You run Design is Kinky, publish EMPTY Magazine as well as organise the Semi-Permanent design events. Do you find time for anything else?
People often ask me this, but the fact is that I have a fair bit of free time. This is mainly due to the events and magazine only happening a handful of times a year. So I get busy for a few weeks every now and then and then have time to do other things. It’s not a bad way to work. I’d hate to be busy every day.

We see that Semi Permanent Sydney’s line up of speakers has been announced, with Melbourne’s Tin & Ed, Craig Schuftan, T Magazine as well as international speakers like Jasper Goodall, Jill Greenberg & Jessica Hische. What do you hope the attendees of this year’s event will take away with them?
All we ever really hope is that people enjoy themselves and leave feeling inspired. That is what the event is all about, inspiration, so as long as people are inspired then we’ve done our job. If they get more from it than that, such as a bit of education or direction in their careers, then that’s great.

How have you seen Semi-Permanent develop over the years?
I think the event has developed a lot behind-the-scenes in the organisation. It’s become a lot smoother to run as we have learnt from our mistakes. This is reflected at the event by things, usually, running very smoothly but i’m not sure people would really notice it. Which means we are doing things right. The event that the audience sees hasn’t changed all that much really. The format works well, so we have never really felt the urge to make many changes.

In regards to your Magazine, EMPTY (which quite possibly has the shortest masthead of any magazine I have ever read), have you noticed a difference between work you find personally stimulating and the issues that sell better or are they generally one and the same?
They are one and the same. Everything that goes into Empty is personally chosen by me, and my only real way to choose is by putting in things I like. Almost every image is placed in the mag because I like it. It’s really the only way I know how to do it. After all, i don’t know what other people like so I have to choose from my own taste. It’s thankfully worked pretty well so far though and people seem to like the art in the magazine.

One thing I find difficult with Australian Edge is deciding what work should stay out. In the end it comes down to my personal tastes, which I worry may have a discriminate bias to what we publish. Do you ever publish work that you personally do not like? If so what criteria do you follow before you publish a creative’s work?
I pretty much answered this in the question above. One thing i will say though is that you should really never put something into any personal project you run that you don’t like. If you do then you will begin to dislike your own project and it will lose the integrity that you want it to have. I think it’s that integrity that people like in projects like Australian Edge and the things we do. The media has very little integrity or soul these days so we always try to make sure we don’t lose our own morals amongst all the crap that’s going on out there.

What do you find the most challenging out of all your ventures?
I think the week or two leading up to any Semi-Permanent event is the most challenging time. It’s when the stress levels rocket up and it all starts to get a little scary as there are so many things that could go wrong and you always have a niggling doubt that you forgot something. Thankfully we’ve been ok and have had no major disasters (touch wood) but it can still be very stressful. My business partner on Semi-Permanent, Murray Bell and I always seem calm on the outside, but inside we are usually freaking out.

In your time promoting designers and artists, have there been any standouts that you have kept an eye on over the years?
The main person is San Francisco based artist, Tiffany Bozic. I was always a massive fan and so we invited her to speak in 2007. I was actually a bit nervous when i first met her, which never usually happens, but she was so nice and cool that we became instant friends. I’ve hung out with her and her husband a few times in San Francisco and LA and am the proud owner of a few of her artworks.

What are you reading/watching/listening to/browsing at the moment?
I’m reading an account of World War I by an Aussie digger called ‘Over the Top‘. Amazing stories that really bring into perspective how good we have it these days. I’m watching TV show 30 Rock. It’s awesome. Listening to Sage Francis, a hip hop guy somewhere in the US. Hip Hop is not really my style but there’s something about his stuff that I just love. Browsing theworldsbestever.com

Where do you find inspiration (outside of design is kinky)?
I find i’m less inspired by art these days and more by history and nature. I’m more inspired by stories of amazing historic events and also nature documentaries and that type of thing than I am by art and design these days. I’m not sure that it influences what I do though.

Any advice for younger designers entering the industry?
Having taken a different path to the usual work-for-someone type job I guess i’d just say that if you have a passion for art and design then make it a large part of your life rather than just a 9-5 thing. If you do that then you’ll find you enjoy yourself more and that building your own business or project will come quicker.

Links:
semipermanent.com
designiskinky.net
emptymag.com

What have you been up to lately?
I’ve been busy painting on bits of old cut up wood, putting them all together like a type of puzzle and framing them. I guess by painting on old found wood it’s very similiar to graffiti as its ephemeral and will fade over time. Aswell as the odd stickers here and there I’ve also finished a little colouring book zine.

What do you think were some of the more stronger influences that helped shape your own particular style?
I’m influenced by African tribal work, trippy patterns and intricate detailing. I have an appreciation for these works as you know that a lot of time went into creating them. I also enjoy working with wood textures as I think its more interesting than a white background.

You are involved in Mixtape Gallery’s “Give Way” exhibition. What can we expect to see from you and the others at the exhibition?
I have two new works in this show, one a framed wooden puzzle piece with a couple characters and a set of boat oar heads.

Your latest magazine “The Lonesome crowded west” will be available on the night. What can we expect?
This zine is just a collection of little drawings from the past month and it’s only a couple of pages. I’ve called it a colouring book but im not sure anyone will actually be colouring all the little triangles and weed leaves.

Do you have a favourite artist, or artists?
No, I don’t think I do but there are a few Perth people who are painting some real nice walls at the moment.

What are you reading/watching/listening to/browsing at the moment?
M.Ward, Method Man, Modest Mouse.

What can we expect to see from you in the future?
More walls and trying to work on this big wooden installation which is taking way too long. Oh and travelling.

Where do you find inspiration?
Can I say drugs?

Links:
sam-knest.blogspot.com

What are you working on at the moment?
As usual the studio has a multitude of different projects – a glance at the projects file tells me that we’re doing some re-branding for a faculty of Monash University, a brochure for a musical ensemble, a book cover, some web work for a dentist, some research documents for RMIT University etc.. We normally work on between 10-15 commercial projects at a time. That sounds a lot but they are always in various stages of approval etc. The core projects this year however are studio-led. We are researching and writing a book at the moment (still under wraps) as well as doing a typographic art project for a City council. It’s a particularly exciting year of projects.

What are you reading/watching/listening to/browsing at the moment?
Reading – The History of Love by Nicola Krauss.
Listening – Music for Airports by Brian Eno. I’ve been re-buying a lot of ambient music from 25 years ago.
Browsing – ilovetypography.com and Brand New

Where did your passion for typography stem from?
A love of language – and how to play with it. Going right back the kind of comedies I liked as a kid – The Two Ronnies etc. It’s a finely tuned instrument that can be multilayered, viewed from all directions ect. Typography just happens to be its visual manifestation and so it’s this that I’ve pursued. It is a very joyous thing to do. It’s a little known secret that I still whistle on my way to work every morning.

Reading your site we know that you understandably don’t like to be asked what your favourite fonts are, we were however curious to know if you think there are any underrated fonts out there that haven’t had the exposure they might deserve?
Yes, with the incredible number of fonts being produced now there are bound to be some that are forgotten along the way. Sometimes they deserve this of course. But what most interests me are the fonts that spend their time in the wilderness, in the shade, once celebrated and now forgotten. To see Herb Lubalin’s lettering or faces like Bookman, Clearface or Souvenir re-emerge is really interesting. It takes a generation to come along and see them with fresh eyes. The lagtime is normally about 20 years or so – so we’ll see students engage with the early emigré faces soon. Strange but true.

Layout from Qwerty 1

We noticed your ‘Death to Helvetica’ Tshirt in your store. Is that really how you guys feel about Helvetica?
That’s an old, long and complex story. Best covered in the very well researched article by James Button.

Is there a place in this world for Comic Sans?
Yes. What it was meant for; a computer game for kids. Never to be let out again.

Do you think there are typical characteristics to Australian graphic design that stand out as being unique?
This is an issue I’ve been thinking (and writing) about for a long time now. But ultimately it’s a bit like sleep – if you try too hard it will always be elusive and frustrating. Just enjoy the ride and then maybe look back after 20, 30 or even 50 years. Besides, just what it is to be gained by pinpointing it or describing it?

What advice would you have to younger designers entering the industry?
Like the last question, just relax and enjoy the ride. Don’t swallow the stupid stereotype that you have to be a ’star’ by the time you’re 21. That keeps the field of graphic design infantile as well as burning out some very talented people.

Links you recommend:
preserve.co.nz
typenesting.tumblr.com
nicksherman.com/design/Intercut

Link:
letterbox.net.au

What have you been up to lately?
Right at this moment, I’m in ‘exile’, in Jakarta, Indonesia, to be with my family, and so I can concentrate on doing my short film (based on the digital painting ‘Dusk’).

At the same time, I’m remote-directing a logo animation project with my partner Mungo Horey. (We go under the name ‘SELF’). Mungo’s in Melbourne, I’m in Jakarta, and the entire production team is in London! It’s not ideal, but after many revisions, that’s what the final schedule dictates, and we’ve booked this trip away from London for a year now.

So we did as much pre-prod stuff as we could before leaving: rough animatic, design plus key discussions with the team and clients. But production wasn’t scheduled to begin until last week, and we left London in mid-December. Crazy!

ABC3 concepts (with Mungo Horey)

You are currently based in London, but reading your bio on your site we read you are off to north and south america as well. Is this part of a grand master plan to conquer all the worlds of design, or just for the hell of it?
Hahaha, no, such thing!! The main reason is my curiosity at how things work in different parts of the world. Fellow authors on Motionographer have been sharing such varied production stories. That’s made me want to ’see it for myself’ so to speak. The American production model is very different to those in Australia or the UK.

I’m also a travel addict, and our industry is one of the few in which your skills is transferable across geographical boundaries. I’ve wanted to travel around the world since I left uni, and now, 7 years later, I get to do it. And what’s better than earning your cash while on the move by doing what you love to do? (Plus I have no hospitality skills whatsoever–I’ve spilled too many drinks as it is, and am always mixing up my orders).

But it seems now I won’t really get to work much in the Americas. I would still like to, but Visa is one hindrance, another is I am getting a fair bit of remote work from American studios as it is.  Styleframes (which is mostly what they hire me for) are very fast-turnaround gigs. 5 days tops, mostly 3 days. Whereas to travel and work in a city/region, ideally you’d need at least a month-long gig per location. Gives you time to soak up the city, not too long, not too short.

How have you found London so far?
Another reason why I won’t get to work much in the Americas–work’s been good in London. I arrived at a really bad time, actually: in September 2008. By late November, recession’s kicked in, and shops close for Christmas/New Years anyway. The quiet period lasted well into the start of 2009, but thankfully, around springtime things seemed to pick up. Then sometime around mid 2009, we hooked up with a new representation company called Light Parade. We met the lady who runs it, Charlotte Loynes. We decided to give it a shot, and eventually started to work on this one long project that I’m not allowed to reveal yet, and finding the experience very rewarding. We’re very new to this, and the learning curve has been quite steep, but we love every bit of it.

On the travel side of it, I hated London at first, what with the oppressive gray skies, compared to the openness of Australian landscape. I got really homesick for Melbourne once, but eventually I started to see the beauty of London–the layered history visible in the buildings and the city layout. Plus how cheap it is to get to the rest of Europe and North Africa from there! Food is still a downer in London, and I love eating out–but the upside is you get to save your hard-earned pounds by eating at home most of the time.

Client: Mastercard

"Dusk" detail, Personal project

Client: Trident

You have a quite broad and impressive range of clients and work under your belt so far, from MTV, Mastercard, 5Gum and Kmart. How did you find these opportunities?
Mostly through cold-calling/emailing. I try to aim for studios that have similar approach in work/aesthetic as what I like doing. That seems to work quite well.  One job would lead to another, and one contact would lead to many. That doesn’t mean I don’t experience a fair number of rejections, but being a freelancer means it’s all a matter of time before the right ball rolls into your court since you’re always on the lookout for opportunities.

www.mographwiki.net really helped me find who and where these studios are. Also, being part of Motionographer means I get to meet all these wonderful, amazing, talented bunch of authors, and we share information and knowledge to help one another. But friends can only help you so far; it’s up to you to make sure your folio stays fresh & up-to-date and to keep in touch with the industry contacts you’ve already met, and making new ones.

What would your dream project look like?
One where I can push the boundary of translating tactile, textural and ornate illustrations into motion!
To be specific, I’m really into two things at the moment: cute, colourful, so-sweet-it-makes-your-teeth-hurt characters/enviroment/situations, the kind that fills you with hope and positivity when you look at them, and the flipside : organic and natural forms which fills you with awe and dread at the same time.

Cute stuff comes to me very naturally, maybe because I’m an Asian girl (haha), but having been born and raised in Indonesia, you can’t help but have this urge to express (visually) the overwhelming, sometimes destructive power of nature. Here, we get thunderstorms that shake the ground. Lush, creepy, complex vegetation, crazy diversity of fauna and flora. In addition to that, having been in Australia since 1999, getting exposed to the landscape-driven narratives in things such as ‘Picnic at Hanging Rock’ and Russell Drysdale’s paintings, actually reinforces this belief in the sinister aspect of the natural world. I love the creepiness of the eucalyptus forest and Australian bush. Somehow, although visually they’re the opposite of the tropical green of Indonesia, they possess the same unassuming power to ‘take over’ the man-made world, so to speak.

Renault pitch

Do you have a favourite artist, or artists?
Ever since I saw the retrospective of Max Ernst in Louisiana museum of Modern Art in Copenhagen, I practically worship him. He’s got such vision and technical prowess, each decade in his life is filled with different medium, aesthetic, and idea. I think he’s the big daddy of Surrealism, not Dali.

I also love the work of Shaun Tan, he captures the essence of Australia and being an Australian in a way that I seem to really relate to. I took ‘The Arrival’ with me to my Australian citizenship ceremony a few years back.

Another amazing artist I love is the now-deceased Juan Muñoz. His installations fascinate me for hours and give me goosebumps. Its hard to put into words. I also love Tiffany Bozic, for her nature-inspired paintings. She’s got such skill and imagination, her work is rather breathtaking.

What are you reading/watching/listening to/browsing at the moment?
I’ve just finished Richard Parry’s ‘In The Time of Madness: Indonesia on the Edge of Chaos‘. It gave me a better understanding of the difficult circumstances that was partly the cause of my taking up the Australian citizenship. So now I’m switching to something light: Charles Dickens’ collection of Ghost Stories.

What can we expect to see from you in the future?
As a ‘debut’ creative statement of my co-directing efforts with Mungo, there’ll be the short film I’m doing based on ‘Dusk’.

We hope to become better at this directing business, since we’re both so new at it, and to be worthy of standing in the rank of Animation Directors alongside our amazing friends such as FX & Mat, Celine & Yann, The Mixtape Club, James Wignall (at Studio aka), Simon Robson and many many more…
Ideally someday when I have the means and the strategy, I would like to channel my creative efforts towards something that have more lasting/beneficial outcome than just aesthetic pleasure or selling things to people via advertising. Maybe through helping documentary groups, maybe through setting up a school where kids can learn the craft free of charge if they’re poor, I don’t know. I just know I don’t want to die not having done anything useful for other people who could really use a helping hand.
Where do you find inspiration?
My travels, old illustrated children’s books, vintage op-shops, and the usual places: design magazines & books, sites like yours, Motionographer, Lost at E Minor, Nice Fucking Graphics, Drawn, and so on…

Links:
liliandarmono.com

Hey Sam, could you tell us a little about your background, when did you start painting?
I did quite a lot of drawing throughout my childhood but I never really thought of art as a career. I studied economics at uni and wasted most of my time drawing caricatures of the professors. I had no real idea about the existence of contemporary art until I went on a trip to Europe when I was about 19 or 20. There I saw a lot of work by Joseph Beuys, Günter Forg, Gerhard Richter and so on. Until then I thought that art finished with the abstract expressionists and had now been relegated to the Sunday markets. After that trip contemporary art seemed to be relevant and I became determined to develop a practice.  My partner and I moved from Adelaide to Melbourne and I began studying art part time. I moved to full time study in my honours year and from 2006 I was pretty much making a living from painting.

What paintings / projects are you working on at the moment?
On the 26th of November a show I have curated will be opening at Sullivan and Strumpf in Sydney. The title is Extropians and, having just installed the show, I can say that I am very excited about it – some details can be seen at http://ssfa.com.au/exhibitions/. I have a couple of works going into a show coming up at Stephen McLaughlan gallery in Melbourne in December: Skylab curated by Felicity Spear. The show asks the question: when we look at the sky, what do we see? Space exploration has been a theme I have been using in my work for a while now and I am quite excited about this show. I am also developing some work for a show in London next year – there are some new approaches that I am keen to develop in that body of work. Lately I’ve been experimenting with some printing – messing with images of some of my old paintings. No plans to show any of that work at this stage but it has been a lot of fun.

Your work features a theme of animals & wildlife, where does this fascination come from?
Initially my interest in using animals came from 17th century Dutch still life painting. Especially the work of Willem van Aelst and Melchior d’Hondecoeter. The former made hunting still life with dead game displayed as trophies and the latter specialized in birds, creating elaborate narrative tableaux in which the birds are strongly anthropomorphized. These two painters said a lot to me about the human relationship with animals. On one hand animals are objects of the environment and they are a resource which we can enjoy using. On the other hand, animals are in the class of living things together with humans. They are like us in some ways and we are like them in some ways (at least this was something like the 17th century conception of these idea -research now continues to make the boundary of what we term human fuzzy indeed).

These two views of animals are indicative of a shift in the way humans understand the world which occurred around the 17th century. This was a shift from understanding the world by analogy and metaphor to understanding the world through experimentation and observation. Of course if you listen to scientists discuss their work it becomes apparent that while experimentation a vital part of their work, understanding by metaphor and analogy is just as important. When I paint animals I try to bring those two aspects together. On one hand I use it as a way to learn something about the animal – making a painting requires detailed observation and I learn something new each time – even if it just the way an ear folds, or how a leg attaches to a body. On the other hand, the animal symbolizes something – either by association as with a hunted game animal or by using a posture or situation that encourages the viewer to project some human emotion onto the animal – wistful looking chimps, for example.

You’ve recently completed an exhibition, ‘The next Billion years’. What was your thinking coming into this series?
There were a couple of sources. One was a lecture series I listened to on ‘big history’. The concept was basically human history beginning with the big bang. The scale of the history has an interesting effect on the narrative. The origin of life takes on a certain level of significance with comparison to, say, the northern European renaissance.  Another interesting effect of history at that scale is its fractal nature. That is, events seem to follow certain patterns at different scales: galaxies form, collide and collapse, as do species, as do civilizations, as do individuals. The second source was Michael Hanlon’s book Eternity: Our next Billion years. In that book Hanlon makes some speculations about the likely fate of the human species over that time, based on a (perhaps optimistic) assessment of how long humans are likely to last. We are going to be hard to eradicate, he argues. In my show I wanted to emphasise the role of technology and propose that technology extends the feasibility of all life, as well as humans.

You discuss the concept ‘the corrupting influence of wealth’ how do you feel about the role of wealth and corporate money in today’s Australian art scene?
Naturally I feel that if people have money to spend there is nothing better to spend it on than art. I think that on the whole the Australian art scene is pretty healthy. We did not experience the sort of bubble in the contemporary art market that was experienced in Europe or the US. Even allowing for that, the amount of money in visual arts is tiny compared to other sectors such as agriculture, pharmaceutical, primary resources and finance.  Certainly some very wealthy individuals and entities buy art but on the whole I don’t think that the visual arts world is generating anything like a corrupting level of wealth.  Finally, since I have focused on this area for some time I have found myself becoming steadily less certain. I still think there are many problems with corporate wealth and corporate culture, but I am extremely uncertain about suggesting any sort of alternative.

For the past 3 years you’ve been a finalist in the Archibald Prize at the Art Gallery of NSW, could you talk about your controversial entry for 2008?
That painting caused a lot of people pain and offense and that is something that I regret. When I made that painting I was really thinking about the history of western civilization and I was struck by just how close we are, culturally speaking, to the period that produced Nazism. The worst atrocities committed by any civilization occurred within living memory. I was making paintings which dealt with history and I couldn’t ignore that fact. Placing myself into the Hitler’s uniform was a way of forcing myself to confront that period and think about it in a personal way. The painting did cause discussion, some of which was very good, but I have very mixed feelings about the work. I knew there would be discussion and that some people would have a problem with the work. I thought, and still do think, that the painting is serious but not especially complicated so I was confident that most of the art-viewing public would understand the work. I did not expect the front page of newspapers..

What have been the highlights in your art related career to-date?
Receiving the Fletcher Jones prize at Geelong gallery was pretty incredible. In that show my work was hung alongside many of my favourite artists and artists who have informed my own practice. So to be acknowledged in that field was really wonderful.  The Optimism show at Queensland GOMA was also very exciting. That show occurred just as I was beginning to develop some particular themes in my work which seemed to tie in. It was one of those serendipitous moments.

Which artists have influenced you, what has been an inspiration?
In terms of contemporary artists, Beuys, Gunther Forg, Gerhard Richter, Neo Rauch, Mark Tansey, Nigel Cooke, Jake and Dinos Chapman, Glen Brown. At the moment I am very fascinated by the New Leipzig school, David Schnell, Tilo Baumgartel, Tim Eitel et al. I also look at 17th century art very often, especially still life paintings by van Aelst, d’Hondecoeter and Jan Weenix , but also architecture paintings by Saenredams and de Witte and landscapes buy Ruisdale and Pynacker. In Australia I was very influenced, and greatly assisted by a group of young Melbourne painters including Tony Lloyd, Juan Ford, Craig Easton, Chris Bond and Darren Wardle. But of equal importance were my teachers at RMIT, especially Sally Mannal and David Thomas who taught me for years and years as I very slowly made my way through the undergrad course part time.

What advice would you give to an aspiring artists?
I think that study is vital, as much of it as possible. And reading very widely – not just art theory and history (though these are crucial), but across a wide range of topics. Everything is related. I read a quote from Jasper Johns the other day which rang true. He was talking about spending time sitting in the studio trying to think through problems and said that he always found that the best way to find a solution was by actually doing the work.

What have you been up to lately?
Lately, I’ve been working on ‘Spectacular Spider-man UK’. That’s my regular gig and at the moment, I’m working my other gigs around that as much as possible. So far, my other freelance jobs have been very accommodating which I’m very appreciative.

It’s very rare for a freelance artist to know he’s got a gig day in and day out. So to be a regular artist for ‘Spectacular Spider-man UK’ has been a dream come true and also, it’s nice to know I have a guaranteed cheque coming in regularly. I’ve been working on ‘Spectacular Spider-man UK’ regularly for close to five years and am currently around 5 issues shy of my 50th. Obviously I would love to reach my 50th issue and then some.

I’m also currently working with Harper Collins(HC) illustrating children’s ‘Amazing Spider-man’ books. According to my HC editors, they googled for Spider-man artists and found my work. At first they offered me one book, but after I handed in my art roughs for the first book, they expanded it to two, then to four books and again expanded their offer again just recently. The books are evaluated on a sale by sale basis being that the next book will only be commissioned based on the success of the previous one. At the moment, it seems to be constantly expanding so I guess the team must be doing something right. I was originally going to do the complete artwork for the initial first few books but with my other work commitments, I decided to share the glory with an old comic colleague, Jeremy Roberts, to take the pressure off me a bit. To date, six out of the nine books planned have now been completed. I’ve been doing the lineart whilst Jeremy has been colouring and I’m so glad the decision was made to pass on the colouring duties to him as he is doing an amazing, no pun intended, job. He is the master of hues! :)

Other than that, I’ve worked on bits and pieces for DC comics and their commercial services branch. Thus far, I’ve worked on sequential work and covers for several issues of ‘Batman Strikes’ and a special ‘Smallville’ comic created in conjunction with an episode of the show. My most recent work for DC include working on a couple of covers and some backup sequential stories for a twelve issue mini-series of ‘Tangent Superman’s reign’.

How would you describe your own work?
My work is an amalgamation of different styles and of all my favourite artists. It’s got a mix of American art with huge influences from manga and anime. I grew up reading american comics and fell in love with anime that lead me to research manga. I love the character interpretations and use of shadow to build atmosphere in American comics but I admire the dynamism and dramatic angles of the manga comics.

I’m also obviously influenced by many great american and manga artists. Masamune Shirow, Kia Asamiya, Mike Wieringo, Adam Hughes, Todd Mcfarlane, Chris Bachalo, just to give you a very short list. Nouveau artist Alphonso Mucha is also much loved in the comic community and I got introduced to his clean line art by a fellow creator a few years back. His work had such a contemporary approach for an artist of that period and I was completely hooked. I tend to borrow the best parts of each artists and combine it, a frankenstein of style of sorts, in hope to come up with a style that one day I can call my own. I’m still evolving. Constantly evolving and learning.

Have you always been a comic book fan?
I’ve always been a HUUGE comic book fan. I collected comics at an early age and I still continue to do so now. Except, I buy more trades and graphic novels now more than individual issues as it’s easier to read and collect. The whole story arc is in one book and I don’t have to go searching for individual issues scattered somewhere in the house. For me, I tend to look at good art in a comic before I would commit to buying any particular title. I guess it’s the artist in me that focuses on the art first compared to other readers who tend to follow story first and then art.

when did you first realize that you wanted to be a commercial artist and illustrator?
Since I was very young. At Kindergarten age, I was already drawing my favourite comic characters and knew I wanted to do this for the rest of my life. I even told my mum, and I’m constantly reminded of it, that I told her ‘Drawing is my life. I can’t live without drawing’ or something along those lines.  As I grew up though I didn’t think I could or the know how to get into the industry. So I did it as a hobby and eventually, I started believing that I would never work as an illustrator let alone a comic book artist. I always aspired to it, but when I was told in University back in Perth that there was no market for it, and got ushered into doing Design instead where there was more longevity and financial stability, my dream of becoming a comic book artist was literally shelved that day. That, plus I thought an artist had to reside locally to be able to work in that industry and at that point, with my limited knowledge, believed to be only in Japan and America. Of course since being in the industry, I’ve discovered a huge love for comics in the European contingent too.

However, back in 2000, after working about 4 years in the design industry, the particular company I was working for at that point, as an added incentive, sent me to a comic convention trip in Charlotte. There I met and mingled with many professional greats. Some, I’ve admired and been influenced by for a long time since I started collecting comics. When I showed my work around, they all told me one thing,’to submit my work’ cause apparently they saw potential. Of course that one question kept hounding me. ‘I didn’t live locally’. That’s when I was told literally no artist does and that’s where the big bad ‘world wide web’ came into play. The rest was history. As soon as I got back, I started submitting stuff, online, snail mail, whatever I could think of to get my foot in the door. Slowly but surely, I’ve been moving in the right direction.

What have been the highlights in your art related career to-date?
Just working on comics itself is a huge highlight in my career. I’ve build up so many little highlights along my path, I can’t really pinpoint a specific one. My first ever exhibition was a big highlight for me. Working on 80’s pop titles from He-man and the Masters of the Universe to TMNT to drawing mainstream comics like Spider-man, Batman and Superman. You know, being born in Malaysia and hailing from Perth, Australia, I never thought in my wildest dreams that I would be working full time in a comic industry.

What software do you use?
I use to utilise a whole bunch of applications as designer. But as a comic artist, I’ve narrowed it down to mainly Photoshop, Painter and Illustrator. Although these applications do make it easier in this day and age, when it comes to drawing, I still prefer traditional pencil or pen to paper. If I get the opportunity and the time, I use computer software mainly to colour utilising a combination of Photoshop and Painter.

Do you have a favourite artist, or artists?
Yea, plenty. I can’t single out just one. They’re all equally great. From manga to mainstream American comics to traditional. As mentioned earlier, although I only discovered recently, my main classical creator that inspire me is Art Nouveau artist Alphonse Mucha. Other contemporary fantastic artists like Jim Lee, Mike Wieringo, Chris Bachalo, Arthur Adams, Adam Hughes, Humberto Ramos, Olivier Coipel, Steve Mcniven, Frank Cho, Manga artists; Masamune Shirow, Kia Asamiya, and so many many more, all influence me in some way or another. It might be a particular artist’s way of drawing backgrounds, or the way he draws faces or hands or the anatomy or guns or robots. I try to incorporate the best bits of each artist into my art. I find new inspiring artists everyday. It’s never ending. There’s just so many talented creators out there. So I’m constantly evolving. If you look at my art from, say, a year ago, it would be different to what it is now.

Do you prefer working on your own creations rather than established, long-running characters?
To be honest, I haven’t really had the chance to work on a lot or creator own work. I would like to but I feel to give my creator own a chance, I need to have a fan base first. So in a way, one of the reasons I’m still drawing established, long-running characters, as much as I love it, mind you,  is to build up a fan base first and foremost. After that, if one day I decide to work on one of my own creations, the fans will support the title and go out and buy it. That and plus, there’s just simply not enough time in the day. As it is, I work almost 18 hours a day, 7 days a week. Working freelance, managing your own hours and work from home has it’s perks but the work hardly ever stops. If only there was 72 hours in a day. Somehow though even if we did have that many hours in day, I have a feeling I’d still run out of time. :)

What advice would you give to an aspiring illustrator?
Keep drawing and plugging your work. Keep persevering. It’s taken me 8 years, slowly but surely, to climb up the ladder and to finally be working full time in comics and i haven’t even gotten there fully yet.

My first ever paid gig I got, was by showing my work through art forums and via my website. Regularly posting up artwork on different art forums and getting feedback. It’s the best free self promoting tool on the internet. Art forum, Digital Webbing head honcho, Ed Dukeshire, noticed my work and started hooking me up with writers and although pay was minimal, got my foot in the door. Digital Webbing is one of the unique art forums out there whereby they publish their own anthology comics and get creators from their forum to contribute. i managed to contribute a pinup, couple of covers and short stories in the title and from there, eventually the company Whitewolf took noticed and offered me their line of gaming illustrations for ‘Exalted’.

Another important factor is to get to comic conventions and network. You never know who you’re going to meet. In 2000, during my Charlotte convention trip, I met artist, Sanford Greene. We kept in contact after the show and we became friends. Three years later, he turned down a gig he was offered due to his other work commitments so he recommended me instead and that was how I got my ‘Masters of the Universe’ gig. I can’t stress enough how important it is to sometimes have a face to face with a potential editor or just to meet up and socialise with your fellow colleagues. Going to conventions have taught me a lot about how the comic industry works. Watching other artists in their element, you tend to pick up some tips here and there. The tools to use, the paper to buy, etc. My first New York Comic Con trip got me in touch with DC Editors whom, although not immediately, years later got me my first DC gig.

However, although creative talent, skill and networking is needed in this field, sometimes the opportunities that comes knocking at your door just happens to be pure luck and timing.

My little ’stroke of luck’ story I like telling aspiring artists is how I landed my Spider-man UK gig. I had just moved from Oz to London when I discovered the British comic convention in Bristol. I managed to get a table to do sketches and signings as I’d manage to get some small press titles ‘Masters of the Universe’ and ‘TMNT’ under my belt. I had my folio turned to this detailed drawing of Spider-man as my ‘money shot’ pinup to pull people in. My Spider-man editor, who at that time I didn’t know who he was, was approaching my table. Just before that however, a fan had just seen my folio and left it at a TMNT pinup page. The editor walked passed, saw the TMNT page, didn’t think much of it and was about to move on when I myself looked up and realised my folio wasn’t at my ‘money shot’ pinup. So literally as I was turning the page back to the Spider-man pinup, my editor performed an exorcist like head turn, saw the pinup, gave me his card and few months after that, I was drawing Spider-man. The rest was history. If I hadn’t turned my folio page at that time and moment, I’d probably still be a designer to this day and working on comics only on my free time. So, sadly, sometimes no matter how talented you think you are or how many times your friends and peers have said, “you should be in the industry”, on occasions, it all comes down to simple luck and timing.

And finally we have to ask who is your favourite superhero?
It has to be Spider-man. As a kid, I’ve always fantasied about climbing up walls and saving damsels in distress. So I’m really very lucky to be drawing Spider-man and getting paid to do so. I just hope it lasts a while. :)

Links:
www.deemonproductions.com
follow Andie on twitter

The National final is set to go off at the Burswood Theatre on Friday the 4th of December in Perth. Previous finals have proved to be a great night out, and might even be a chance to catch a glimpse of some of Australia’s rising stars.

As a bonus, Storm the Stage are offering 2 for 1 tickets for the first 25 bookings. Just mention Australian Edge when making your telephone booking on 9498 5880 (10am-8pm). Tickets are $30 for adults, $20 concession, $80 for family. 10 or more tickets at $25 each.

We caught up with Storm’s Producer Sonja Plummer to find out how the preparations are going.

How have the preparations for Storm the Stage been going this year?
Preparations for Storm have been flying along for 2009. This year, the theme for our event is titled “TIMELESS” and will leave the audience member with TIMELESS moments, which they will take away with them for years to come. From it’s magical opening to the individual national finalists and to the unique closing, Storm 2009 will be an evening of movement, change, voice, emotion, colour and sound, second to none. From now till December 4th 2009, I don’t expect to lift my head out of PREPARATION mode.

Talia Rowley – Drama Category Winner 2008

Tom Ballard

Callan Kneale - Musical Theatre Category Winner 2008

How is the crop of talent doing?
Ahhhhhhhhhhh… the crop of talent!!! I am constantly amazed at how incredible our young people are and the diversity of this year’s finalists is proof of that fact. We have gone full circle and are now seeing the emergence of a different group of theatre performers than we have had over the last 5 years of Storm. They are not any less amazing however, but are definitely entrenched in both the old and new aspects of the theatre world. This year’s finalists are not willing to simply step into unknown waters and tread that water, but want to dive head first into the raging Storm waters and come out the end significantly wiser, stronger and more amazing as both performers and young people. We may just find the new Cate Blanchett’s or Hugh Jackman’s in our crop of finalists this year.

What can people expect to see from the performances?
Hmmmmmmmmmm… how to give you a sneak preview without spoiling the moment? You will go from a beginning of time to a musical trip Through time and in between you will find birds, young girls, mature women, young men, old men, young love, lost love, unrequited love, illicit love and even bird love. Did I mention you will find VARIETY in this year’s Storm? :)

Anya Row – Special Audience Appeal Winner 2008

Cassandra Kotchie

What have the previous winners of Storm the Stage gone on to do?
Past winners of Storm have gone on to study overseas, travel the Westend and Broadway sidewalks, work overseas, invest in their theatre futures and audition successfully for major shows, nationally and internationally. Storm’s rich heritage of winners and National Finalists is growing in both number and successes.

You have worked in theatre for many years, producing and directing shows across Australia and the US. How is Storm the Stage different from your other experiences and what have been the challenges you have faced?
There are so many aspects of the Storm event which are unique to this event alone. There is much to consider and to work through from pre registration, auditions, heats, semi finals, finals and the lead up to the National Production. It is by far the most involved event I work on each year and has it’s own set of intricacies and delicacies which all need attention. In my 30 years in this industry, here and internationally, Storm is the most unique event I have come across and had the good fortune to work on. With that uniqueness comes a variety of unique situations, which alter year to year, keeping myself and the amazing Storm committee on our toes. It would be impossible for me to qualify a single challenge, as that challenge may or may not appear again, but I can guarantee that 10 new ones will take it’s place.

Candace Wise

Mikaela Campbell

Riley Nottingham

Film & Theatre star Hugh Jackman is a supporter of Storm the Stage. How did Hugh come to be involved?
Don Briggs and Geoff Gibbs conceived the idea of Storm 7 yrs ago and through the efforts of both men and Geoff’s lifetime contacts, Hugh Jackman was approached to come on board. Hugh’s passion for the theatre is internationally known and to have him as a strong supporter of our event is amazing.

Top image: Julian

Link:
www.stormthestage.com.au

Remember: As a bonus, Storm the Stage are offering 2 for 1 tickets for the first 25 bookings. Just mention Australian Edge when making your telephone booking on 9498 5880 (10am-8pm).

Photographs courtesy of Nathan Turner

Hi Sam, could you tell us a little about your background? How did you get started?
I’ve always loved sculptural realism in art. Its evolved over the years but a beautifully sculpted figure always inspires me. I got started in sculpture professionally while working on TV ads making puppets and props, from there I worked in film for a number of years. It was a great start because I learned how to mold and cast sculptures and use latex and silicones.

What are you currently working on?
I’m currently working towards several shows for next year with a bunch of new works. It’s a very busy time. At this stage I’m spending most of my time sculpting in clay as most of the works are still being modeled.

Could you talk through the creative process for one of your recently completed projects? (The Hanging Man)
The hanging man was conceived over a long period, I sculpted an early version some years before I produced the final one, but was never quite happy with it.  I couldn’t leave it alone so I ended up going back to it and producing the one that was finally exhibited. Usually I sculpt a small maquette or miniature version before doing it full scale but in this case it wound up being produced twice..four times including maquettes. The process to produce most of these works is very similar. They begin as clay sculptures built up over an armature then there molded and cast in silicone. Once the cast is cleaned up I then poke the hairs into it and add a little final colour.

What do you hope the viewer will take away from your sculptures?
I’d like to think that the viewer would feel something after viewing the work, perhaps they could even have some sort of physical experience or maybe see something that they can relate to in their own lives.

Which of your projects has been the most rewarding?
I’d have to say its always the one I’m working on at the moment.

Your techniques seem similar to movie prop making? Do you have any interest in the film industry and special effects?
I have worked in film and have always loved the process of making something to support a story. It’s a fun job. I do occasionally work with friends in film but its generally to help out.

Which artists have influenced you, what has been an inspiration?
It seems to change constantly but I usually return to renaissance artists for inspiration, I have a beautiful Bosch print I’ve been dragging from studio to studio that’s starting to look a little faded now. That whole period inspires me, there was a mystery in the work that i love. Things were primarily done for religious purposes so it gives the work a very reverential feel.

Do you have any advice for people looking to get into sculpting and the creative industry?
Drawing is always a great place to start if you’re interested in sculpture, I think if your drawing skills are good then sculpting comes quite naturally. As far as the creative industry goes I think there is always room for someone who has there own outlook on the world. It’s not always easy to get your work out there but if you’re committed and if you persist, then you’re bound to succeed.

where can people see your work?
My next major solo show is in May of next year with Karen Woodbury Gallery in Melbourne.

Links:
www.samjinks.com
Karen Woodbury Gallery

We caught up with Louise to find out more about Dinosaur designs, as well as hear about their new collection.

What’s inspiring you at the moment?
With the crisp, clear nights, we’ve enjoyed through the winter, I’ve found the Moon very captivating – watching it travel in ever changing scale and proportion, stage by stage revealing its wonderful round organic forms. It’s silver tones, reflections and shadows are very inspiring for jewellery and objects.

Your collections are centred around different themes, or ideas, many focusing on different materials. What are some of the more interesting materials you like to work with and the challenges involved?
Our eco-friendly perspective has us experimenting with bio-resin. Finding the right technique or formula to get it to work has been a real challenge!
I find that each material has its own special quality that offers me a new way to express an idea. It’s always surprising and interesting combining materials and seeing how they respond and react. Putting the unexpected together inevitably opens new doors for ideas. Recently, for example, we’ve been combining resin with silver, stones, feather, wood, coral, cotton and cork. I’ve also found a silver which is like a modelling clay. I’m very excited about its potential.

For a business, Dinosaur Designs has an impressive environmental/philanthropic record, including being carbon neutral. Has this affected your competitiveness in the market?
Our environmental and philanthropic activities come from our heart so they bear little relationship to competitiveness. They are focused around issues that are important to us as a company – issues that we feel passionate about as individuals and in turn bring to the group. Being carbon neutral for example may not be the easiest path to take but we incorporate it into our business plan and we make it work.
You have opened stores in Melbourne, Sydney and New York. How have your designs been received in the different markets?
There are people in every city who are attracted to our way of mixing design and colour. What varies is the way a city responds and reacts. Some pieces resonate more in different areas, so sales of that piece may be higher. I think the local environment is very influential on taste. Textures and colours play such a vital role in reminding us of special places and times in our lives.

Sun collection

You are about to release a new collection called “Sun”. Tell us a little about it.
Yes…Leonard Cohen’s line “And the sun pours down like honey”. That was the starting point for this collection and those lines really inspired it. Resin is like honey – inky, transparent swirls of sunlight and sunshine, dazzling and shimmering flecks of light. This is a very shiny, glowing range. It’s been wonderful capturing the feeling of light in a bowl or in a piece of jewellery. It’s quite personal too. There are many people in our lives who touch us like a ray of sunshine. My sister Jane was one in mine. Earlier this year I lost Jane to cancer and we are donating a percentage of sales from the Sun collection to Cancer Council.

When will it be released?
It’s available in stores from mid October 2009.

What can we expect to see from you in the future?
Our upcoming collection – Moon, will be in stores next year. We’re also exploring the sculptural element of bones and fossils for a future collection.

Links:
dinosaurdesigns.com.au

What have you been up to lately?
I am drawing almost every day. I have got so much illustration work coming in at the moment, mostly children’s books and a fun new project for kids yoga cards. I have ideas for writing and illustrating my own books, but presently I am too busy. I have managed to put a few prints in my etsy shop, so we’ll see how that project goes.
In between time spent hunched over my illustration table, my partner and I are planning our future house on a piece of land we bought in nearby France. We have a beautiful old cherry tree which bears more fruit than two people could possibly devour. Endless supplies of cherries from our own backyard each Summer? Life doesn’t get much better than that!

How did you first start illustrating children’s books?

I got lucky. I received an email from the publishing house Hachette Livre, offering me a children’s book project. I had already decided to give up graphic design and focus solely on illustration when I  embarked on my European adventure. But at the same time, I wasn’t sure how to make the dream a reality, and for a while was living off my savings. It can be a difficult world to crack into and I thank my lucky stars.

You are currently based in Switzerland. How has life changed since moving abroad and how have these changes influenced you creatively?
My life has changed immensely. I love living in Europe. There are similarities to Australian life, but also more differences than I could have imagined. The language for a start, which put me in a bubble at first, but now I manage to get by in French,( with an accent they say is cute, but I am not so sure!) Secondly, the culture is very different and my Australian attitude and manner is not always aligned with European thinking and behaviour. And thirdly, the history of Europe blows my little Aussie brain. I am living in the old stomping ground of Julius Caesar, back in 58 B.C., which was also once a land where Napolean was a threat, and where we currently have public holidays celebrating events which occured over 600 years ago. And along with the history comes beautiful architecture which for me is an endless source of beauty and awe. All these things influence my creative process.
I am also influenced and greatly inspired by the work of European illustrators, especially from France, Belgium, Italy and Spain. The quirky style and different approach of many of the illustrated children’s books I see in Europe appeals to me.

What approach do you take when you begin illustrating a children’s book?
I start by reading the text many times over. It is important for me to move the story from the page to inside my head, I need to see the characters, the scenes, bring it all to life. From there I draw what I see in my imagination, usually starting with the main characters. It is a process which feeds itself, the more I draw, the clearer the characters and scenes become in my head, and then that feeds back onto the pages of illustrations. Some days are magical, when everything come with ease. Other days can be more difficult, it comes in waves.

What are you reading/watching/listening to/browsing at the moment?
Reading: I am a terrible reader. I get too easily distracted. The most I read is my daily dose of blogs. I did buy a biography this year, one of the few novels I have bought in my entire life, about a guy who is autistic. The first 34 pages were very interesting, but I never reached page 35. That was about 3 months ago, so it’s not looking good!
Watching: The Autumn leaves fall and the first snow covering the tops of the local mountains. TV I try to avoid. Films, I am dying to see Where The Wild Things Are, but I am frightened of being seriously disappointed.
Listening to: French radio while I draw, absorbing absorbing absorbing.
Browsing: every day I have a list of daily reads, including blogs, illustration portals, some French ones too to keep up the learning, and various goings on from here and there including keeping up to date with the hubbub of Melbourne. I could not live without the internet, but it can suck away time like nothing else.

Where do you find inspiration?
Mostly from inside my brain. Ideas are absorbed from here there and everywhere and then, “pop”, inspiration is born.

Links:
folio: www.cassandrallen.com
shop: www.CassandraAllen.etsy.com
blog: www.cassandrallen.blogspot.com

How did you first get into drawing?
I have been drawing for as long as I can remember, I have memories of drawing Disney characters and other cartoons when I was little. I have always loved to just grab and pencil or what ever I could get my hands on and just doodle.

You have a lot of great pieces done in pencil. What is it about this medium that attracts you?
I guess I am just really comfortable with a pencil in my hand. Its what I have always used the most. I love the simplicity of it, you don’t need anything fancy, just grab a pencil and some paper and you’re ready to rock.

What do you find most challenging in your work?
I would have to say being patient most definitely, it can take a lot to keep focus on one particular piece for such a strenuous time.

Where do you find inspiration?
Everywhere; Life is one giant ball of inspiration, it can be the most random little thing that makes my brain click. I also frequently visit lots of design/inspiration websites and blogs.

What are you reading/watching/listening to/browsing at the moment?
At the moment, I am listening to a lot of Deadmau5. I’m seeing him live in November! Can’t wait. Birds of Tokyo, The Kooks, The Chilli Peppers and The Bloody Beetroots are also on ‘repeat’. For those nights that im feeling lazy I have five seasons of ‘The Wire’ and seven seasons of ‘The Shield’ to get through, both awesome shows.

What can we expect to see from you in the future?
I am currently working on my first series that I am hoping to finish in the next couple of months along with building my website.

What would be your dream project or client to work on?
My dream client would have to be converse! I am obsessed with chucks(I own 16 pairs) and it would be a dream to be able to do a pair for them.

Links:
zorannova.blogspot.com

What have you been up to lately?
In short, a lot! I do indie game development with a group known as RocketHands, as well as freelancing and exhibiting. The most time consuming thing recently was organising my first solo exhibition, which opened just a few weeks ago. I’m still managing the fallout from that to some degree, tying up loose ends with sales and orders. I took a cancellation slot at a local gallery with 3 weeks notice, so had to do all the promotion in that time. I also had to finish the artwork – I figure that’s generally a prerequisite for an exhibition. It consisted of 14 pieces in total, about 80% done at the time. All in all, I guess you could say I like a challenge. This week I’ve been mostly focussed on a 40″ x 70″ commissioned digital painting, which is bigger than anything I’ve previously made. My computer isn’t too pleased about it.

How did you first get into digital painting?
I studied graphic design and that gave me a little insight into the software, but it was really the aid of conceptart.org that educated me in the ways of digital painting and fine art fundamentals. I hung out there with aspirations of being a concept artist for videogames. A year later (2007) I was hired as a concept artist at Interzone Games, only to leave in March this year to try my hand at being self-directed and exhibiting artwork.

How is a typical piece created? how do you start and what techniques do you use?
I have multiple processes, but the constant is periodically darting between Painter and Photoshop. For ‘finished’ artworks, as opposed to sketches or conceptual illustrations, I usually have one or more photo references. They could be posing references or even simply for a colour palette/lighting. I’ll roughly draw the basic scene onto a blank digital canvas (or scan a pencil sketch) then block in the colours and refine it until I’m happy, finally removing the original, messy linework. At some point during this process my cat will come yowling for attention and then proceed to walk on the keyboard. He likes to help.

What do you find most challenging about this technique?
Tough question. I believe the most challenging parts of making an artwork are derived from beyond the tools themselves. Such as idea development. Encorporating rich, intertwined narrative or a solid concept behind the painting is very challenging, and I’m still trying to push myself in this realm. Mainly as an aside from my commercial work, these images typically surface through my sketch blog.

Do you have a favourite artist, or artists?
I have many! I seem to be drawn to certain French illustrators/artists I’ve seen on forums. I love Veronique Meignaud. I don’t understand what she writes on her blog but there are lots of pretty pictures, and she’s a little bit sexy, too. Nic Klein is another brilliant mind I’ve admired for a long time. I think I could pinpoint one artist that exposed me to concept art, though, and that’s Nicolas Ferrand. I stumbled across his work, which was very painterly at the time, and followed his virtual trail to discover more about this mysterious “concept artist” profession.

Where do you find inspiration?
Definitely from life. I paint about things happening around me, sensations, thoughts, places I’ve been, and general musings on the here and now. I have a pretty unreliable memory so I think the notion of a visual diary actually applies to me.

What are you reading/watching/listening to/browsing at the moment?
I always have a lot of tabs open, some of which currently include Sia’s tour details, TED.com talks on creativity, Nedroid picture daily – one of my favourite webcomics, and of course the Australian Edge webby ;)
As far as music goes, Muse’s newie bodes pretty well with me, and local Perth band The Preytells released their debut album last week. I’ve been listening to a lot of that lately. It’s brilliant, check it out.

What can we expect to see from you in the future?
Something different! I don’t know what yet. I’m thinking I might make a push towards doing more illustrative work, but I’m up for whatever drifts my way. Exhibition-wise I’ve got a group show in the works with some very talented Perth artists. It’s looking like it’s on track for December, but I’m awaiting various confirmations. Keep an eye on my blog for upcoming show details.

Links:
Portfolio: www.simonboxer.com
Sketch blog: www.facepocalypse.com

What have you been up to lately?
I’ve had a couple of weeks off work and have been spending my lazy-bum days stealing succulents from front gardens, baking buttery treats and  looking after a 5 week old piglet.

How is the piglet going?
Pickles is great, she’s back with her piggy family on a hilly farm, though I’m not sure how she’ll adapt back to sleeping in the grub after snoozing on a doona in our bedroom and eating handfed noodles.

A lot of your work has a strong ethereal quality to it. How did this style eventuate?
Well, my good ol’ pals Charlie Chaplin, Elvis and Louis XIV didn’t think it was all that ethereal, but I guess it’s all the in betweens and over all the colours, shapes and forms we can’t put words to, but we essentially know and feel are there.

How did you first get into photography?
Travel would have to be the first thing that ripped my eyes wide open.
All those exotic colours and faces and places. Then I guess I must have realized that the everyday world around me is just as exciting and that I have more time to get to the depth of it.

What are your favourites in your camera bag?
I’m not very gadgety. My camera doesn’t even have a lens cap at the moment and my canon freely swings alongside coins, receipts, bobby pins, twix wrappers and lip stick smudges in my handbag.

What is the hardest element to photography?
To find the ‘on’ switch after a bottle of irish whiskey and the most brilliant idea ever.

Where do you find inspiration?
In little shelves of my silly head between visions of roasting marshmallows in snowed-in cottages and running with the wolves.

What are you watching/listening to/reading/browsing at the moment?
I’ve been on non stop dates with the Big Star box set lately. I think it’s getting serious.
Oh, and this….

What would be your dream job/client to work for?
Tediously picking up my tattslotto fortune winnings, running amok creating sickly wonders to thrill you into throwing further a fortune at me.

Link:
jessicatremp.com

How did you first get into tattooing?
As a youth I was heavily involved in writing graffiti and through this I built a reputation that helped me get a foot in the door to tattooing. My first introduction to tattooing was through a good friend of mine who offered me an apprenticeship after seeing walls that I had painted throughout the city. This apprenticeship was quite short lived due to the clandestine operation that he was running at the time. It was a professional studio but was kept very secretive due to certain underlying politics that exist in the industry. The shop had no signage and was strictly word of mouth. The ever growing popularity led to the point where we had to shut shop or else run the risk of being shut down by due force and lose everything. I had enough equipment and had gained enough knowledge to do simple little tattoos which I did on friends until I could find a suitable studio to continue with my apprenticeship. Back in these days mostly every shop was owned and operated by outlaw bike clubs who were mainly all white supremacists at the time. So it wasn’t an easy industry for a young dark skinned youth to break into. After a short period of time and a couple of close encounters I was introduced to Mike E the owner of Unique Tattoos, he took me on as his apprentice and I continued my journey into the world of tattoo.

What is the process you go through when creating a new tattoo design?
Every new piece of work always begins with an initial consultation where I sit down with the client and go through their design ideas with them. This gives me an opportunity to try and get a feel for the person and what it is that they actually have in their head. This is a very important part of the process as each piece is custom designed for the individual and should somewhat reflect their personality. During this consultation I can also discuss what may and may not translate well into a tattoo. Working with skin and ink is very different to any other medium as skin is constantly stretching and contorting with the body growing and moving constantly and the ink is destined to spread to a degree dependent on the elasticity of the skin. So given these uncontrollable factors a client may have a really fantastic idea but that idea may not necessarily interpret so well as a tattoo. Therefore in some circumstances I need to work with them to create a suitable concept that still reflects their original ideas.

From here I can get a general idea of the time frame required and we can proceed to book appointments. Once the appointments are booked I usually get the client to return a week or two prior to their first appointment where I can then re-familiarize myself with them and go over their design ideas again. I then take a rough tracing of the area where the tattoo is to be worn. On this tracing I make note of where muscle lines form and where directional lines of the body flow also any bends or bones that may protrude, all of these factors are highly instrumental in designing a good tattoo. Once the tracing is taken I start sketching over the top to work out the overall composition. Once the composition is tailored to the body I then work back into the design refining it and adding in detail.

Tattoos like everything go through style changes. What are you seeing that is popular at the moment and where do you think the styles are headed in the future?
To tell you the truth I don’t really pay too much attention to syles/fads or what’s “so right now.” I believe every artist should have they’re own style, or at least be developing their body of work in a particular direction of originality which they can call their own. I think as far as tattooing goes there are styles that are tried and trued as exceptional tattoo imagery and have proved to hold the test of time in the skin. I think it is of crucial importance that every tattooer have some degree of knowledge and understanding of why these styles work in order for them to create good works.

Ever had any disasters?
No. There’s no room for error….

Do you have a favourite artist, or artists?
Yes I have many but just to mention a few and in no particular order; some tattooers would be Filip Leu, Horiyoshi III, Grime, Marcus Pacheco, Mick from Zurich, Henning Jorgenson, Chris O’Donnell, Mike Rubendall, Shige, Guy Aitchison, Aaron Cain, Adam Barton, Klem, Grez the list goes on…… I also dig a lot of the Japanese ukiyo-e artists as well, some such as Hokusai, Kuniyoshi, Hiroshige, Yoshitoshi but there are so many other artists from so many other genre’s/ movements that I love and find awe inspiring……

All images coutesy Carine Thevenau

What are you reading/watching/listening to/browsing at the moment?
Right at this very moment I am listening to Fat Freddys Drop but as of late I have been listening to a bit of The Black Keys, Jimi Hendrix, Freeland, Pharoahe Monch, The Glitch Mob and Nightmares On Wax to name but a few. I usually just put my music player on shuffle and listen to a broad selection of artists ranging from the likes of Frank Sinatra to Black Sabbath.

Where do you find inspiration?
I look for and try and find Inspiration in everything I see, hear and experience on a daily basis. My girlfriend is of monumental inspiration to me, as are a lot of my close friends and family. Travel and music also play massive roles in inspiring me…

Links:
myspace.com/shrumeads

Hey Dan, could you tell us a little about your background ?
Sure. I studied Visual Arts and then went on to design websites for a bit. Eventually I decided that wasn’t really for me, so I got wrapped up in my art again, in a way going back to what I’d always loved doing, depicting strange far-out scenarios on the page. My mum was an art teacher, and my dad a mathematics teacher so that intersection between art and science has always been very interesting to me (the teacher part not so much!) I think my first career aspiration was to become an architect. Then later I got into electronic music pretty heavily, but there was always a degree of cross-over with the visual art side.

What have you been working on lately?
Recently I have been branching out a bit. We have a short film project in the works, as well as an iPhone game that I’m really excited about. Aside from that, I am about to exhibit again in the US so things have been pretty hectic lately.

How would you describe your artistic style?
Style is a difficult thing to quantify. I suppose the things that I find visually interesting rub off on my style. I love clashes, strange juxtapositions. Things like Victorian era mechanics brushed up against 60s modernist design. Re-imagining the past can often be just as interesting as forecasting the future.

I’m deeply interested in exploration; early sea voyages, Australian inland expeditions, deep sea probes and space travel. Exploring distant worlds, either through manned or more likely unmanned vehicles is a great adventure we can look forward to, however from what we know the distances in space are unimaginably vast and a space traveller would not encounter a universe teeming with the kind of sentient life we know from sci-fi films. If he was lucky he might just stumble on the ruins of a past civilization, likely destroyed thousands of years before his arrival. To me this subject matter is just as interesting to dwell on, but ambiguity is the key. There are a few anchor points but then the rest is left to the viewer to make sense of.

I feel there is a kind of devaluation of mystery that has gone on over the last 30 years. Art, music and books should be the jumping off point for our imagination, not the final destination. I think people like to turn things they don’t know or understand into things they do, but I’m happy just to concede that I don’t know -  the universe is too complex and mysterious for me to ever fully understand, and that’s just fine.

Could you talk through the process for a typical illustration, what materials do you use?
Well the computer is really the main tool these days. Things like backgrounds are usually hand-painted and scanned in and thumbnail sketches are done with paper and pen, but really most of the work comes together in Photoshop which is the only software I use. I have a pretty modest Mac set up with Wacom tablet that suits me fine.

You have a series of handmade cardboard analog miniatures, what inspired you to make the miniatures?
Well in my years of collecting old synthesizers and drum machines, I had always found the equipment visually interesting. Something about the vast panels bristling with knobs, wires and switches; a kind of tactile landscape, was immensely appealing. Lacking the skills and resources to build a full-scale synth, I settled on the idea of making miniature versions out of scraps of framing matt-boards.

An obvious route might have been to utilize some of the new digital fabrication techniques to create these works, but I thought it would be much more interesting to turn that idea on its head and represent these very technological objects in a hand-crafted form. I’m also intrigued by origami and paper-engineering, and the Japanese obsession with detail and miniaturization.

With the miniatures the idea is not to replicate any machine in existence. Some are based loosely on actual gear but I also try to find inspiration outside of synthesizers and recording gear. I have a lot of reference pictures of aircraft instruments for example. The wonderful thing about analogue technology is the fact that a great deal of the equipment’s functionality is presented on the panel as a series of user controls. The modular synths that existed in the 1960s resembled scientific measuring equipment and were usually operated by serious looking men in white lab coats. It wasn’t until the Minimoog arrived in 1970 that the general public could understand the synthesizer as a musical instrument. Unfortunately what happened then (and later more marked with the DX-7) was that the synthesizer became just another keyboard instrument and as digital technology took over the vast panels and controls were reduced to a tiny LCD and jog-wheel; far less interesting visually!

I suppose a typical model can take anything from a few days to a week to complete, but I tend to be working on at least 3 or 4 at the same time.

are you involved in recording your own music at all? what setup do you have?
I have a bit of a studio. It’s pretty much a hardware based set-up. Computers are so much a part of everything else I do that I’ve tried to keep them out of the studio, so I have a modular synth, a few analogue machines, hardware samplers. I like to potter around and use my hands to make sound, route this to that and see what happens. I like the adventure of it!

What have been the highlights in your art-related career to-date?
Well I can’t really look past the cover for Wallpaper magazine. I was so exhausted when I took that job on, and almost didn’t do it, but in the end it came up nicely. I’ve also really enjoyed the Prefuse 73 covers I’ve done lately. They really let me indulge in my passion for 70s sci-fi art with that one, so even though it was a bit over the top, it was my chance to pay tribute to the lavish sleeve designs of the past that were so influential to me.

A similar experience was working for Wired magazine on a series of illustrations; a kind of hypothetical vision of the moon in the 2061. It was really pleasing that they let me run with some pretty far-our, mysterious, ambiguous art. The illustration work that I enjoy the most is the stuff that is not so obvious, where the connection between the text or music and the art must be decoded somewhat.

Are there any areas, techniques, mediums, projects in your field that you want to try?
Film, animation and interactive art are areas that I can see myself exploring more in the future. The connection between sound and image in particular has always intrigued me. With a device like the iPhone I think there are some amazing possibilities for interactive art projects.

What can we expect from you in the future?
Well I have a number of record covers I’m working on at the moment so you’ll be seeing those soon.

I’m also working with Jim Jupp from Ghost Box on a little book and CD project which should see the light of day next year.
We have some fantastic musicians and writers involved with this already and it really is shaping up to be something quite special.

How to do you find working within the Australian Design scene versus working remotely for International clients?
Well, I tend to operate mostly in hermit-mode and I’m not really one for scenes as such, but Adelaide is a great little hub for me. If I need to use people locally to help pull a project together, I have some good contacts here. Usually the work is for clients in Europe or the US, but it really is all about ideas for me, and where those ideas come from doesn’t matter a whole lot. There’s some fantastic work coming out of this country, but I’m not sure that it is work informed by any particular scene or sub-culture. I see artists that are pulling inspiration from anywhere and everywhere and that’s great.

The thing that I love about Australia is the landscape and the climate. There is somewhat of a laid back attitude here which I think is perfectly suited to my creative process. I’m in no hurry to move.

Links:
www.danmcpharlin.com/
www.flickr.com/photos/danmcp/

INSPIRATION

lifeatthebottom.com: Great site aimed at junior creatives, with interviews, regular drinks nights and clever writing. Take a look.

designiskinky.net: Bringing you design and art goodness from Sydney, Australia since 1998.

lifelounge.com: Regular articles covering art, music, photography and just plain trash. Great design, great typography.

thegrafikmuseum.com: “Sharing Freshness & Creativity from Australia to the World.”

watim.com: We Are the Image Makers. great source of Australian Interviews and events.

thecoolhunter.com.au: “Roaming Australia and the globe…so you’re in the know.”

australiandesignreview.com: Content from the magazines Architectural Review Australia and (inside).

ohreallymagazine.com: An art magazine aimed at all different types creations, providing an insight into the minds of innovative artists.

CRAFTS & INTERIORS

livingcreatively.com.au: Your place to discover what’s happening in the world of creativity, and to unleash some of your own. Every issue, we uncover the best on offer in the worlds of art, craft, design, urban living and fashion from around the world or right next door.

blog.piajanebijkerk.com: Blog of Stylist Pia Jane Bijkerk.

thedesignfiles.net: Interviews, shopping guides and melbourne places.

BRISBANE

fourthousand.com.au: FourThousand is a weekly snapshot of Brisbane’s subculture.

MELBOURNE

therealmelbourne.com.au: This isn’t Melbourne for tourists- it’s Melbourne for locals, and by locals. Bars, pubs, clubs and restaurants in Australia’s most vibrant city.

threethousand.com.au: A weekly snapshot of Melbourne’s subculture – a Sydney guide to film, music, design, books, art, goods and links.

SYDNEY
twothousand.com.au: A weekly snapshot of Sydney’s subculture – a Sydney guide to film, music, design, books, art, goods and links.

PERTH

spaceshipnews.com.au: A great guide to the Perth music scene.

perthupmarket.com.au: Come to Perth Upmarket to experience high quality, stylish, unique products created by Perth’s talented artists, craftsmen, designers and gourmets.

sixthousand.com.au: SixThousand is a subcultural guide to Perth.

STRAIGHT UP BLOGS

blog.btpdesign.com: Beyond the Pixels.

absolutelybeautifulthings.blogspot.com: “I am an Interior Designer in Brisbane Australia and I have started this blog as a record of all the beautiful things I find which inspire me.”

the-refined.com: Sourcing the most refined design from all corners of the globe.

SHOPPING

modamuse.com: Ooffers a range of modern designer jewellery, gifts and accessories created by independent Australian & New Zealand designers & artisans.

indie.com.au: Featuring products made by independent Australian artists, designers & craftspeople.

udessi.com.au: Udessi is an Australian online gallery, proudly showcasing contemporary art, craft & design by independent Australian artists.

stupidkrap.com: “Based in Sydney, Australia, STUPIDKRAP.COM is an artist-run portal and on-line store, featuring EXCLUSIVE limited-edition high-quality art prints and collectables, by your favorite underground artists.”

RANDOM

wemakestuffgood.com: “A bunch of artists, designers, musicians and writers who know how to Make Stuff Good. Discover what’s going on in your town and what we’ve found and made along the way.”

blog.dtdigital.com.au/insight: Digital agency’s blog. Some nice insights on digital marketing.

newmatilda.com: An Australian website of news, analysis and satire.

bindarri.com.au: “To support and promote australian creatives who are working for positive change and to inspire others who are yet to begin.”

australiandesignunit.com: Part magazine, part bulletin, part business resource.

Carine’s passion for the photographic medium has led to her being labelled as “a leading photographer of tomorrow” by Ilford photographics, as well being selected as a V-Raw featured artist. Carine’s images have been shown in galleries across Australia as well as at the Los Angeles Centre Of Digital Art in the United States. At 28, her work has appeared in such publications as Rolling Stone Magazine, iD Magazine (UK), Frankie Magazine and Monster Children Australia.

Hi Carine. What have you been up to lately?
I have just moved into a shared studio space in Chippendale, Sydney with 2 producers and a stylist. The space has amazing natural light and is an exciting opportunity as a young creative in Sydney. To surround yourself with other artists/creatives can inspire fresh ideas and you find yourself pushing your own boundaries.

How did you first get into photography?
I was chosen to attend an extra curriculum learning program when I was 8 called PEAC. I was allowed to choose 2 different creative courses to participate in. I chose darkroom photography and the second one was to make a book. Its quite amusing as now I take photos and wait to see them published in magazines. My mum was also really supportive and used to take me on day trips to take photos in Fremantle with an old kodak film camera.

Currently based in Sydney, you still do a lot of work in Perth and Melbourne. How are the 3 cities different in the work that you do for each?
That is a really interesting question as I have definitely found that I am hired for different commercial work in each state. In Perth I was shooting predominantly music portraiture and advertising. In Sydney I am shooting fashion and advertising, however saying that I recently shot Temper Trap for Rolling Stone Magazine. So it definitely varies between the states on how your work is received. People seem to love to categorise you. I just love to make beautiful images and try to engage the viewer.

What’s in your Camera bag? What is your most used piece of equipment?
A few camera bodies, 4-5 lens’s, synch cords, grey cards and so many other little gizmos. My most used piece of camera equipment would be my Nikon D3 body. Its very lovely.

What part of your job do you find the most challenging?
That’s easy..getting paid on time. Being paid as a photographer means you can buy that next piece of equipment that will make your work that much better or easier.
It also means you can eat.

Where do you find inspiration?
Music is probably my main source of inspiration. I began my photography career with the opportunity of shooting artists like De La Soul backstage before gigs. I am continually searching for new music to be inspired by. At the moment I am really getting into artists such as Ariel Pinks Haunted Graffiti, Animal Collective as well as The Walkmen. Recently my sister sent me a compliation CD with some really old world music listings and I love being exposed to foreign sounds.

I also find inspiration from watching great cinematography. I love the works of Guillermo Del Toro who directed the epic film, Pan’s Labrinth, and I also love the infamous Tim Burton. I enjoy seeing the way colour is graded on film. Lately I have specifically been getting into a lot of French film.

Also having a mentor is inspiring. I was lucky enough to start off my career assisting Allan Myles. He is a very well respected international photographer. His work and perspective on the world inspires me greatly.

What can we expect to see from you in the future?
At the moment I am working on a collaborative project with a stylist in the fashion industry, Charlene Kielty. We are trying to express the emotive strength within women and  bring a raw / rock n roll vibe into a body of work that still maintains a fashion photography focus. I want to steer away from the perfect glossiness of most of the images we are seeing here commercially in Australia at the moment. This project has again definitely been strongly inspired by music and the lifestyle that surrounds music
subcultures.

I also want to continue working within advertising and ideas driven imagery.

Who/ or which client would you most like to work with in the future?
I love working with anyone who has a great idea, is really passionate and shares a similar eye.

I would love to hook up with a great art director and produce some magic together…personal work as well as commisioned. Anyone out there? Please call me.

What advice would you have to photographers entering the industry?
Only enter the industry if you are utterly obsessed with light, people and are amazing at managing cash flow.

Links:
carinethevenau.com
twitter.com/CarineThevenau
carinethevenau.com/blog/

What have you been up to lately?
I’ve recently returned to Perth after studying in London for 2 years. At the moment I’m in Sydney doing a week’s work experience with the wonderful frankie magazine. I’m currently guest blogger of the week on the kit cosmetics website. Things are a dream right now!

How was your experience studying at Central St Martins in London?
St Martins was amazing. Of course sometimes it felt like a bit of an uphill battle, but it was the in depth and critical nature of the course that in retrospect allowed me to grow. I think one of the best things about St Martins was being able to interact with so many creative minds. It really gives you hope for the world when you can be a room with some of the most genius young people, and know that they will make a creative difference to world.

How is it now that you are back in Perth?
I’ve only been back for about a month or so! I’m actually writing this from Sydney, but as expected Perth is pretty calm and relaxing. Whilst sometimes it can be boring, there are still a few cool things. I hope to shake it up a bit whilst I’m back. It’s definitely the break I need after the big smoke!

What are you listening/reading/watching/browsing at the moment?
Right now I’m listening to; The Do – Bridge is Broken, reading Virgina Woolf – The Waves, watching The Cove and browsing Sears Christmas catalogues from the 1950s.

Favourite artist, or artists?
Gosh this is a hard question..I guess right now I’d have to say Klimt, Yayoi Kusama, Frida Kahlo and a contemporary japanese illustrator, Minchi.

Where do you find inspiration?
ffffound.com is magical. But mostly from nature, vintage print media, the universe, everywhere, everything, everyone!

What can we expect to see from you in the future?
Right now I’m working on a new exhibition, its close to my heart and I’m really excited about it! I hope to launch it later this year.. keep your eyes peeled! As well as that I’m working on a few secret projects, and developing a small fashion label with my sister.

Link:
JessicaSingh.com

What have you been up to lately?
I am currently freelancing a little, but am prioritizing studies, because I just want to make my projects to the best standard for my portfolio, especially now that I do multimedia there is just so much to cover, like, maya, flash, dreamweaver and after effects. its very exciting though.

But something exciting I have been apart of recently, is the Cut & Paste 2d design tournament. i got into the semi-finals and am pretty happy about that. it was a tough comp with heaps of pros i was just happy i passed the test rounds and got into the finals, was such a great and thrilling experience and I found that I inspired a lot of people with how I used illustrator.

I’ve also been lucky enough to get my work a part of this year’s Curvy book. curvy showcases work of some very talented women.

But last year I got my work in IdN and Computer Arts Magazine, this was truly a dream come true because they have been instrumental in what my style and technique is today.

How did you first get into designing?
A love for photoshop! It just amazed me that you could  remove pimples with one click and friends were always requesting this.
Because photoshop was so amazing I really wanted to learn more about it so my parents (they are extremely supportive) bought me 2 photoshop books, one was for digital photographers and the other a quick start guide to photoshop. I would bring these book everywhere with me and bookmark anything interesting and try it when I get home, friends would tease that those books were my ‘bible’.

I found that I was illustrating primarily with the pen tool in photoshop and was hating the pixelation happening at times.  And so I tried using illustrator because I had heard in forums that they’re the best for the kind of work I did in photoshop at the time. but it was bloody hard to get my head around it first, so of course my solution was to get a quick start book for illustrator and man that helped so much. I bookmarked that book like crazy.

Oh and tutorials, that’s all I ever did, i’d do a tutorial a day while I was in high school, I actually took my studies for granted.

As for my works style, I just have an odd imagination I think to myself, that’s how we normally see this, what kind of unexpected twist can we give it and on top of that I give it an oriental hue.
I think oriental art is the prettiest and most relaxing aesthetic. But the work I find in Computer Arts Magazine and IdN are always a constant source of inspiration.

Do you have a favourite artist, or artists?
I have one all time favorite, his name is Matie Apostolescu. I first came across his work while in a bookstore and saw his work as the front cover of a Computer Arts Projects magazine.
That particular piece was so inspiring, because it just drew me to the magazine and immersed me in the world he invented, ever since i’ve aimed my work to do the same, in that i want to immerse my audience too, and of course just have fun with it too. I have  a very spontaneous creative process. and that helps make a lively world.

What are you watching/reading/listening to/browsing at the moment?
Watching motion graphics and title sequences, I’m really into the idea of motion graphics to give my works narrative and breath life into them through movement and sound interests me immensely.
Reading lol After Effects and Maya Quick Start Guides.
I really like listening to Coldplay while I work, Ffffound.com is a great website for inspiration,  And Creative Cow for Video tutorials on After Effects.
I know you haven’t asked this but I want to share my new obsession with sketching in moleskin sketchbooks specifically, they are nice. I fill them with any spontaneous idea that comes to mind and  refer back to them when working in illustrator or photoshop.

What would be your dream project to work on in the future?
Lol, to art direct and or produce a coke commercial/ poster. Doesn’t everyone in this industry ?
But really anything that involves creating a pleasantly colourful environment.

Links:
quite-unusual-she-is.daportfolio.com
photoshop-addict28.deviantart.com

What is inspiring you at the moment?
At the moment I am inspired by cupcakes, black pens, details, swash capitals and photos of Surry Hills from the early 20th century with lots of cool handwritten signage type. I’m also excited by the news of the next Some Type of Wonderful exhibition happening in Melbourne in October.

Who are some of the more exciting type designers you have seen in recent years?
Some of my favourites…
Tobias Frere Jones and Jonathon Hoefler …for consistently producing quality, extensive families of type; Jean-Francoise Porchez; Gerard Unger … for his beautiful body faces and one of my favourite typefaces Swift; Alejandro Paul for his lush script faces and of course Zuzanna Licko. Without her my pseudonym Mrs Eaves would not make sense… plus there’s the myriad of great typefaces produced by Emigre. New Zealand’s Kris Sowersby’s work is pretty new and exciting too.

What sparked your initial interest in typography?
It was working with metal type in a letterpress studio about 2 years ago. Hand setting every individual letter of 6-point type is very time consuming and it certainly makes you gain a great level of respect for how traditional typesetters worked. I was also working on a submission for the International Society of Typographic Designers around the same time which involved a lot of research into typography and printing practices in Germany and Great Britain at the beginning of the 20th century. There were lots of great type pioneers at that time – Jan Tschichold, Stanley Morrison (designed Times New Roman), Paul Renner plus more– and reading about this history was very inspiring for me. This sparked my initial interest and of course once the typomania sets in its difficult to look anywhere without noticing the letters. Documenting type, experimenting with type and making cupcakes with type was all too much for me to keep to myself…which lead to the beginnings of my blog for the love of type.

What is the type scene like in Australia?,..our feeling is it is pretty quiet.
Well its quite niche everywhere – but thats not to say there’s not a lot happening. Obviously places like Germany, where there was such a rich printing history there seems to be more of a “type scene” but I think there are a lot of people really into type in Australia there just scattered around the place. As part of my presentation in Berlin I presented a short documentary which was essentially talking about type in Australia, through that I discovered the many people with varying levels of typomania.

There are so many people working with type in interesting ways; whether it be really refined body setting, using type as an illustrative tool, type in motion and designing type too: people like Mark Gowing, David Pidgeon, Wendy Ellerton, Stuart and Jeremy at Chase and Galley, and Michael and Eva from Toko. There’s also some really exciting hand generated type from Timba Smits with his titles in Wooden Toy Quarterly and lovely stuff from Luke at Lifelounge. There’s definitely a growing interest in type from the design and art world and I’m sure it will continue to gain momentum. Stephen Banham (Letterbox) really has done a huge amount to increase interest in typography in Australia  for a long time now…especially in Melbourne, and his work always had an added dimension of interest because he’s always telling a story, emphasis the content and taking it beyond simply the ‘look’ of letters.

You recently gave a presentation at Type Berlin. How did that go?
It was amazing! It was the 14th annual TypoBerlin conference held in Berlin and hosted by FontShop. The theme was ‘SPACE’ and there were 60 speakers from around the world, and around 1000 guests. I was the youngest speaker they’d ever had and the only one from Australia …so it was very daunting!!! I spoke about my blog, presented a short documentary about typography in Australia and about the Write Here Right Now project I did where I wrote lettering all over my body. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that many typophiles in one place at one time… but it was great, plus Berlin at the onset of Summer is an amazing place to be! The theme for next year is Lust ;-), hopefully I’ll go along and maybe some more Australian designers can come check it out.

If you could only ever use 3 typefaces in your life again, what would they be?
Oh god that’s like asking a sommelier if they could only drink 3 wines for the rest of their life what they’d be…. or having only three different tones of voice forevermore… or asking a movie buff to pick only three movies to watch ever again ! Variety is what makes type exciting. Ultimately…as long as I have my hand to write, and my voice to talk … then just one digital typeface to use that would suffice.

What are you working on next?
I’m working on a type-based illustration for a German design magazine which is coming up soon and an identity for ridiculously good-looking and good-sounding band called the Salvagers. I want to start playing with type in motion too…and then I need to attend to the storage bank of ideas in my head just waiting to be realised! :-)

Link:
fortheloveoftype.com.au