Design by Humans - New T-shirts everyday!
All T-shirts printed on high quality shirts created and voted on by the public

What is your current residence, occupation and state of mind?
i live in providence, rhode island with two cats and one-thousand roommates--two of whom are on DBH; stashvamps and girlskull. i do a bunch of different jobs-- i teach silkscreen class at a local community print shop, i print stuff for cash, i bartend at theater downtown, and apparently try and win t-shirt contests.

How would you describe your style of art?
rushed. experimental? it's a direct reflection of the kind of person i am, and that person is totally impatient.

How did your experience at the Rhode Island School of Design influence your development as an artist?
It was neat to be around lots of other people making work, which is totally cliche to say but whatevs. also, printmaking was one of the best things i could've learned. this is totally weird to actually verbalize, but i have no idea what i'd be doing right now if i didn't make prints. i make prints, i make friends, sometimes i make dinner. it's great.

How does an art education at a place like RISD set an artist apart? Do you feel a post high school art degree is required to be a successful artist?
i don't think RISD sets anyone apart, i think individuals sets themselves apart. there are plenty of people i know who've never been to art school and are phenomenal artists, and there are plenty of people who graduated from RISD who make really lame work. i think getting to go to school presents you with really great opportunities for learning, and i feel very fortunate for having access to those opportunities, but i don't feel like i have been, or deserve to be "set apart" from others. so, no, a post high school art degree is not at all required to be a successful artist, in my opinion. :)

How does designing for a Tshirt differ from your other prolific art work in comics and posters?
designing t shirts is a lot more jovial than drawing comics for me, it's kind of like a way to relax and be productive simultaneously. i can sit in front of the tv for a bit and design a couple shirts, and maybe they'll be stupid or ugly, but at least i did something with my time. posters are kind of the same as t-shirts for me, it'll take me about a day or so to print up an edition and if they turn out poorly, it's no big deal. i love drawing comics, but sometimes i make them too important, and they stress me out. they also take way longer!

How did you hear about Design By Humans?
i was helping my friend print sometime at RISD, and this guy who's name i forget was talking about how he won $500 pretty much out of the blue. $500 sounded good, so i thought i'd check it out.

Tell us about the design process for your winning design "billy the money buffalo goes to a party"
i didn't really plan it out, i kind of just sat down, penciled it, inked it, scanned it, then colored it in photoshop. i didn't vectorize it or anything. although i did use this cool non-photo blue pencil.

Any plans for a future submission showing what happens when billy actually gets to the party?
sometimes it's the journey that makes the trip (cryptic).

If you could instantly fix one issue facing the human race today what would it be?
whew, this is one of those high-pressure interviews that doesn't beat around the bush, huh?

Who is your favorite artists of all time and why?
hard question! i guess picasso is up there, he's one of the first that comes to mind because of his series of minotaur drypoints which are phenomenal, and kind of reverberate THROUGH SPACE AND TIME with my more sexual work, which i think is interesting and kind of nice. i also like gary panter a lot, he is a genius and does a great job bridging that awkward gap between "fine art" and "comics", amongst many other things.

What would be the most important piece of advice you would share with aspiring artists trying to "make it"?
i dunno! when i "make it", i'll be sure to dispense some important advice!