SWI in PDX

There's nothing I could say about Scott that he couldnt say better himself.I suggest you just head over to his site and spend the day going through every fork. I also suggest you email him.He loves dialogue...


Do you have a collection?
yes, items.
www.39forks.com


Where is your favorite place to create?
honestly, anywhere.

What is your favorite building?
the cathedral in sevilla, spain


If you could have invented anything ,what would it have been/or be?
3 foot tall lego robots with artifical intelligence that everyone wants/needs, and society becomes filled with these things walking next to everyone. mine would be blue with a lego spaceman style.

Name three things you would like to do before you die?
have a baby with harvest, be happy, travel


What do you need to create art?
time and money (unfortunately)


What's your favorite piece of art hanging in your house right now?
harvest's black painting hanging in front of me.

Do you collaborate with others?
not really, but many projects are intended to be participatory.

Do you work on more then one piece at a time?
i rarely work on only one piece at a time.

Do you share your work with others before it is finished?
yeah.

Do you listen to music while you're working? If so what?
yes.


If you could be commissioned by anyone who would it be and what would you create for them?
a church with no doors for anyone interested


If you could commission anyone to do art for you, who would it be?
a buddha/jesus collaboration

How do you know when something is finished?
it just seems finished

what or who influences your work?
i am easily inspired


What has been the most unique thing you've used to create art with?
plastic toy horses. axes. a 1992 ford taurus.

Amongst Friends..

There has always been this talk amongst my friends about what we consider Art?That age old question.I've been a firm believer that art comes in many forms and meduims.Take writing for instance. I feel strongly that writing is an artform. Words are just as poweful if not more powerful then images. They can alter moods,engage people, simple words can inspire or even start wars. Words uttered can change your life. I am the worst writer I know.I think visually and have a hard time conveying those thoughts into words.I am most envious of those who write, whether it be books, songs, letters or even emails.Writing is truly an artform and that is why I wanted to have David Fulton answer my questions. to me he is an artist.I've known David for years and have loved everything he has ever written (all those that he's shown me at least) I know I'll be first in line buying his books,even that one about Depeche Mode (good gawd,why!).Also Dave and I have he same infliction, the one that makes us smell books whenever we are in a book store.


Do you have a collection?
Comic books count?

Where is your favorite place to create?
Creation occurs before anything gets written. So I would say in the shower or during a good hike.

What is your favorite building?
Hollyhock House by F L Wright.

If you could have invented anything ,what would it have been/or be?
Compassion gun.

Name three things you would like to do before you die?
1) Write a novel, 2) Visit the Fjords, 3) Learn to surf

What do you need to create art?
Plastic arts: time and space; Writing: just time

What's your favorite piece of art hanging in your house right now?
Still fond of a plastic, abstract double-cross I made some years back. Mostly because it was inspired by Robert Motherwell, who is in my all-time top five.

Do you collaborate with others?
Sorta. But they didn't know it. I have made a series of collages using various comic strips (Peanuts, Blondie, etc.). I've been told it is all quite illegal.

Do you work on more then one piece at a time?
Writing, yes. It is the best way to prevent writer's block. Everything else, not really. Usually if I am doing something painterly or in a collage, I crank it out as quickly as possible before the little art Nazi in my head tells me I suck.

Do you share your work with others before it is finished?
Writing, yes. Workshopping a part of the process. Plastic art stuff is pretty much just for me.

Do you listen to music while you're working? If so what?
Never when writing. Must have quiet. But with plastic arts, I listen to a variety of things - Mercury Rev was a favorite for awhile. Cabaret Voltaire. Ride. Radiohead. Stuff with layers.

If you could be commissioned by anyone who would it be and what would you create for them?
I would like the State Librarian of California to appoint me State Laureat and commish me to travel the State to collect authentic California poetry.

If you could commission anyone to do art for you, who would it be?
Giacommeti, if he were alive. Otherwise, probably Motherwell. But also perhaps a friend. They probably need the money.

How do you know when something is finished?
Nothing is ever finished. It can just be overdone.

what or who influences your work?
Frank Lloyd Wright, WC Williams, Wallace Stevens, Walt Whitman, Pete Seeger, Leonard Cohen, Samuel Beckett, PJ Harvey, heavy rain, a good shower, a well-made film.

If you could curate a group exhibition of any artists since the dawn of time, who would you include and why?
A solo show of Anonymous. That guy really did a lot of work but I have yet to see a good solo show of his work. That, or something with glass artists throughout history.

What is your favorite museum, gallery, place to see art and why?
I love the Tate in London, the MOMA in SF, and the D'Orsay in Paris. It is hard to be bored at these gallaries as there is always something new behind the corner. I do love the Getty as a place but their perm collection is drop-dead dull. Honorable mention should go to the many start-up galleries that come and go so frequently in the State. I've seen some fantastic stuff over the years.

What has been the most unique thing you've used to create art with? An iron (as in, the device you use to iron clothes with).

What do you wish your art tasted like?
I always smell books for some reason and the best ones, scent-wise, are the ones that smell a bit like bread-dough mixed with oregano. I hope whatever book of poetry for fiction comes out of me sort of tastes this way... like a pizza parlor at dawn. Plastic-art-wise, I sometimes get a mad desire for a crunchy, sweetened-corn cereal when I work. Of course, if I had a chance to work with clay, I would want it to taste like fudge because the imp of the perverse wants me to shove that stuff in my mouth.

Port2Port

Most of the blogsites I have saved in my favorites have come from Mav
One of the refreshing things about reading her blog,is her general attitude towards life and others out there in the blog world.Not only does she engage people.She brings them all together,not only on the web but with giving us the best looking tools to do it on a more personal level..actual writing. I make a point to sit down each month and write letters, cards or postcards to people.I so enjoy opening the post and seeing an envelope with my name on it. Mav has just made that easier for me.


Do you have a collection?

i have tried to start several collections but nothing has stuck. i like to buy old polaroid cameras, use them and then give them away.

Where is your favorite place to create?

in my head while lounging.

What is your favorite building?

i am not sure i have one. i like boathouses right on the water.....

If you could have invented anything ,what would it have been/or be?

i would invent a pill for people to take so they could see how wonderful they are; something to show them how other people, those who love them, see them.

Name three things you would like to do before you die?

take at least one full month off to do nothing but meander, chat to people, never look at the clock and make art.

travel cross-country in a car on no schedule whatsoever.

plant a tree while it is small and see it grown into a big tree ... one that i know will be there forever.

What do you need to create art?

time. open, no looking at watches, time.

What's your favorite piece of art hanging in your house right now?

i am loving all of the little bits of photography; other people's polaroids; photos from years gone by.

Do you collaborate with others?

indeed, i love collaborations!

Do you work o more then one piece at a time?

oh yes of course. i like to!

Do you share your work with others before it is finished?

i don't have a strict rule on not doing that so i guess yes, i do.

Do you listen to music while you're working? If so what?

i must have music. i like all sorts of things right now ... i am very much into The Clientele this Spring/Summer.

If you could be commissioned by anyone who would it be and what would you create for them?

i would love to do a special piece, a one-off letterpress print, for any dear friend who might want one.

If you could commission anyone to do art for you, who would it be?

i would ask Natalie Tweedie, of nebo peklo, to create a huge print for me so i could use it as a headboard above my bed. her work flows in my bloodstream!

How do you know when something is finished?

it feels right.

what or who influences your work?

living life in general influences me. being outside. looking at fashions. going online and reading blogs. having good conversations. drinking wine. all of it!

If you could curate a group exhibition of any artists since the dawn of time, who would you include and why?

i would include a combination of the people i have met through the blogs. illustrators, photographers, crafters, all of us! we would talk about what we do, why and the dawn of the blogging revolution! :)

What is your favorite museum, gallery, place to see art and why?

i really loved the Musée Rodin in paris. it is an amazing place. so quiet and full of beauty. the way the light comes in the windows. i will go back there for sure one day.

What has been the most unique thing you've used to create art with?

a copy machine.

What do you wish your art tasted like?

chocolate ice cream in a sugar cone.

The Muse hearts Fidel

I first started reading Jessica's blog just because i found the name clever. I stuck around cause i found her quirky.Then I gave her acamera,for me that's a big deal.Just giving away one of my cameras.I guess it was because i once discovered we were at the Getty Garden on the same day and took a picture of the same plant,her photo turned out better then mine .So I liked her right away.
She gave me this answer when I asked her to answer some questions....

"I have to admit that I don't completely identify with the term "artist." I usually call myself a designer, even when the work I do isn't commercial but purely for myself. I guess it may have something to do with the fact that I don't often create art for art's sake. Most of my work, even if it isn't functional, is created for a specific purpose."




Do you have a collection?
I wouldn't call it a collection, but I'm attempting to organize my work into some sort of logical format, a portfolio perhaps is a more accurate term.

Where is your favorite place to create?
In my bedroom.

What is your favorite building?
I love the Eames house in Pacific Palisades. I find it endlessly inspiring.

What do you need to create art?
Cameras, lots of them. I always have at least one on hand. My favorites are my Holga and Polaroid, and right now I'm trying to master my new pinhole. Sadly, I also need my laptop. Even if my work starts out handmade, most everything winds up in digital format in the end.

What's your favorite piece of art hanging in your house right now?
I'm in the process of a move, so most of my art is in storage, but I had to hold onto a silkscreened Chihuahua print by Albert Reyes, and I just received a new print from Camilla Engman that I adore.

Do you collaborate with others?
I try to. Most of the time I feel like I'm working in a vacuum. But I also consider my clients to be collaborators.

Do you work on more then one piece at a time?
Totally. Usually three or four. It may be a product of my short attention span.

Do you share your work with others before it is finished?
It depends on the piece. If I'm stuck and need inspiration/feeback I'll share. But sometimes an idea hits and the piece just falls together on it's own.

Do you listen to music while you're working?
If so what? I try to listen to music to snap myself out of pure work mode. Kings of Convenience, His Name Is Alive, Jose Gonzalez and Mates of States are current favorites.

If you could be commissioned by anyone who would it be and what would you create for them?
The ultimate would be a textile design/fashion collaboration with Karl Lagerfeld or Marc Jacobs.

How do you know when something is finished?
When the deadline hits!

What or who influences your work?
For the what, definitely conceptual art, minimal art, photography, illustration, craft and the look of the handmade, mid-century architecture and furniture design, organizational systems. For the who, Robert Smithson, Sol Lewitt, On Kawara, Mel Bochner. Paul Rand is unforgettable. As far as contemporaries, Stefan Sagmeister is a constant inspiration and an icon, and I'm really excited by the work that Tamara Shopsin is doing. I'm really drawn to work with a very subtle sense of humor.

What is your favorite museum, gallery, place to see art and why?
I love JUNC gallery and Sixspace in Los Angeles. And the Museum of Contemporary Art. But the best is still MOMA in New York.

What has been the most unique thing you've used to create art with?
Right now I'm working on a project where I'm attempting to make the typography out of salt, which is proving to be challenging and interesting.

What do you wish your art tasted like?
Cotton candy.

We interupt..

I have a small side business (childrens photography)hey,whatever pays the bills sometimes right.
I need new business cards.Of course I would rather not shell out a bunch of money to have someone do designs for me (hey, I am freelance you know).I would rather do a trade,a swap a barter system type thing.Come on,there has to be someone out there who can do something simple and childreny, is that a word? In return I can swap something, maybe art,maybe dinner,maybe I can take some photos for you!..


or not,just rambling, I'll get back to posting my mini interviews.

Merbird Sings

Meadow lives and works in Portland. She currently is in the woods,making food.

Do you have a collection?

a collection of rocks, sticks and feathers: yes.

a collection of art: yes.
the most that i've ever paid for art:
20 dollars. most is due to gift or trade.

Where is your favorite place to create?

as i don't have the luxury of studio space,
i usually spread out all over the floor.

What is your favorite building?

i like architects more than buildings.

If you could have invented anything ,what would it have been/or be?

technology is an anathema to me. i'd rather uninvent a few things.

Name three things you would like to do before you die?

1)travel to germany.
2)roadtrip on a vintage vespa.
3)open a co-operatively owned community arts/healing center

What do you need to create art?

The spontaneous urge. If I plan anything too much
it seems to tangle my creativity. The free time
is hard to find while being in graduate school.
Luckily, I find ways to weave art into
everyday things.

What's your favorite piece of art hanging in your house right now?

my own art: the series of undergarments i made
from sewing together torn-up pages of my old diaries
that are now functioning as a lampshades throughout the house.
other folks art: miniature owl drawings in gold frames by my friend, L'art.

Do you collaborate with others?

Yes, in fact, right now, I'm in the process of gathering
experimental soundtracks which will be the inspiration for
spontaneous performance art in the near future.
I love the idea of connecting folks who might
otherwise never be connected.

Do you work on more then one piece at a time?

Indeed, I do.
I also complete a lot of things spontaneously,
in a single sitting.

Do you share your work with others before it is finished?

I find that when I am about ready to abandon something,
if I share it with a friend, they usually have a clearer
eye to see its redeemable qualities.
And then, there are those friends that tell you
the truth when something is worth letting go of.

Do you listen to music while you're working? If so what?

Yes, but it depends on my mood.

If you could be commissioned by anyone who would it be and what would you create for them?

I know it sounds silly, but i'd like to make circus costumes.

If you could commission anyone to do art for you, who would it be?

I'd like to gather some permaculture artists to revamp my yard.

How do you know when something is finished?

My body and mind feel lighter.

What or who influences your work?

Nature. Dreams. Everyday experiences.

If you could curate a group exhibition of any artists since the dawn of time, who would you include and why?

I don't know how to answer this question.

What is your favorite museum, gallery, place to see art and why?

Lately I've been thinking about how the fine art world has completed
removed the tradition of folk art, the need to create art in order
to create community bonding, for spiritual ritual, for cultural
preservation--not just the preservation of the elite and
educated. I sound like some kind of reverse snob,
but I suppose I am most touched by art in the
immediate environment that is entirely incidental,
spontaneous, anonymous, evidence that the creative
process is alive at all moments all around us in the ordinary.

What has been the most unique thing you've used to create art with?

Ladybugs.

What do you wish your art tasted like?

Non-sweetened habiscus tea with lemon.
In other words, tart and straight to the point.
But also, hot cocoa with cinnamon,
warm, romantic and sweet.