Made With Love: Mad Hatters
Lot Creep Labs
Archive Article from Issue 6
1. Where are you from? How do you think where you grew up affected how you turned out as an adult?
North Shore of Long Island, about an hour from the City. Growing up near the ocean had a profound impact on my life. My pops was a Sea Captain on the side of his regular job, so we spent a lot of time on the water growing up. The beach was almost a daily thing during the summers as it was a cheap way for the family and friends to enjoy the time off from school together. Sandcastles gave way to Bongos and Campfires as years went passed and the mellowness of beach culture has always stayed with me…and being a Pirate came along with the territory. Also, being so close to the train, it was customary to skip school and run into the city with my buddies and skate when we could. All of this gave me a pretty beachy-urban thing. Another dichotomy to deal with. Being Gemini was not enough?
2. Tell us about your family? Siblings?
Pops works Sheet Metal and does the Captain thing, Moms worked Circuit Tech and now does Homecare, Older Brother is in Sales, Sister is a Teacher, I work in Software. We are a tight knit group, although we are way different. The family motto, according to my moms, is “we are all separate fingers on the same hand, and when together, we make a fist to ward off anyone who tries to break us up”. She grew up in Brooklyn…I guess she never stopped flexin! No matter what distance and time is between us, we always can kick back, chill, BBQ, and just “be us”. It was always fostered in my home to be who you are…no excuses. I guess that’s why we are all so different. It worked for us and I am thankful for that. It surely allowed me much freedom to discover myself.
3. What’s your favorite band? What music gets you going creatively?
The Grateful Dead…hands down. The music is inspirational on so many levels. The words are like the musings of a prophet, the instrumentation is unlike anything I have ever heard, and the vibe of the community has always made me feel like we can attain “the Garden” here on this Earth. Maybe not in our lifetimes, but I assure you…since 1969, the world has been a different place. “We are Everywhere” is the slogan and since so many of us are having children and bringing them into the scene, our numbers will only keep growing and we will keep spreading into different walks of life. We are the future and the future will be a beautiful place.
4. What was your first show?
Hahahaha! Whoa…first show. My folks were big into music and we would go to many outdoor concerts from when I was very little…but officially “expressed interest” on my part? My Moms, Pops, Bro, and I got tickets to Ozzy Osbourne/Anthrax at Brendan Byrne Arena in 1989. I was just turning 12 years old and rockin out like a tiger back then! My moms was pregnant and the baby started buggin out during “Caught in a Mosh”. We all put our Leather Biker Jackets on her stomach and my lil sister cooled down. Probably why she turned out liking showtunes and opera instead! There was a gap in shows until my brother and I went to MSG to see the Dead in 91…first show was 9/10 with Branford. I was a moron. I had one fuzzy 70’s bootleg and a tie-dye. I didn’t know a single song. They dropped a Dark Star that night. Changed my life forever. Never looked back.
5. What shows/events can we catch you at in the future?
These days, whatever time I can get off work, whoever I can line up a ride with, and somewhere to stay are all I need to show up somewhere. The tickets are the least of my worries. I am gonna try and hit some more festies this summer, but the only think I got my eye on now is the Catskill Chill and the next of many Rock-n-Roll Resorts. Man, I love what they have got going there. Nothing like it out there right now. Such a great vibe and knowing that you can non-stop rage and fall on your face in a hotel room whenever you get tired is pure bliss and unparalleled in the scene. With Silent Disco going into the day time, the music truly never stops!
6. What makes you smile?
Watching other people dance as hard as I do! Too many people out there in the scene are there for the chemical fun and not the spiritual transcendence that is communing with the music. The most important thing we need to emphasize to our brothers and sisters on the dance floor is that only through our movements can we effectively express the divinity of our cause. If you want to stand still and listen to tunes, that’s cool, but if I spin by and knock over the drink you put on the floor, it is not my fault. Drinks belong in your hands, y’all and the floor is for dancin!
7. Were you always artistic or did something bring on the desire to create?
I think I was always creative. I had an army of imaginary friends. I would play outside for hours with my brother inventing our stories as we went. We would reenact movies, shows, and create our own adventures based on favorite characters. As we both grew older, we were both intrigued by art and although my brother was very creative, he went into sports more. I stayed in my sketchbook. I love getting covered in different media while I try to pull something out of the ether. It would be a glorious day if I could somehow have an elementary style art classroom at my disposal. I would be so much more prolific. Supplies are expensive.
8. When did you make your first hat? What gave you the idea?
Relatively recently, like within the last year. I was at the last Catskill Chill and I met a few hatters that weekend and I thought “I think I can do that”. It was pretty “there” and right in front of my face. I had gone through a lull in my creations right before that, as creators sometimes do, and I couldn’t break out of it. Once I had seen the hats and got excited about art again, it started to flow nicely. Since then I am just below 50 customs and I hope to do many many more. Its been a thrill to be walking through the crowd at a show and see one of my crowns boppin around. The art we make becomes a way for others to express themselves and I think that is very special. It warms my heart
9. Why do you feel the need to create?
I have always been the type to fidget with everything that I can get my hands on. When I am at the diner, I twirl the paper from my straw. If I am on the lawn, I am making knots out of grass stalks. If the beach is full of pebbles, I am looking for the skimmers. I can never really sit still. Most people would call this an affliction, but I personally think it is the fuel for the fire of creation. My need to create began as something to occupy my never ending energy blasts. It grew into a way that I could share with others and grow as an individual. As long as I focus on a page or a canvas, the world slows down and I can plainly exist, calm and quiet and steady…instead of being the whirling dervish sloppy pants that I normally am.
10. Why do you think art/creativity is necessary to society?
Creativity is extremely important to human development, however, our society does its best to squash this creativity from a very young age. Our societal emphasis these days is about the perfection of the flesh and societal artist expression reflect this with smokin hot singers, revealing magazine covers and flashy tee-shirts. Any Art that fosters the mind is less and less likely to be put forth in publications and gallery shows and has been marginalized, and the only Art that stands the test of time so far is classical, architectural, or musical. It is in many circles considered a weakness to feel deeply and is easily replaced by cold calculations and shallow meanderings of artistic expression. The zeitgeist will always change and pop art will change with it, but we need to be sure that we absorb these marginalized forms of creativity and be enlightened and changed by them.
11. What are some of your favorite materials to work with and create with?
Anything I can get my grubby little mitts on!!! If I had the endless cash, I would be surrounded by bottles and brushes and pens and inks. My favorites change based on phases of creativity, so now that I am doing the hats, colored markers and canvas have become my favorite working materials. I am not sure how long it will last, but I do know that this change has created a burst of creative energy that, for now, seems pretty endless. I will continue using what I can afford and what I can get my hands on to create what I can. I also very much like pipe cleaners…yeah, I don’t know why. There is nothing more fun for me than creating little people out of them and voicing them. It’s the leftover imaginary friends that make me build little family units or act out pipe cleaner versions of movie scenes. What can I say…I am a creep.
12. Who/what is your inspiration, where do you find inspiration?
Although music is the first and foremost inspiration in my life, I find inspiration everywhere. There is nothing in the world manmade that didn’t start at one time as a thought in someone’s head. The ability of mankind to manifest thought forms into physical forms has always fascinated me and as long as people keep thinking and creating, I will keep expressing my creative energy into whatever form I can. Unfortunately, my artistic development is hindered by the free time I can give it, but when I do find whatever time I can to dedicate to it, I channel that inspiration into my work.
13. Who do you look up to within the art or craft world?
I owe my recognition to all the MadHatters before me, hands down…So many of them are doing this in a very low tech way. They have stacks of hats in their backpacks or lay them out on tables to be perused by the patrons of festivals or gallery shows. They work from their hearts and speak to the hearts of others. Art collectives are popping up all over the scene and have served as an amazing source of inspiration in my work. I can only thank them so much without seeming like a complete and utter stalker…but really, without the rest of the Lid-Pushers out there, I would not be in the spot I am in now. So…if any of you are reading along here, again…”thanks for all the fish!”
14. Tell me about your creative process.
I usually will listen to loud music on earphones, tucked away somewhere semi-private, yet in a very public place…like the smallest table of a crowded bar or against the ugliest tree trunk in an otherwise packed park. When I create in my apartment, I tend to be slower, more introspective, and less focused. I prefer to be among a certain level of chaos surrounding me. The energy of the eyes of onlookers really keeps me on task and brings focus to my work. The live painting at concerts has been a very cool outlet for me. I do it in a guerilla style. No one bothers the creep in the corner with the headlamp on…unless it’s a friend of mine who wants to say hello. People tend to stand, admire, and walk on when I throw the headlamp on. I think is a respect for the creative process, even though you are in public. I appreciate it greatly.
15. What are you working on currently, what are your plans for the future?
Hats, Hats, and more Hats!!! I have ideas for an entire clothing line, but that is some time away. I wanna develop my style more so that it is completely unmistakable. Once that occurs, I can develop a brand out of it. Then the sky is the limit of what I can do with my art. It’s a life long dream to run my own clothing line. One day, baby, one day : )
16. What are some challenges in art or in general that you have experienced?
Art is the challenge. I am not one of these people who can create at the drop of a hat. I am limited in my talent. I consider myself an advanced doodler more than an artist. An artist to me is the type that can draw a perfect circle Davinci style or be able to render a human face. I can do neither. I would like to consider myself an artist one day, but I think I will just need to be satisfied to explore the boundaries of my creativity and break them as often as I can, for what its worth. “Forever Forward” as one of my hatter buddies says. Collaborations are my latest challenge. To be able to share a canvas with another artist and make both styles show equally is a serious test of my artistic skill.
17. What activities make you lose track of time?
Music, of course…before you know it, a concert is over. Its so sad to me to have to leave. I guess that’s why I keep coming back….and Yardwork. I will keep trimming something until I think it looks perfect…then I realize that my beer is warm, my cigarette is an ash-stick and my sunglasses have created a raccoon tan. Whoops. Other than that, I can play with whatever nonsense is in front of me as a past-time. I fidget, therefore I annoy! If you wanna keep me occupied, throw me anything you were going to discard. I will be entertained for hours…or until I get bored.
18. What is your studio or workspace like, and how do you work in your studio?
No studio to speak of other than my couch. Otherwise, I enjoy guerilla live painting wherever I can carve myself a little spot to sit. The chaos of the public is the best way to keep me on task. The eyes of others make me focus more than I could ever do sitting alone in my apartment. I have no access to a real studio, so I will keep making excuses on why I don’t work in one. Haha! Anybody wanna lend me some space? : )
19. Tell me something funny that has happened to you recently, anything.
Last week, after getting back from a festival, I couldn’t for the life of me get my wallet situated. No matter where I was, I used the wrong thing. I tried to take money out of the bank with my license, tried to get in the subway with my work badge, tried getting into the office with my metrocard, etc…It took until this week to get it straight. Well, sort of…relatively and such…I guess?
20. If you could sum up your look and aesthetic in three words, what would they be and why?
Shameless Self Promotion…that about sums it up! Seriously though, I want people to gain insight from the sacred geometry embedded in my work on more than a subconscious level. The symbols I weave into the work are very powerful and have an intelligence that goes further back than we have recorded time for. We are all snagged in this for the time we are incarnate, so I like to remind people of the infinity aspect of our reality. We are stardust recycled, and we ARE the past peoples and will continue to be the blocks our future human beings will be built on, whether we are able to recall those past lives or not. We are the collective mind played out in 3D…with or without glasses…we need to be sharing this vision in order for us to move forward into 4D reality and beyond.
21. What is the most defining moment in your life this past year?
Realizing that I forgot to change my tax designation after last year and getting hit with a 4K bill from Uncle Sam in April…that pretty much “defined” most of my years plans into the trashcan and “refined” my view of the rest of the years activities. I have been appreciating what I can do WAY more now because of it. Good thing? Eh…sure, sure.
22. What is your view on life, i.e. the meaning you see behind it?
The way I see it, we as incarnate spirits, are pieces of a greater soul network. If at one point in ages past, there were only so many souls to work with (see Legends of Lemuria, Atlantis, etc) then it stands to reason that all spirit energy has been splintered to deal with the over population of the planet. I am not sure if everyone has a full soul even though we all have spirits. Like a laser beam in a concert light show, we are of one energy, split into many to produce the “web of being” effect. All of us are fractions of a greater energy and as we meet, greet, and learn each other, we find the other pieces of ourselves here in the third dimension as we exist as one in the fourth. I have always thought that the voice in our heads that always knows right from wrong is really the voice of the godhead, and we are all god living as a multitude. Brahma unbound : ) This is the illusion of Maya. We are one mind, in an instant, forever unfolding into each other.
23. How does your outlook on life come out in your creations?
I am not sure that it does. I know that the work I am doing now is based in sacred G, but as far as “a voice” or a “outlook” is concerned, my thinking is that once my style has developed so that no one can mistake the work I do as being mine, then a piece of me will then be recognizable to everyone who encounters my work. As of now, I feel that there is a small amount of people who can see me in my art and identify it as being mine…in time, I hope that others can do the same. Maybe then, my outlook, my perception, can be seen by all who encounter the work I do and they can say “awwww, see that? That’s a Creep Crown from the Lab on that kid” : ) Then, I can develop a more comprehensive branding.
24. Favorite QUOTE:
“Standing on the bare ground, my head bathed by the blithe air, and uplifted into infinite spaces, all ego vanishes.
I become a transparent eyeball…I am nothing…I see all…the currents of the Universal Being circulate through me…I am part or particle of God”
-Ralph Waldo Emerson…excerpt from NATURE – 1936
25. If you could teach or tell the new generation of crafters/artists, what would it be?
Open your eyes. Engage the world around you. You only get one go around this wheel with the mental vision you currently have. If you feel the need to express art, its imperative that you do so. We are all given certain gifts and to not use them is the greatest travesty that you will commit. They are one of the only things that are yours and can not be taken away from you. Explode your vision onto whatever you can. Make others see it. Through the collective understanding of each others shared visions is the only way that we can advance as a species into the next evolution of mind, culture, and community.
26. Where can we buy/order your creations?
I got a page on the facebook called “Lot*Creep*Labs”. Its my thing. My corner in the community. I am always on Lot. I generally creep around or creep others out with wild musings or over the top ridiculousness. I always have something cookin. It was natural to put all of that into the title of my little venture. Hit me up, like the page, peep the crowns and private message me whats on your mind that you wanna put on a lid. If you keep creepin like I do, we will always “stay a Head of the Curve” together. Love and light, my peoples!
