That's Passion

wandael.com
alexowandael.com
italiany.us
@wandael73

The scene:
We are in Venice Beach, CA at Alexo’s home just off Abbott Kinney around 4pm. The light is getting lower and more golden. The way the sun is backlighting the curtains inside his living room is almost surreal: glowing 60’s pattern and color - a kaleidoscope of hot pink, green, brown, and orange. Alexo and I were match-made by instagram. We have a mutual friend in common and it suggested us to each other. I discover through our interview that we have quite a lot in common. Creepy to think the algorithm is teaching itself about human connection… The outcome: a lovely long interview of a budding friendship between two lone wolves.

Highlights:
+ Italian born
+ Lived in Berlin
+ First came to the US in 1999
+ Was an architect for 11 years
+ Was a fashion photographer
+ Alexo loves cowboys and westerns and pirates
+ His parents fell in love when they were 17 and 19
+ He was raised by his maternal grandmother
+ Practicing an art and making an art are often different
+ “Commercial” “success” is typically based on “who you know”
+ Began portrait photography while still an architect
+ Creating a magic connection with your subject
+ Human connection in art vs. product-driven art
+ Working with multiple exposures and layers
+ Worked with Vogue Italia and Elle Russia
+ Fine Art Photography
+ Loving to visit a city, and then leave
+ Finding balance with people/self/nature
+ Having deeper relationships
+ All Italians ride scooters and are good-looking ;)
+ The importance of creating social communities
+ The journey from architecture to photography
+ Embracing nuances and imperfection
+ Foreseeing the failure and doing it anyway
+ Bucket list item: traveling the US by train
+ Being kind AND opinionated (stubborn)
+ Drawing the line at someone harming another
+ In the end, our journey is our own
+ The community required to make a film
+ What inspired his first film: A Woman Makes a Plan
+ About his second film: Tomato Soup in Skid Row
+ Skid row is like a war zone in Afghanistan
+ Only 30% of homeless are from drug addiction or mental health issues
+ Homelessness is a systemic problem…of the US
+ Stay curious and ask WHY
+ Motorcycle stories
+ The desert is the ultimate metaphor for justice

A taste:
“Artists..they are not diplomats.  They should be the ones saying something loud, even if it’s going to hurt someone else, but at least you’re starting to make people think about or talk about it.  I don’t say that I’m the right one.  But at least let’s wake up from all the selfie and stuff.  Let’s talk about something more serious just for once.”

Favorite saying:
"Our heads are round so our thoughts can change direction.” - Francis Picabia

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@camarocrybaby 
@rosehoundapparel
rosehoundapparel.com  

The scene:
We are in Manchaca, Texas at Blaze Foley’s gravesite sitting on a Mexican blanket having a fruit picnic and drinking Topo Chicos.  We are playing Blaze’s songs in dedication and memoriam to him and we are mostly alone, with the exception of Longhorns in the field next to us.  It’s even nicer than a peaceful park, which is strange to say in a graveyard.  Join us and Blaze for a sun-filled evening sharing stories like old friends.

Highlights:
+ Founder and Owner of Rosehound Apparel
+ Degree in Fashion Design
+ Being a Canadian from Toronto, moonlighting in Austin, TX
+ Thriving under pressure
+ If you want something bad enough, you’ll make it happen
+ The importance of branding
+ Starting out with embroidery, patches, and pins
+ Blowing up at Urban Outfitters and Zara
+ Pop-ups in Japan, London, New York, LA, Vegas…
+ Selling in the under $20 pricepoint
+ Missing making with your hands
+ The appeal of imperfectly made things
+ Buying your own kiln when covid shut down studios
+ Doing something yourself when you can’t find someone to do it
+ Screen-printing mirrors
+ The satisfaction of putting your work online and having positive response
+ Not meeting the demand and being more exclusive
+ Interning students from your university
+ Making and selling through FSG (Fine Southern Gentlemen) in Austin
+ Ceramics: ashtrays, pipes of various shapes
+ Moving to Austin in a 200 sq ft silver 1952 Spartan trailer
+ Renovating an old trailer and making it your new first home
+ Thriving in “non-essential” talents
+ Why Austin (and not Los Angeles)?
+ The importance of friends and family and ride-or-dies
+ Tenacity, impulse, time management, resourcefulness
+ Learning to make your art come first
+ Using your art as relationship therapy
+ Knowing you will always be ok
+ Being inspired by other artists, not threatened
+ Being an entrepreneur frees you from constraint
+ The Id and the Super-ego see-saw (Carl Jung)
+ Traveling 30 states in a camper van
+ Learning low maintenance through travel
+ You create opportunities (they don’t find you)
+ You might think you want a mullet, but you really want a Francoise Hardy
+ Penis pipes and penis waffles

A taste:
“People who shoplift aren’t afraid to take what they want.”

“[I’m] definitely freed from a lot of structured thinking. I’m extremely independent. I know that I can make money out of my own shit. I don’t have to worry about a paycheck. I can put things off and I can work harder and I can make more money and I believe that I am able to do that.”

Favorite saying:
“Tough times never last, only tough people last.”
“Radical acceptance.”

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The scene:
We are sitting in the office that Mariel built in her garage when she gave up her car during the pandemic. She chooses to walk to work to improve her environmental footprint. She shares her passion and real-world solutions for local and global change. Join us for a touching dialogue on the state of humanity and our home.

Highlights:
+ The fossil fuel war

+ Going to bat with the governor in your state (New Mexico)

+ Going after the utilities that reinvest in fossil fuels

+ Oil, gas, coal, nuclear - the fortunes that undermine our democracy

+ The Public Regulation Commission

+ Environmental regulation

+ The enabling codependent relationship between government and the fossil fuel industry

+ Theories of change: focusing on what’s possible

+ SOLAR! New Mexico gets 330 days of sun per year

+ WIND! There’s also a lot of it here

+ There are fire refugees in New Mexico at the time of our interview from 3 massive forest fires

+ Creating community sufficiency

+ Electric car issues, the lithium valley in CA

+ Relationships are the hardest and most rewarding part of life

+ If you had only 15 minutes, what would you grab before leaving your home?

+ The cost prohibitiveness of solar

+ Historically, poor communities have paid for fossil fuels with their health/lives

+ Reparations are past-due

+ Community glue has been severed

+ Corporations and privatization are ruling

+ The ripple effect of small actions to create big impacts

+ Resistance movements need people in numbers

+ White people have gotten too comfortable

+ Decentralized community-owned energy is possible now

+ Being courageous in the face of fear and doubt (Nelson Mandela)

+ The dumbing down and emotional suffocation of our current society

+ The impatience of knowing the world is at a breaking point

+ Seeking friends with our same level of passion

+ Regrets about doing drugs...but not about having sex ;)

+ Self-awareness: taking accountability and using emotions for motivation

+ MLK movie: The Voice in the Wilderness

+ Do and say things that call out the truth

+ The responsibility of privilege

Taste:
“My mother said something to me so beautiful when she was dying. She died really young. She said, “I don’t really have any regrets” and “You (and my brother) turned out better than I ever have imagined.”

Quotes:
“Activism is the antidote to despair.”

“The great revolutionaries are driven by love.” - Che Guevara

Inspiring people:
Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, Brian Stevens, Naomi Cline

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The scene:
We are sitting in the office that Jeff’s wife Mariel built into the garage. It’s the most formal environment selected by my interviewees thus far, but it’s fitting coming from a lawyer ;) Jeff is a spry 80 yrs old and is seemingly stoic and intimidating, but he warms right up when I start prodding him to tell me what the 60s Summer of Love was all about. Join us for a very colorful storytelling of Jeff’s and US history - a memoir of sorts.

Highlights:
+ Board member of the Water Protector Legal Collective

+ Active in the National Lawyers Guild for over 50 years

+ Practiced law in Chicago from 1969-2002

+ Grew up in Atlanta, Georgia

+ Parents are Jewish and supported the Civil Rights Movement

+ Grandfather was an attorney

+ Dad worked with John Lewis on the voter education project 

+ Mom helped integrate hotels in Atlanta

+ Was the president of a fraternity

+ Volunteered for active duty to prevent getting drafted

+ Studied Law at the University of Chicago in the mid 60’s at the time of the riots and anti-war movements

+ First job was at Legal Aid helping the black community build affordable housing

+ Founded the People’s Law Collective

+ Spent 13 years in a civil suit to prove and prosecute the FBI and Chicago Police Dept for murdering Fred Hampton, the leader of the Black Panthers

+ Went back to school in his 60’s for an MFA in Creative Non-Fiction Writing in order to write his book like a memoir

+ Writing is an experience in self-revelation

+ Learning to write not just what happened but how you felt about it

+ Inspired by George Orwell’s memoirs

+ The value of group critiques for developing writing

+ Having a fundamental sense of justice

+ Having a mind for math, logic, and chess

+ Reacting to the time’s politics shaped the trajectory of his life

+ He’s a “reluctant revolutionary”

+ Not just a lawyer for the movement but also a part of the movement

+ There’s a difference between empathizing with or exploiting the prejudices of your crowd (manipulation)

+ When the long-reigning majority fears losing their power, totalitarian regimes tend to set in

+ Movie: Youth vs. the Government

+ The difference between empathy and sympathy, walking together vs. “saving”

+ It’s important to do things in life that make you uncomfortable

+ Using your privilege to benefit others without it

+ Are you part of the solution or are you part of the problem?

+ Office meetings on acid in the forest

+ Having a front-row seat on history

+ The camaraderie of working with a group

+ Climate change is a major issue

+ How do you show the governments’ complicity?

+ Top priority call to action: confronting the fossil fuel industry

Taste:
“If you recognize climate change, you recognize the collective need to deal with it - the governments and people acting together. Private enterprise/capitalism is not going to solve climate change. [...] Acknowledging climate change means you can’t make profit all the time.”

Saying:
“Evil doesn’t succeed because of the actions of evil people, it’s the non-actions of good people that allows evil to prevail.”

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@rjmarti35

The scene:
We are sitting in Valdez Park in Española, New Mexico (just down the road from Pathways Shelter) where Ralph chose to be interviewed so his daughter could play. Ralph says his youngest daughter is his second chance at being the kind of father he should have been to all of his children. While we’re interviewing, we are visited by a young man who frequents his shelter and gives us a very athletic dance performance. Ralph later tells me he can identify a person on a specific drug from a mile away - from personal experience. Join us for a revealing conversation about the rest of life on the other side of recovery.

Highlights:
+ Addiction leads you to do things you don’t really want to do
+ Doing time and being a felon
+ “Life’s experiences lead us to be who we are”
+ The co-dependence of a parent/child relationship
+ When your parents can’t bail you out of the system
+ The reputation of being a badass leads to serious consequences
+ Growing up in the projects of the town you’re running for office in
+ Getting in trouble with your siblings
+ If you’re looking for trouble, it’ll find you wherever you are
+ Children turning your life around
+ Homeless for 6 years - the freedom and the entitlement of it
+ Having gratitude for each moment
+ The feeling of cravings and uncontrollable urges
+ People believing in you more than you believe in yourself
+ The self-rationalization of an addict
+ Choosing the high over the birth of your child
+ The addiction story of our young park visitor
+ Part of a parent’s heart dies when their child is addicted and/or homeless
+ Parents cutting the cord to try to save themselves
+ The depression, self-pity, shame, and guilt that keep a person homeless
+ Resourcing for survival
+ Rehab - again, and again, and again…x 2 (= 6x)
+ You’re not ready until you’re ready
+ Accepting that you’re different leads you to recovery - personal boundaries
+ More access to drugs in jail/prison than on the streets
+ Life isn’t a race, there is plenty left to live
+ The pain of withdrawal from drugs
+ Months without clean clothes and showers
+ Regretting missing out on your children’s lives
+ Being worse than your father you never wanted to be
+ Visiting the places you were homeless to appreciate where you’ve been
+ Currently running for County Commissioner
+ Dreaming of a Camry and achieving a Hummer
+ Tough love from mom
+ The final break - into an apartment with a job
+ Bussing and walking to work 3 hours (keeps you out of trouble)
+ Rebuilding bridges with family
+ People believe in you when you show you believe in yourself
+ Now: Material Management Support at Los Alamos National Laboratory
+ Community activist for 5 years, bringing in $2.8M to the community
+ Thank you @erincurrierfineart for connecting us ;)

A taste:
“If the question is would I change anything in my past, if I had to do it over again? No, no, definitely not, because of who I am now and what I know and what I appreciate. […] If I had not gone through whatever I went through, I would be someone somewhere but I wouldn’t be who I am right now.”

From Ralph’s IG post: “Whether its confidence, love, ambition, work ethic or focus, we as Dads must prioritize our actions on Earth so they align with the type of energy we want to fuel our kids as they become adults.”

Favorite saying:
“We all go through what we gotta go through to get to where we’re going.”

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@leroygarcia
@blueraingallery
linktr.ee/BlueRainGallery

The scene:
We are sitting across from each other at Leroy’s desk in Blue Rain Gallery in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Leroy’s gigantic podcast microphones are approximately 1000% larger than my minimalist travel-sized mic. Blue Rain is a jaw-dropping gallery. I don’t even like galleries very much but this one wows me with how eclectic the collections are and the way the curations both contrast and compliment each other. Join us in the gallery for a colorful convo on the life of a gallerist.

Highlights:
+ Founder Owner of Blue Rain Gallery in Santa Fe, New Mexico
+ Gallerist for 32 years
+ Bronze, resin, and glass sculptor (his skulls are wicked cool)
+ Runs Blue Rain Gallery Podcast - to give exposure to artists
+ Passionate about all art, from low brow to super fine
+ Studied pre-law and fell in love with a potter
+ From a Poli-Sci major to an art promoter
+ Building an art career with your 24-year partner
+ The business of art: from production to marketing to management
+ 25% Native American + Spanish + German/Welsh
+ Born and raised in Taos, New Mexico
+ The least [formally] educated one of 11 siblings
+ Spanish family heritage in Taos dates back to the early 1500s
+ Discovered his Spanish origin heritage was actually French Jews
+ Artist grandfather was commissioned by the King of Spain to create the first maps, the first ethnological studies of the area, and was an early Santero
+ Navajo great grandmother was kidnapped by Apaches and adopted into a Spanish family
+ Lives in Albuquerque so his daughters can go to better schools
+ Learned good work ethic from gardening, farming, ranching, and building at 8 yrs old
+ Gallerists can be perceived by artists as controlling
+ The role of a gallery is to invest in artists, protect their prices, and help them grow
+ The gallery should be an artist’s team
+ Has never had an investor in the gallery - has lost his life savings multiple times
+ The ethics of an artist / gallery relationship [are the same as life ethics]
+ Blue Rain has a large advertising budget that allows them to better represent their artist
+ A gallerist is the ultimate gambler - sometimes the risk is well worth the reward
+ Has an innate talent to sell things - started selling newspapers at 8 yrs old
+ Life experience put him in a trajectory to where he was headed
+ Raising three teenage girls
+ Shoutout to @erincurrierfineart from Leroy, one of your biggest collectors :)
+ Surrounding your daily life with the art that excites and inspires you
+ Americans should find commonalities with each other, not differences
+ Americana art celebrates the eclectic melting pot of America
+ We should celebrate other ideas and perspectives
+ Integrating contemporary native art

A taste:
“You can’t always sit in the middle of the ocean without a paddle waiting for somebody to find you. Sometimes you’ve got to paddle out there and find them.”

Favorite saying:
To his daughters: “There’s a price to pay for what you want. Don’t say you want to be something and then you’re half-ass about it.”

From an IG post, about his skull sculptures: “Skulls are a reminder of our mortality. A reminder that our time on earth is precious, how we treat each other, to be nice, to be kind, to have compassion. It may be the only thing we can take into the next life is our relationships or how we treated people or each other.”

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@arthurlopezsantos
artlopezart.com

The scene:
We are sitting in Arthur’s family room in the center of his home, surrounded by innumerable artworks both of his own and his vast collection from other artists. Together, the art tells a very rich, cohesive story of his life, both past and present. We are joined by his wife Bernadette who is a silversmith and jeweler.

Highlights:
+ Appreciating Santero art for more than just it’s religious iconography
+ A detailed description of his Andaz processional sculpture
+ Depicting gruesome elements in a passionate, designed way to draw the viewer in
+ Embracing personal viewer interpretations
+ The influence of being raised Catholic and being an altar boy
+ The fear and guilt and terror of Catholic religious symbology
+ Looking for the maker’s hand and design elements in art
+ Had a corporate Graphic Design career
+ Dad’s cancer brought him back to Santa Fe, and to wood carving
+ Represented by both the King and Manitou galleries in NM and AZ
“+ Don’t do one thing 100 times, do 100 of those things”
+ Don’t become complacent or stagnant in your work
+ Family supporting you in being a full time artist
+ Shoutout to our connector @erincurrierfineart
+ Gallerists encouraging you to explore and create outside of textbook art
+ There’s room for everyone to create in only the way that they can
+ Doing the art you love for a living / fighting creating art just for selling it
+ Creating art for patrons
+ The life of an artist bringing unique experiences and opening doors
+ Releasing yourself from your pieces
+ Loves the challenge of hearing “you can’t do this or that”
+ Everything in your life path is cumulative, is necessary
+ Creates collaborative Santos with his silversmith and jeweler wife @silverbybernadette

A taste:
“What do you want out of life? […] What are you willing to do for it? […] For everything in life, there’s a sacrifice to get there and you’ve got be willing to make those sacrifices.”

Favorite saying:
“It doesn’t matter how long it takes you to get there as long as you get there.”
“If you want more, do more.”

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@littleanniemotel
@moteltattoo
littleanniemotel.com

The scene:
We are sitting in Annie’s tattoo shop, six stories above downtown Los Angeles, and she is giving me a tattoo during our interview. The piece we chose together is one of her recent original works of art. Annie is my recent girl crush spirit animal and here’s why: she’s a total fucking badass at living life fully expressed and creating endlessly from her heart. Join us in the shop as we talk about how a sensitive, kind-hearted female learns to set boundaries to become a fierce business owner in this day and age.

Highlights:
+ I experiment with tattoo gun background noise in this recording…you might hate it but what Annie has to say is worth it
+ Tattoo business name: Little Annie Motel Tattoo Parlor
+ Annie has a huge collection of paintings and is manifesting an art show
+ Annie tells the story of how we met: I talked her into a hot tub
+ Art History is her first love (mine too)
+ Dad was an art teacher and encouraged her to not give up making art
+ Tattooing for nine years, lived in LA since 2009, grew up in Seattle
+ “I got what I like going on…I’m well-blended”
+ Books tattoos through instagram DMs
+ Referencing artists at an art show using only their instagram names
+ Annie loves old Hollywood
+ Good read: Gentlemen Prefer Blondes by Anita Luz (A. Luz)
+ Kindness and being walked on
+ Learning to be protective and use masculine energy
+ The challenge of being taken seriously as a female business owner
+ Learning hard lessons about not getting paid
+ “If I were a man, I wouldn’t be having this problem”
+ Dropping the energy of being upset and moving forward
+ Hating depending on people
+ Making short films and learning to make your own scores
+ Women are inherently creators (of literal life) and that energy propels us
+ Been a filmmaker since 2013, biggest influence: John Waters
+ Youtube channel: Annie Motel, 27 short films
+ “Motel Vampire” just won an award at the Roma Film Festival for “Best Horror Short”
+ How we use ourselves as our own muses to experiment with creating
+ Annie describes the tattoo she’s giving me
+ Artist collaborations that are unique to the moment and personal
+ “The more you do it, the better you get”
+ Shaping your life by the way you live your art
+ Tattooed in Italy and fell in love with walking to work
+ The freedom of being your own boss…and dealing with personalities
+ Everyone who works for her represents her business
+ Showing up on time and being kind shouldn’t have to be a conversation
+ Drake says it best: “A boss is a role that I’ve grown into”
+ Her role model: The Godfather - show no emotion, don’t let them know your next move
+ Depression happens because you’re focused on the past
+ Anxiety happens because you’re focused on the future
+ “If you’re upset by something you did in the past, just say, “That was the old me’”

A taste:
“I like to be a nice person and I like to be sensitive, but I also don’t want to be walked on. A big part of the last 10 years has been me being very protective in a way and putting on a very tough exterior in a way and assuming masculine energy to be a business owner. […] So I have to be really tough when on the inside I’m just a sweetheart.”

Favorite sayings:
“God is good.” “God’s got it.”  
To self: “You got this - don’t worry. It’s fine.”

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@artedenicholas
nicholasherrera.com

The scene:
We are sitting in San Antonio Chapel at Nicholas’ home, where his mother is buried and his brother is memorialized. This chapel is an intricate work of sculpture created by hand, from the heart - the same way Nicholas creates everything in his life. Across the courtyard is his home. Across the field is his sculpture parts junkyard. Next to that are his wood and metal and car building workshops. Join us in the chapel for a candid conversation about creating from the heart.

Highlights:
+ 6th generation El Rito, New Mexican
+ Original deed of his family land came from the king of Spain
+ Uncle was Santero de La Muerte
+ His art has to make a statement, touch souls and hearts
+ On money and not wanting to sell your soul
+ Self-taught artist, no schooling 
+ Was put in special ed classes for killing the teacher’s fish
+ Had a lot of friends but hated school
+ Left high school for community college and took welding
+ His girlfriend did his homework in exchange for pot
+ His recycled sculpture started with childhood visits to the dump
+ Dead artists make more money
+ “Put it out there and do what your heart tells you and keep doing it”
+ “The best addiction I’ve ever had is art”
+ Called an “outsider artist”
+ Letting the art piece guide you in it’s creation - not fighting it
+ Creating art from jail
+ The board doesn’t know shit about art
+ Creating controversial art
+ Documenting the story of the world
+ Working as a laborer
+ Hand-restored his 1939 Chevy Coupe and 1931 Ford truck that was his grandfather’s
+ Feels compelled to inspire others
+ Instructors can’t tell you how to create
+ Lives on the farm he grew up on
+ Humor and laughing is a good thing in life - don’t be too serious
+ Ego screws you up - stay humble
+ Believing you have a good soul and a good heart
+ Friends of friends are in the network, welcomed in
+ Passing on the energy of being a good person
+ Artists must know how to hustle and adapt
+ The crazy mix of our ancestry makes us all related eventually
+ Racism is passed on from our families
+ The human journey has been documented through art since the beginning
+ Intentionally showing the hand in your work
+ The importance of doing things from the heart
+ “Opinions are like assholes…”
+ Complimenting others comes from having self-confidence
+ The experiences of our lives making us who we are
+ There are no rules - just keep creating

A taste:
“I’ve been so stubborn all my fucking life. I work against the river. Instead of flowing down the river, I’ll fucking canoe myself up the river.”

[on staying humble] “I grew up like that. I’ve seen a lot of people struggle, a lot of people suffer. I’m not better than them - never have, never will be. I’m just a person, doing art.”

Favorite sayings:
“Tell me who you hang with, and I’ll tell you who you are” (Dad’s saying)
“Those assholes are all farts and no shit” (Mom’s saying)

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@tobymorfinart
tobymorfinart.com

The scene:
We are sitting in Toby’s studio in Española, near Santa Fe New Mexico, on his brother’s property next to the house he grew up in. His studio is a mini gallery of many local artist and friend works that inspire him. I met Toby’s mom. Toby is all family, all community. He has a heart of gold. He offered to help me with a minor car fix after I’d known him for only an hour. Join us in the studio gallery for an open-ended conversation about his come-up, family, controlling your art sales, and life lessons.

Highlights:
+ Charity work in the community
+ Local artist plate-painting auction from big names
+ A growing private art collection of 200+ pieces: James Blackstone Lofton, Mike Giant, Jim Vogel, Cara Romero, Joseph Lopez, Moises, Paul O’Connor, Magoo, Vince Herrera, Erin Currier @erincurrierfineart (who introduced us!), etc.
+ Toby curated the “Santo Low Rider” Show at the Harwood
+ The origin of 50s religious iconography painted on lowrider cars: Santos artwork of the 1800-1900s
+ 13 years of curating his annual “Day of the Dead” show (November)
+ Artists are unpredictable
+ Dad taught him “If you’re on time, you’re late”
+ 21 yr-old brother OD’d when Toby was still in high school
+ Stay neutral with everyone because “we” are not better than “them”
+ Shoutout to Ralph Martinez for community work together
+ Life taking turns, learning to roll with the punches
+ Letting the art flow - unscheduled, not planning, not stressing
+ Painting off canvas - on anything
+ Having your art in the ghetto and in million dollar homes
+ Teaching others to appreciate the differences in others through art
+ “If people copy your work, you’re a badass”
+ “We’re all here in one world together”
+ Started drawing on brown paper bags from the grocery store
+ Influenced by wood and marble sculptures and large paintings as a kid (Larry Fedor)
+ The youth jobs we have that help make us
+ Worked for the Mae Corporation as a phone operator
+ CEOs bought 60K of his artwork for the corporate buildings
+ Sadness and heartbreak can be powerful life and art inspiration
+ Working with what you’ve got / not needing a lot to do what you love
+ Creating the feeling of where you want to be in the place that you are
+ Not listening to others’ opinions of your art
+ Controlling all aspects of your art and your shows
+ Shoutout to Nicholas Herrera @artedenicholas - you’re a badass
+ Being an outgoing person can backfire
+ Expectations in the art world, low-balling an artist
+ Being a business-minded artist with an LLC
+ Artist’s working with each other to build their business
+ Toby’s paintings are shadow-box framed and painted by local car painters
+ “Everyone here [in the Santa Fe/New Mexico area] is connected”
+ Having discipline and fuck-off time
+ Learning everything we can from our elders

A taste:
“I saw all this paper they [Mae] were wasting so I talked to the main dude [...].  Everyone was always all scared of him […] I started to talk to him and said, ‘Once a week we’ll pick up all the paper and recycle it.’ […] There were all these bilingual Mexicans that worked there and I said you guys should get more money for being bilingual and I approached him about that so I got more pay for the bilingual people.”

Favorite saying:
“Don’t screw your credit up.”

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Love, Sagewolf xoxo