Craig Schilling

Name: Craig Schilling
Website: Beardedwood.com

What do you do?
 I grab pallets from dumpsters and turn them into centerpieces for your living room

Where can we find your work?
Your neighbors living room or at Beardedwood.com

What inspires you to create and how do you keep motivated when things get tough?
I love the two part question- crappy mass produced ikea coffee tables inspire me/ thinking that I have an opportunity to make people smile each time they walk into their house keeps me MOTIVATED.

What do you think is more important content/finished product or technique/process?
Finished product holds my attention / process stirs my mind.

Who are some people who influence and/or inspire you?
Roy Johnson at johnsonartstudio.com for his leadership, dedication, & his strength to never give up when the chips are down.

If you could be any fictional character who would you be?
George  Costanza

When do you get your best ideas?
Driving home Friday night with a hatchback full of skids.

What materials/tools do you use most to create your work?
 Wooden pallets that you've thrown away.

Are you self taught or formally educated? How do you think that has influenced or affected your work?
100% self taught = no boundaries

What would your creative work taste like?
Pulpy.

When you are not creating what do you like to do?
Walk down to the bridge with my 2 year old son.

How did you learn to access your creative talents and gain the confidence to put it out there for everyone to experience?
 I'm still not sure.

What advice would you give others just beginning their creative adventures?
 "The path to success is to take massive determined action" Tony Robbins

Mark Damrel

Name:  Mark Damrel
Website:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/mark_damrel/

What do you do?
During the day I work in architecture.  I basically draw lines and solve complex problems with various computer programs.  At night I make a mess of my garage with paint, ink and wood dust.  I basically try to create art that I enjoy.

Where can we find your work?
Most of my artwork can be found in my garage, at Kaleid gallery, or on my flickr site.  My architectural work for various firms can be seen sprinkled around the bay area. 

What inspires you to create and how do you keep motivated when things get tough?
Everyday things inspire my work.  Traffic, road rage, bad food at lunch, work issues, home issues, having kids, and living in San Jose could be inspirations.  Drawing , or building stuff helps when things get tough.  Like, if I have a crappy day at work, art is an escape.  Although creativity is somewhat required in architecture the truth is about 15% of architecture work is creativity, and the other 85% is tedium and problem solving.  Art is like anti-work for me.

What do you think is more important content/finished product or technique/process?
For me the process is the most fun and therefore the most important.  The actual making of whatever is where the time flies and you learn and explore.  Finishing it means I’m done.  Content sometimes transforms based on the process.  I am loose with content.  Sometimes I have a solid idea that I want to see through a small series or something, but usually the meaning takes shape through time and layers.

Who are some people who influence and/or inspire you?
I’m inspired by my wife and kids, my extended family and friends.  In both fields I’m inspired by so much work that is happening right now around the world that it’s a hard question to simplify.

If you could be any fictional character who would you be?
Phileas Fogg, because I don’t travel nearly as much as I’d like to.

When do you get your best ideas?
Usually at night when unwinding.

What materials/tools do you use most to create your work?
Wood, glue, acrylic paint, ink, pencils, paper, matte medium, spray paint, watercolor, gouache, it’s all fair game.  I dabble in all but master in none.

Are you self taught or formally educated? How do you think that has influenced or affected your work?
I have a BFA in interior design from San Jose State.  In order to get that I took a few art classes like color theory and 2d design which I really enjoyed.  I’ve taken a couple semesters in architectural rendering, which was cool as well.  I learned some technique in those classes.  Most of the ways I use my supplies these days would probably make my past instructors cringe.  One of the biggest things I took away from school was to draw all the time, fill up sketch books.  I also sketch a lot at work to discuss ideas with coworkers. 

What would your creative work taste like?
Salty and crispy.

When you are not creating what do you like to do?
I like to relax with family, hang out at the park, read books to my little girls and eat way too much.

How did you learn to access your creative talents and gain the confidence to put it out there for everyone to experience?
I was working for a firm in San Francisco and at lunch I would walk around SOMA looking at buildings feeling inspired by a lot of the graffiti. I remember being at my desk after lunch one day sketching something for work and thinking – I’m going to start painting tonight. So I went home and pulled together my dusty art supplies to see what I had that wasn’t all dried out and made a list of what I needed.  Then I went to the art store to buy some new brushes and paint, and came home and started painting at night.  That was 2006, and I’ve been doing it semi-regularly ever since.  I don’t do graffiti by the way, but I love it and am inspired by it. I don’t do it because I’m scared of heights and have crappy can skills for now.

What advice would you give others just beginning their creative adventures?
Be yourself and make what you enjoy.

                                     

Kori Thompson

Name: Kori Thompson
Website: www.korithompson.net

What do you do?
Paint on things mostly on wood and canvas.

Where can we find your work?
You can find my work at Psycho Donuts and always at Kaleid Gallery, where I am currently in a group show called "Exquisite Corpse" and just wrapped up my solo show there last month. I also have group shows at The Usuals in San Jose on July 27th, The Uptown in Oakland on August 3rd and Modern Eden Gallery in San Francisco on August 11th. For more details and to see more of my work you can check out  www.korithompson.net

What inspires you to create and how do you keep motivated when things get tough?
I try to do something everyday. If I'm not painting, I'm doing some kind of research, sketch, or outline. I'm always thinking about the next thing or project. I feel like I can punch, or work my way out of any situation with my art. Hopefully that work ethic resonates and comes through in my paintings. 

What do you think is more important content/finished product or technique/process?  
I feel they go hand in hand. The process is all mine. It's why I do what I do. I feel like I'm almost addicted to it. The finished product is exactly that, what everyone see. 

Who are some people who influence and/or inspire you?
I'm inspired by my kids Francesca and Logan. My Grandfather, Grandmother, myMom, my Great Grandparents, and my wife Andrea who is always pushing me to get out in the garage and finish painting while she is wrangling the kids up. 

I'm influenced or really enjoy the work of Hunter S. Thompson, Carmine Infantino, Stan Lee, Steve Ditko, Jim and Jimbo Phillips, Akira Kurosawa, George Lucas, Quentin Tarantino, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Vincent vanGogh, Lucian Freud, Erik Larsen and James Robinson.

If you could be any fictional character who would you be?
I love this question! Such a hard decision. I could go with Indiana Jones, Snake Plissken, Green Lantern, Han Solo or Spider-Man. Maybe a mix of them all! Ha! I think I'd lean more towards Spidey because of my love comicbooks and the character.

When do you get your best ideas?
When I least suspect it. So I always sketch or write them down. 

What materials/tools do you use most to create your work?
Ticonderoga #2's, canvas or wood, acrylic paint and brushes. 

Are you self taught or formally educated? How do you think that has influenced or affected your work?
I took some classes from Henry Asencio and Sagi Erez which really helped me out and showed me a lot and set me in the right direction.

What would your creative work taste like?
Sushi washed down with the best beer you've ever had.

When you are not creating what do you like to do?
Spend time with my family, read comicbooks, watch movies and listen to music. Maybe a round of golf if I can fit it in!? 

How did you learn to access your creative talents and gain the confidence to put it out there for everyone to experience?
Always doing something drawing, painting. Staying productive and positive.

What advice would you give others just beginning their creative adventures? 
Don't stop! Don't make excuses that you're too tired or don't have the time. If you want to truly do something, you will no matter what.