- Wooden Toy Features -

INTERVIEW WITH JOHN FELLOWS // Interview by F A N G S

Thinking back to when you started, did you ever think your work would entail designing skateboard graphics and working for multi million dollar companies? When I graduated university, I started freelancing in design and illustration right away but I never thought I would be doing work for such cool (and big) companies. I don't think I thought that far into the future. All I cared about was earning enough money for plane tickets. All of my friends ran off and got full time jobs and were happy with their 2 weeks of vacation a year. I was 22 and wanted to travel, meet new people from different countries and have fun. That, and I was consumed by rugby union which I started playing in high school. One of my main goals was to go to Europe or Australia and see live rugby and try and play as much as I could. I actually got to practice with one of the teams in Parma, Italy. It's always nice to be a smaller guy on the pitch (let alone American) and score a try during a scrimmage. Believe it or not, I was actually pretty good at the game. Played a total of 12 years before I hung up my cleats and realized there was a lot more out there.

Recently, I realized I never really took my design, illustration, or art that seriously when I was younger. They were always something I really liked to do, but I would push them to the side if something else came up. It hasn't been until about 5 or 6 years ago that I realized that I really enjoyed doing art and design and that I needed to get serious. So I feel like my career is still in its infancy.

A lot of the more creative jobs I have gotten have been from persistence. A couple years ago, I started making a zine called PaperCut that is filled with my artwork and some photos. I personally love getting things in the mail, so in turn I just started sending my zine out around the world to anyone I thought would enjoy it. I wasn't specifically looking for work, it was just something fun to do. After a while, people really started to respond to them and friendships were struck and a few freelance jobs offered. I encourage anyone starting out (or even established) to make zines. Its fun and a cheap way to get your work out there and meet new people.

Upon discovering you get much inspiration, like many of us out there, from traveling, where is your favourite country to work? My favourite place to do work in is Colorado USA. I have access to a lot of things that I don't when traveling. I've done carvings in other countries, but it's normally been while sitting at picnic tables or in the random hostel. Not really places where you can make a nice mess. It would be great to stay in a foreign country for a while and be able to set up a small studio or use a little space in another artists studio. Traveling is a great source of inspiration because you are always seeing new things, places, and meeting new people.

Looking through your Linoleum prints, they exhibit various fellas, usually sporting some kind of facial hair. A theme with great meaning or unconscious detail? For some reason, the majority of my characters have developed wild beards. There are a couple reasons behind all the facial hair. 1) It's kind of a symbol of personal freedom. Most (professional) jobs frown upon any facial hair, even jobs at ski resorts in the mountains where you think it would be acceptable. 2) it adds a nice graphic element to the characters, and 3) I can't grow a full beard, so someone has to have one.

What would your ideal facial hair style be? Thick and full.

You really seem to like working on found paper. Best thing to find? There's a great used bookstore around the corner from my house in Denver that I go to quite often. Books are piled from floor to ceiling and if you take the time to look, you can find some amazing things. Just recently I found a book that was starting to fall apart. When I opened it, the first few pages were yellowed with age, stained and all over was small calligraphy writing by the past owner. Turns out the book was from 1881. Finding books like this are the best. They're not new and perfect. They have seen some living and really meant something to the owners.

Worst thing to lose? The desire to learn new things and see new places. People that have no desire to leave their 'bubble' are really disappointing. I had a friend in university that had no desire to ever leave the States. He didn't want to be knocked off his American high horse and be in situations where he couldn't speak the language and deal with different cultures on their terms. It was pretty sad. Some of my best experiences have been when I've stepped off a train in a foreign country and had no clue where I was.

You're overseas and you send a letter to a loved one back home. Do you put the story on the inside or outside of the envelope? A little bit of both. Normally when I travel I take linoleum to do carvings and prints from the road that I then turn into postcards that I send back to people. That way, I get to do something I love and they get an original piece of art that tells a little story about what country I'm in. I've sent original cards from Gimmelwald, Switzerland (depicting the Alps), Katoomba, Australia (Aboriginals and the Blue Mountains), New Zealand (Maoris), and Barcelona, Spain (the bullfight). When I have more time and access to more supplies, I'll put a story on the outside of the envelope as well.

Do you usually see a finished image before start a piece, or does it come together as you go? I always have somewhat of an image in my head before I start a piece, but the great thing about working with linoleum is there will always be some 'happy accidents' by the time you're done carving. After the print is done, I then think about other elements I can add either by hand, cutting and pasting, or maybe it needs another carving on top.

Whats the best thing to come after an awkward silence? Laughing.

Would you say your style is constantly evolving of changes completely every so often? I would say my style is constantly evolving. I'm pretty happy with the direction it's going at the moment. I'll learn new techniques or develop a fascination with a certain element and start incorporating those into my work more and more, slowly changing the overall look. I used to try and be a perfectionist. I wanted everything to be extremely clean and have my prints be perfect. When something was black on white paper, the black had to be black with no variation in tone and the paper had to stay pristine white. Then I started to embrace the imperfections of printing and paper. With my style now, I want the finished work to look as it has been around for a while and work in unison with the paper it is printed on. I don't think I have ever just completely changed my style. For me that would be pretty drastic. I don't think you'll see my work turn into all geometric shapes anytime soon.

What's the first sentence of your favourite book? I know you are only asking for one, but here are my top 3:

'Two men were walking up the rue Didot, in the fourteenth arrondissement of Paris.' BOHEMIAN PARIS: Picasso, Modigliani, Matisse, and the Birth of Modern Art. Dan Franck. This is a great book about an amazing time in the history of art.

'I've been a businessman for almost fifty years.' LET MY PEOPLE GO SURFING: The Education of A Reluctant Businessman. Yvon Chouinard (founder of Patagonia). Covers the history of an amazing company and their ups and downs. Great read for the business world.

'No one remembers exactly how the bag arrived at Mike Eldon's home in Nairobi, only that it took several weeks after Dan's death to get there.' DAN ELDON: The Art of Life. Jennifer New. I first read of Dan Eldon over ten years ago when I bought the book "The Journey is the Destination". It was an amazing book that reproduced his journals. Dan was a 22-year-old photographer for Reuters that was stoned to death by a mob while reporting from Mogadishu. This book is the actual biography of his life with photos and reproductions of his extremely artistic journals. Learn more about him here: www.daneldon.org

Does the text on your 'found paper' influence the prints you put on them? Most of the time, yes. But sometimes the text isn't that important to the overall image. Normally when I find certain books and envelopes I try to base the image that is going to go on that piece from the text or country of origin. Prime example of a book page is the 'Toilers of the Sea' piece. Another example is the ongoing Endangered Animals envelope series. Each one depicts an endangered or extinct animal from the envelopes country of origin.

Would you prefer to paint a wall or a commercial envelope? Tough question. I like to do both, but to me they are so different. Painting a wall is much more of a public work because of the sheer size and locations, while printing on an envelope is much more of a personal piece. It's smaller and has to be viewed from much closer creating a more intimate experience.

Of what significance are birds to you and your work? All the birds in my pieces symbolize the freedom to do what you want. Being able to leave and go wherever you want, whenever you want. When I was younger living back in Philly, I would up and leave whenever I wanted. Last minute cheap airfare to Europe and a couple weeks off? I'd try to be on a plane in a heartbeat. I'm a lot more stable now.

One feeling I get from your prints is a struggle between gaining freedom and being free. Is this a play on your life and work in the design industry? I'm not sure if it is an intentional reflection on my life or work in the industry. I think the idea of being free (or gaining freedom) is a widely understood and desired theme. For me, I went to a university in Philadelphia and their main focus was teaching students how to get a full time job after graduation. This way it reflected nicely on the school so they get more students the following year. They didn't really teach students how to think for themselves, just how to be really good worker bees. By the time I graduated, I realized I didn't want to be locked into a fulltime job with maybe 2 weeks vacation. I wanted something more and started freelancing just enough to pay for plane tickets to Europe. I really lucked out and one of my freelance jobs required me to travel which helped feed the addiction. They were sending me to places around the States as well as Paris, Lisbon, Sardegna, Hawaii, etc. I could deal with a suit for two weeks or so to have free plane tickets to places like these. Both the travel and attire slowly made there way into my work and guys wearing suits started popping up. I think I wanted to make them wear the suit so I didn't have to.

Which do you prefer: Digital or hand illustrations? Depends on the project. If it's personal art, hand illustration. If I'm working on a commissioned illustration, then it's what the project dictates. If a carving suits the brief then I'll do it by hand and add color digitally or I'll do the whole thing on the computer if that solution would work best.

Black and White or colour? Black & white, with maybe 1 other color. I'm a big believer in 'less is more'. But that's just me. A lot of time it's easy to make something look 'cool' by using tons of colors. I feel that sometimes a lot of color distracts the eye and brain from really seeing a piece for what it is. I try to limit my color usage as much as possible. Why use 3 colors when 2 will do? But once again, that's just me. Others can do what they want.

Friday's or Saturday's? As a freelance designer and illustrator, a lot of the time they are just another day. I can take a Friday off from work to go hiking or skiing and then work on Saturday and vice versa. It depends on deadlines and what days my girlfriend has off. But on Fridays, you normally have less people out on the mountain.

If I ruled the world, I would... If I ruled the world, was king on the throne I'd make peace in every culture, build the homeless a home? - Curtis Blow. Also, I would make sure that no country could pass a bill like the Orphan Works Bill that is currently in the US Congress.

www.johnfellows.net