Knowing you customized your van “Vanpira” for the trip, can you explain what you did ?
Haha, oh the van. We bought a ’98 Chevy 1500 full size van – 6 cylinder to try and save on some gas. It’s one of those after market conversion vans, so it came with the fiberglass roof which gives you an extra 2 feet or so of head room on the inside – something I was intent on finding. I gutted the whole thing down to the metal carcass, then piece by piece starting installing some camper amenities. One whole side is cabinet and closet space, with a sink, a stove, and one of our solar lamps. Inside the cabinet there’s a car battery, which is charged by the solar panel mounted to the roof. We use this at night to charge our cell phones, lap tops, and run the ventilation fan I installed in the roof. I put in a futon seat which folds out into our bed. I left room for surfboard storage about the cabinet space. All the little extras include wood door panels, faux wood vinyl flooring, felt ceiling, rope trim around the windows, and Michelle (my wife) sewed all the curtains, pillows, and quilts. It was a beast of a project. The original plan was to sell when we get home, but I’ve grown attached to the ol’ gal, so I may make some tweaks and turn this thing into less of a living space and more a straight up surf van. We’ll see.

What have been some of the high and lows of the trip so far?
High point of the trip was Marfa, Texas. Amaaaaaazing place! A low point… I dunno there haven’t been many low points at all…

Traveling cross country can be crazy.. whats on the playlist and are you guys singing some family Griswald singalongs or what?
Michelle and I seem to have very little patience for music lately. I dunno why, I just think there hasn’t been anything to get me excited for a long time. We listen to a lot of podcasts.

Food has been a big part of your trip too.. got any A1 places you would recommend to folks?
The Shed in Biloxi, Mississippi! The Kogi Korean taco truck in Venice! And Zuni’s in Savannah, Georgia!

You worked for Converse pretty much straight out of RISD. How has the transition been leaving corporate america and running your own show?
It’s been trying at times, but definitely rewarding. It may still be too early to judge how things will work out, but I hope to keep working this way for some time. So far, I wouldn’t change anything at all about the decisions I’ve made.

Do you have any tips for anyone else out there trying to do the same thing?
Don’t get discouraged! There’s gonna be a lot of disappointment, a lot of opportunities that don’t pan out: it’s all par for the course. If you’re lucky, things take off right away, but more often than not, it’s going to take time and patience. Persistence really is key.

I can’t avoid the obvious question of the Crayon Rings… Whats up with them? How did that come about and how are doing?
The rings were done for an exhibit at The Future Perfect which had the theme of “color.” They’re doing really well. There are people out there still discovering them for the first time and falling in love. It’s been a little more than a year and a half that I’ve been doing the rings, but I still get a kick out of seeing them make people smile.

Radio Raheem wants to know… Will be ever see a 4 finger crayon ring? !
There will at least be a 2 finger ring in the near future.

Where do you see yourself 5 years from now?
Jeez, in five years I’ll be 32. If I had to guess, Michelle will be working as a lawyer somewhere in Cali and I’ll still be settling in to the west coast art scene, more than likely. I’d like to teach someday. That’s the long term goal I’m starting to work on right now.

Timothys work can be seen here.
The tour blog can be seen here.

How was the recent show you had in NYC and can you talk about the collection of work you showed?
The show in NYC was great! I exhibited with a TON of other designers at “Cite goes America” (CITE gallery) which was a satellite show to the ICFF. The collection I sent is called “New New England.” It’s a trio of pieces which were brought to realization through collaboration with local craftspeople in and around New Hampshire.

What is the inspiration behind the collection?
The inspiration is very simply New England aesthetic. The materials, forms, colors, and function are all relevant to the area I’ve been living in and mostly ignoring for the last ten years. It took moving up to Portsmouth from Boston to realize that there are very special things in this region, things I could draw from in order to make new things.

How has it been working with outside folks?
A big part of the collaboration with these craftsmen entails outsourcing production to them. I’m a bit of a control freak, any designer is really, so it’s been difficult to let go a little and allow them to wrap up the details. But having more sets of eyes on things and of course their mastery of their crafts has been great. Challenging but rewarding. That said, I think my next group of work will find itself produced by my hands in my basement.

Are there any other designers out there would would like to collaborate with?
There are lots of other designers I’d love to collaborate with, but there’s really no one up in New Hampshire! It’s just too difficult to maintain a working relationship over email and get stuff done efficiently. Some names though: my buddy from RISD Garrett Brooks, I love Stanley Ruiz‘s work, and a more of fantasy collaboration I have would be with… Nickelodeon or something.

Are you currently working on new pieces to add to your current collection of work?
I’m in the planning stages right now to come out with some follow-up pieces. Some stuff that my be less… cost-prohibitive. One of them I’ll be working on during a week long residency at a museum in NYC – more info on that in the coming months.

If you could be any piece of furniture, what would you be and why?
Haha. A coat rack. So I could hide under some coats and eavesdrop on people’s conversations.

Stay tuned…!

I am currently in the process of working on a surfboard collaboration with a small company
out of the UK called EMPIRE.
Steve the owner, reached out to me after my show @ Corduroy in Portland. He said he liked my work and I suggested we try working together on a project. Once we really get this rolling I will be sure to post the process. I’m super stoked on this one.

I mentioned interviews too. Some years back ago my wife Jennifer and I, along with 4 other friends started a gallery. We had a great time and took great pleasure in running Visual Research. Anyway, long story short.. I want to start working on an idea that is similar to that. I want to write and support the arts and artist who I admire, enjoy and in some cases know. So… please be patient… but there will be some post coming. 1st and foremost I really want to highlight a few folks that have influenced me over the past few years. Timothy Liles, hes a good friend, surfer, designer and all around good guy. He is currently on tour in his van with his girl and dog. I will be sure to post this as soon as possible.

So yeah… thats it for now.. for updates.. I am really going to be pushing myself to keep up on it. I would love for this to be a place for inspiration and creativity.

Here is one shot of Tims current work.. more to follow soon.. I swear.

SHOW DATES:
May 22 – June 12, 2010
Opening Reception May 22, 7PM

LOCATION:
THE GOWANUS STUDIO SPACE
166 7th street,
Brooklyn, NY 11215

ARTISTS INCLUDE:
SCOTT ALBRECHT
SARA ANTOINETTE
RJ CALABRESE
DAMIEN CORRELL
MATTHEW DE LEON
MARTINA FUGAZZATTO
DAMIAN GENUARDI
ANDREW KEIPER
IAN KUALI’I
JESSE LEDOUX
ABE LINCOLN JR.
BLAKE E. MARQUIS
GARRETT MORIN
LV RUIZ
MALENA SELDIN
DAMION SILVER
ERIC SMITH
DAVE TRAWIN
KAIN VUONG
GROVER WATTS
CHRISTINE YOUNG

Opening Reception May 22, 7PM
SHOW DATES:
May 22 – June 12, 2010

ARTISTS INCLUDE:
SCOTT ALBRECHT
SARA ANTOINETTE
RJ CALABRESE
DAMIEN CORRELL
MATTHEW DE LEON
MARTINA FUGAZZATTO
DAMIAN GENUARDI
ANDREW KEIPER
IAN KUALI’I
JESSE LEDOUX
ABE LINCOLN JR.
BLAKE E. MARQUIS
GARRETT MORIN
LV RUIZ
MALENA SELDIN
DAMION SILVER
ERIC SMITH
DAVE TRAWIN
KAIN VUONG
GROVER WATTS
CHRISTINE YOUNG

LOCATION:
THE GOWANUS STUDIO SPACE
166 7th street,
Brooklyn, NY 11215
www.GowanusStudio.org
www.thisisprocess.com

The Distillery Gallery and OverKill Studio announce the second edition of “Paint it Now,” an exhibit which brings together practicing artists of varied backgrounds to examine the complexity of the nature of painting today.

The critically-acclaimed first edition of “Paint it Now” in August of 2008 included “a giant black-and-white mural by all the artists, bubbling with pop characters such as Alfred E. Neuman and rolling with dark undertones,” (Cate McQuaide, Boston Globe). The 2010 version will expand upon the two-wall mural concept, bringing the collaborative painting installation through the entire gallery space. The “black paint on white walls” parameters of the first exhibit remain intact, helping to blur lines between individual contributions, resulting in a more cohesive and unified final piece.

OverKill’s Thomas Buildmore and Morgan Thomas have again teamed-up with Distillery Gallery Director, Scott Chasse, to curate the exhibit, as well as contribute to it, though much of the work will transpire via interaction between artists as imagery organically unfolds throughout the two-week installation period. “Paint it Now” examines what it means to emerging painters to create in the contemporary arena. As Buildmore stated in a 2008 interview with The Boston Phoenix, “It’s a collision of all of the different influences we draw from. It’s like bringing all of art history right to the surface.”

The exhibit boasts a roster of over twenty artists from Boston, NYC, and Philadelphia:
Royce Bannon, Buildmore, EL Celso, Scott Chasse, DarkClouds, Bob Davies, Delve, Josh Falk, Jessica Hess, Mitchell Kehe, Keely, Enamel Kingdom, Rob Larsen, Kenji Nakayama, Nineta, Nose Go, Damion Silver, John Skibo, Skript, Morgan Thomas, Dana Woulfe, and Nick Z

“Paint it Now” is being made possible with generous support from Artist & Craftsman Supply, Proletariat, The Franklin Southie, and Narragansett Beer.

Please join us for the opening reception on Friday, March 19th, 7-10pm.

The Distillery Gallery is located on the first floor of The Distillery artist’s building in South Boston. This unique public display space is committed to highlighting Distillery-based artists, Boston area artists, and invited guests. For more information about the gallery and The Distillery building, please visit: www.gallery.distilleryboston.com