Are you crazy about the cover? We sure are. The mesmerizing creation is thanks to Leo Shallat and Olivia Guterson who were kind enough to grace our pages with their ink (well, metaphorically at least). Here’s a little peek into Leo’s artistic process and then some.
What is your go-to aesthetic?
Sharp lines in close quarters with bold colors and lots of flow. I like unconscious movement.
How do you come up with your own style?
Slowly. I’m just figuring out what “my style” looks like. It mostly comes from my influences and turning them into my own. With my calligraphy I just play around with the flow of line work and that has started to develop itself. A lot of the time I come up with a new style when I least expect it, like I was sitting in class last summer and started to draw this character in a way I had never done before. It looked like nothing I had been working on, but I went with it and that turned into one of the first designs I got printed. I also sit in my room a lot and do nothing…
If you were a concept, what would it be?
Organized Chaos.
What kind of projects are you involved with?
Right now I’m a coordinator for the Dirty Hands Art Collective on campus. We’re getting together this year to try and make some murals on campus happen as well as workshops, and bringing in artists from Washington to facilitate some larger projects. I have a series of paintings that I’m working on with Olivia Guterson where we’re trying to explore what our styles are; playing around with colors, repeating patterns and geometry. I also have some design projects going on with Alex Southworth of Jungle Television in the works, hopefully we will be getting some new shirts printed soon.
What’s the best part about Olympia’s art scene?
The wall in my backyard. Come through and paint!
Have any ultimate goals?
Traveling to different countries to do mural projects, working with artists who have influenced me, and making art a career. And getting someone to give me free paint…
What keeps you motivated?
The people around me who I’m rising with. We’re all relatively the same age, and getting to the point where we are starting to get a little recognition for what we love to do. I want to give a shout out to DJ Pheno, DJ Thalo, Jungle Television, Dirty Hands, Olivia Guterson!, Caleb Malesburger, Devon Herold and Matt Clark. These people all have crazy awesome lives and are doing what they love; working hard in different fields of art. They inspire me to keep doing my thing and I like the direction everyone’s headed. Lastly, my awesome house.
What’s next for you?
I want to start bringing some more meaning into my art. Lately it has been personal, just doing it to make myself happy. It’s my goal to start speaking more to what’s going on around us, and to make work that has a message behind it.
Comments: Come to Dirty Hands! This year is going to be amazing. I like meeting new people, send me an e-mail so we can be friends: Lionhearart@hotmail.com I also have a page where you can see projects I have worked/am working on: http://outerinspace.tumblr.com.
By Melkorka Licea
