Collaboration

"Little Big Creatures" 2011, by Guin and Durwin

This past weekend, the Illustration Club at ECUAD (ILL’N Club) put on a skatedeck show. 125 boards later, an amazing show is hung at The Fall Gallery. To participate in this show, Guin and I pulled together a joint deck (there weren’t enough boards to go around so we repurposed one). Sufficed to say, drawing and painting monsters made for a great weekend.

And so, we got to thinking of the merits of collaboration. All of these students got together to put on one helluva show. Guin and I collaborate all the time in art and in teaching. So what's the common theme?

For me it's about vision. As long as the vision is strong, even if people are working at different ends of the creative spectrum, then it's unified. These 125 students come from different points of creative view. Painting and drawing were a big part of the show. But so were sprinkles (the stuff found on ice cream sundaes), carving and pyrography (burning images onto the wooden boards). For creative folks, this was exciting.

For Guin and I, we always get the question: how do you guys work together without killing each other? Unless I am a ghost typing on this computer, then we never resorted to murder to get our work out there. We understand that collaboration isn't about sharing an idea, it's about both of us making the most of an idea. The final vision is greater than our individual vision. Creativity does not have to be a lonely journey to create art. If an idea is a great idea, it can encompass hundreds of people giving their best. Art is, after all, about realizing ideas, making ideas manifest.

But for the record, Guin concepted, penciled, and painted flats. I painted the details and inked the board. We both ate the Mentos.

If you are in the Vancouver area, visit the show (it'll be up until January)! The Fall Gallery (and Tattoo), 644 Seymour Street, Vancouver, BC V6B 3K4


The show opening, Nov. 19th, 2011 (Photo by Seth Rutledge)


We were also able to "hang out" with Jaime Anderson's board. Hers is the one with the fox. (Photos by Roberta Chang)

Inspiration: Studio Songs

Art and music go hand in hand. A couple of weeks ago, Portishead visited Vancouver. Since they don’t step outside of Europe often, this was a must see event! To do the series “Bonds,” Portishead was playing on CD, vinyl and ipod nonstop during the creation of this comic (it was the aural equivalent of the art). Beth Gibbons even shows up in the dedication for Issue 2!

Together, we compiled a list of artists that always seem to be on repeat in our studio:

1. Portishead
2. Tom Petty
3. Neutral Milk Hotel
4. Sufjan Stevens
5. Cake
6. Be Good Tanyas
7. Wailing Jennys
8. Belle and Sebastian
9. Dire Straits
10. Tegan and Sara

There are many more that are not included here, but these seem to be the most played. Our tastes tend to overlap a lot (Portishead, NMH, Be Good Tanyas, Cake), and can be at odds with each other (Dire Straits, Belle and Sebastian) but it's mostly harmonious around the studio. (Pun intended.) And why Rush and Beck don't appear on this list is beyond us.

So we got thinking... What are the artists that stay on repeat on the iPod in your studio?