phoToS BY IAn GlASS things that they don’t want to do, almost as an excuse to not pursue their dreams because they’re scared they can’t do it or they’ll be let down. They prefer to leave it as this dream because in your head, the way you see it is perfect. But that’s all it will ever be. And that just creates this feedback loop of unhappiness and lack of fulfillment. What gives you fulfillment? My life really can’t exist without both music and art happening. They fulfill different things for me. Art is in my blood. I was born with it. And songwriting is something that I adapted and brought into my life because of my interest in it. My music and songwriting is much more personal than my art. My art comes from this almost instinctual, primal, animalistic place. I feel a lot of connection with animals and creatures and it’s a very meditative and subconscious process. Songwriting expresses my more conscious thoughts. I use songs as metaphors ISSUe 6 for things going through my head which doesn’t happen with my art. And that’s why wood burning musical instruments is the perfect medium for me. It’s the two things that mean the most to me combined. are you currently in a musical project? I’m the chief singer/songwriter and guitarist of Howl Moonshine Howl, an indie folkrock fourpiece. I started playing guitar when I was 16 and have been in bands all through college. I didn’t actually start songwriting until my sophomore year. Within a year of each other I started songwriting and wood burning. They’ve always been side-by-side with each other. How did you start wood burning? It’s funny because when I first wood-burned it wasn’t like looking into your true love’s eyes the first time you meet and realize that you’re meant for each other. I went to Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) and a girl in my class did a piece with a wood burning tool and I asked to borrow it. I did a piece and it turned out really well, but I dropped the medium for a year when I studied abroad in Rome. When I came back, my last year at RISD was basically me figuring out what works and what doesn’t with wood burning. And I think some of my first pieces were the best I’ve ever done. What creation are you most proud of? My art usually ends up going elsewhere and I never see it again. But it’s really cool coming across my stuff. The epitome of this was in October. A guy contacted me because his girlfriend’s birthday was coming up and he was building her a guitar from parts. He wanted to send me the body, have me burn it and send it back to him. At first I had no idea who he was. A lot of people commission me to do my wood burnings as gifts. But then I saw on the footer 27
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