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

“GOOD LUCK”
AN EXHIBITION of COASTAL WELL WISHES
FOR A MORE PROMISING TOMORROW

by SCOTT PATT

Corduroy
(Mezzanine Gallery)
Portland, Maine
Opening Reception: Friday, April 2nd, 6 – 9pm

Please join Scott Patt for an exhibition of new paintings and sculptures at the Corduroy Gallery and Boutique in Portland, Maine – Friday April 2nd from 6pm – 9pm. This exhibition will run from April 2nd – April 30th, 2010.

“Good Luck” is a collection of new works by Scott Patt that explores self-determination within the physical and spiritual characteristics of luck and it’s relationship to ideologies in contemporary culture.

Luck has long been used to justify fortunes both good and bad, explain the unexplainable, accept that which is unchangeable and rationalize what is deserved. “Good Luck” the exhibition imagines a life relegated to nothing but chance: the uncontrollable, relentless and unbiased eye of fate as the decider. It is a modern shrine to hope, congregated by personalized objects of reverence, symbol and satire.

“Good luck” reflects deeply on Scott’s early life in Pennsylvania. Traditional Pennsylvania German Hex signs used to ward off evil and bring good luck are hybridized in new paintings and sculptures with his own symbology in adoration of surfing, it’s culture and the eastern shores. As well, common items from his Pennsylvania youth like cutting boards and paddles have been re-appropriated as canvases and further steeped in meaning carrying the message of good luck as it relates to religious, sexual and political imagery. Scott further explores the connotations of luck and it’s relationship to fate and sacrifice through his lucky rabbit’s foot sculpture series.

Scott Patt is an artist whose work is informed by the big pitch, by the aesthetics of communication and its multivalent layers in our physical environments – urban and rural. Inspired by the art of the Pennsylvania Dutch and post pop consumerism with its primary colors and promises of a healthier tomorrow, he was born in Allentown PA at the confluence of past greats – steel town and country idyll. His paintings and installations have been shown around the world—from Japan, Amsterdam to Portland and New York in spaces ranging from alternative storefronts to museums. He’s been shown at PICA and the Portland Museum of Art as well as galleries like McCaig-Welles, Motel, Cedar Crest College and Compound. He’s been a body builder, missionary, surfer, strip club sketch artist and creative director at some of those companies making those pitches and promises.

For more information please contact:

Tyler Briggs
http://www.corduroyboutique.com

corduroy
59 market street
portland, maine 04101
207.347.3545