
And of course Kate Bush, Prince and The Beatles.
right now, im listening HYPO.


17)Any advice do you have for artists?
17)Yes sleep is important.


18)Your contacts…E-mail….Links…
18)Videos,Graphics
http://homepage.mac.com/nobuko_hh/
Songs
http://www.myspace.com/nobukohori
nobuko.hori@gmail.com

Interview with ''14''

1)First of all,..can you present yourself..?
1)Right now, I'm a person who calls myself 14 and runs a blog called Gallery of the Absurd. I paint images of celebrity gossip because I wanted to spend sometime observing our culture's obsession with the cult of celebrity. I'm not sure yet what compels me to observe and record this strange obsession, but as long as I find amusement in it, I'll keep doing it. I know when the time is right, I'll stop. My blog enjoys a healthy dose of daily traffic and part of my experiment might involve watching what happens when I stop painting celebrity gossip. Will I get the same attention if I paint portraits of brilliant, yet obscure scientists, artists and mystics? I wonder.

2)Do you think of yourself as an artist,or what?
2)Right now I'm an illustrator, a satirist, a seeker of esoteric knowledge, a loner, a trickster, a Fibonacciactivist, a pop culture scribe, and a consumer of fresh blueberries.


3)What is creativity?
3)Allowing oneself to let go of all preconceived notions and letting the passionate moment guide what shows upon the canvas. As an illustrator working for clients,it's hard to let go when certain images need to convey an idea the client has in mind....but I always have a creative side project of my own. If I didn't, I'd go mad.

4)Does your environment influence your art,either in style/format or interference?
4)Yes, when I lived in a huge airy loft in Seattle, I painted expressive canvases of figures emerging fromthe airy ether. When I moved to celebrity infested LosAngeles, I started painting celebrity infested art.Now that I live in San Francisco, I still paint celebrity gossip because it has become a paying profession, but I can feel change brewing. Last night I painted a monk from another dimension emerging from the wings of a strangely baroque beetle.

5)What are some of your influences and inspirations?
5)I flip through gossip tabloids and scan gossip blogs to see what might make me laugh and then I paint what amuses me the most. I enjoy laughing while I work and enjoy even more when I can make others laugh. So yes,laughter is a huge influence. I'm also influenced byother aspects of pop culture, especially advertising and marketing. I enjoy weaving bits of mythology,fairy tales, antique botanical and zoological illustrations, art history, anthropology, ancient history and mysticism into my work.

6)What's your favourite
mediums(pen,charcoal,paint,canvas,etc.)to work in/on?
6)I'll use any medium within arms length and enjoy experimenting with variety. I haven't really settled on a favorite medium yet, but good old fashioned penand ink always thrills me.

7)Who are some of your favourite painters/artists?
7)Hieronymus Bosch, Salvador Dali, Katsushika Hokusai,Ralph Steadman, Jim Blanchard, Jim Woodring, MarkRyden, Francis Bacon, Robert Risko, Ernst Haeckel,Robert Hardgrave, Denise Giago, Claire Johnson,Chrissastar, R. Crumb, Naoto Hattori, Albrecht Durer,random anonymous street art, a mystery person I cannot name, children's paintings, and...there's really too many to list.

8)How long does it normally take you to complete apiece of your artwork?

8)Sometimes I do 2 or 3 in one day. Others sit on my easel and drawing table for weeks until I decide they're finished.

9)What else are you interested in besides visualarts?
9)Botany, exobiology, ancient history, physics,consciousness studies, seed pods, memetics, lost knowledge and unseen entities.

10)Got any new projects planned?
10)I am currently working on an illustrated book based onthe Gallery of the Absurd. It's going to be quite a large project, but I'll make time to work on other things. Again, I'd go mad if I worked on only one project. Variety is the spice of life.

11)How would you describe your art to someone whocould not see it?
11)Since I work on textured papers, I'd take their hand and let them touch it while letting them hear to the music I listened to while painting it. They would draw their own conclusions and then they'd tell me what it"looked" like.

12)What other talent would most like to have?
12)I wish I could sing and I wish I had a healthier dose of mathematical aptitude.


13)What are your most beloved items?
13)My books and my collection of seeds, pods, bark,rocks, lichens, and various bizarre things I found washed up on the shore from the ocean kelp forest.

14)Favourite books?
14)My very favorite book I own is "Codex Seriphinianus"by Luigi Serafini. If there was a fire, it would be the one thing I would grab before heading out thedoor. There is no book like it on the planet. It was written in code back in the 70's and to this day no tone linguist has been able to decipher it. The illustrations are beautifully surreal and I feel blessed to own it. I also love "Alice in Wonderland"and "Godel, Escher and Bach".

15)Do you remember the first draw you made?
15)No, but I remember my mother used to punish me by taking away my crayons and paper. It was a very good way to get me to behave.

16)What kind of music do you like and do you listen.And is the music importan for your art.?
16)I like experimental music, stuff that sounds like noise, yet has beautiful resonance. I've listened to the Residents for years, and enjoy tribal sounds,music that mimics the sound of wind in the treetops,Mozart, Spanish guitar, chanting monks, sema rituals,Latin jazz, and the mysterious music of the spheres. I can't paint without music.

17)Any advice do you have for artists?
17)I usually seek advice from other artists instead of dispensing it, but if I had to advise anything it would be to detach yourself from both praise and criticism of your work. Sure, praise is nice and constructive criticism helpful, but follow the flame that burns within you.

18)Your contacts.E-mail..Links...
18) fourteencelebs@yahoo.com
http://www.galleryoftheabsurd.com

Interview with Dave Chung

1) First of all, can you present yourself..?
My name is Dave Chung, but everybody calls me The Chung because of my URL: www.thechung.com. All the other variations on my name of that URL were already taken, and all the other Dave and David Chungs are all artists too!! So I had to come up with something that sounded arrogant and shove it in their faces out of spite. So that’s how I got a “The” in front of my “Chung”…
Man, what a lame and boring response to the first question of an interview…I did however eat a gas station sandwich today that had an expiration date of today. Guess I ate it just in time!!

2) Do you think of yourself as an artist, or what?
Not really. Oh wait, no. I mean yes. But not the kind of artist that is an artist. I like to make art, and I get paid to make art, but I don’t like to refer to myself as an artist. I prefer the term, “Lion Tamer”

3) What is creativity?
I don’t think I’m creative enough to answer that question creatively, so I’m just going to talk about that gas station sandwich I ate today. It was a chicken caesar sandwich with shredded cheese as hard and see-thru as glass and it had lettuce that looked like algae in a fish tank that desperately needs cleaning and it came with a ranch dressing packet saran wrapped to the entire thing. It would have been a real crappy lunch, but because I got CREATIVE, I bought a bag of BBQ chips and stuffed the hell out of it. Now if that isn’t creative AND original…I don’t know what is. I’m so awesome. Just ask my mom.

4) Does your environment influence your art, either in style/format or interference?
Actually my environment has influenced my art a lot. Because I’ve been moving so much since I was a kid from Albany, Chicago, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Syracuse, Buffalo, and Detroit (that was just the abridged version) I’ve picked up a lot of inspiration along the way. From the crazy ass snack packages that you find on all products found in Asia, to good old American comic books, cartoons and porn.
Then I discovered Japanese porn…I no longer feel emotions.

5) What are some of your influences and inspirations?
People and/or animals and their stories are some of my biggest sources of inspiration. Especially when those stories involve being uncomfortable or in a situation that is highly unfortunate, but always ends up being humorous after it happens.

6) What’s your favourite mediums (pen, charcoal, paint, canvas, etc…) to work in/on?
I really enjoy using acrylics on wood, and recently I started to use canvas which I’ve been enjoying a lot…especially now that I can afford it. And I love sketching with my brush pens in my moleskin sketchbook. It’s highly meditative for me, like sitting on a toilet.

7) Who are some of your favourite painters/artists?
Well I’m heavily influenced by today’s great artists, such as Jeff Soto, Tim Biskup, and Glen Barr as well as good pals Joseph Daniel Fiedler, Chris Mostyn, Chris Ryniak, Robert Hardgrave, Travis Louie and pretty much everybody on Artdorks.com.

8) How long does it normally take you to complete a piece of your artwork?
Anywhere from a few hours to a week…but if it drags out longer than a week, I lose interest and it rarely gets finished.

9) What else are you interested in besides visual arts?
I love anything to do with aquatic life. I have several aquariums as well as crabs. yes yes go on and laugh. Very funny, I have crabs. But I bet you’re all just jealous because I get to use a special comb.

10) Got any new projects planned?
Well I have a series of paintings I’m working on about corndogs and other various meats found in space which will possibly be a future book. And I’ve entered the world of clothing, and will be whoring myself out starting… now:

Shirts will be available for sale on my website beginning of August 2006 and is a limited edition run of 50. I’ve been taking reservations for those who don’t want to miss out, if you’re interested please go to my website at www.thechung.com

Also I will be in a show coming up in Portland put together by Ryan Bubnis called, “It’s all Wood” featuring a lot of big player. It opens October 6th at the Renowned Gallery. Visit http://www.renownedgallery.com for more information.

Oh and I’m also going to be in that show Heiko is setting up at the Feinkunst Kruger gallery, “Don’t Wake Daddy” in December.

11) How would you describe your art to someone who could not see it?
It has a lot of bright cartoony colors, and I’ve been told that if you get up real close to it you can smell a faint scent of happiness and grandmother.

12) What other talent would you most like to have?
You know how in the movie Spiderman he does that “Shh-thwhip!” thing where his Spiderman-goo shoots out of his wrist and gets the whole city of New York sticky? Is that a talent?

13) What are your most beloved items?
My collection of art I’ve acquired over the past year or two trading with friends.

14) Favourite books?
Nothing beats being under your blankets at night with a flashlight and a good science fiction and/or horror book, like “Green Eggs and Ham”.

15) Do you remember the first draw you made?
it was of a Christmas tree fighting a tank on the moon covered in blood which was represented with glue and red glitter. It was so awesome.

16) What kind of music do you like and do you listen to…And is the music important for your art…?
It’s not really that important for the art, but it does help a little while I’m painting. It helps me keep a steady pace; I just rarely listen to the lyrics while I paint. That’s just too much for me. Of course unless I’m not wearing any pants. Then the lyrics are all that I can listen to.
Yeah it’s weird. But still awesome.

17) Any advice do you have for artists?
Just “Set it and Forget it!”

18) Your contacts…E-mail….Links…
www.thechung.com
thechung@thechung.com
www.artdorks.com