Subscribe
Share
Share
Embed
Welcome to Your Art Is A Spell, the podcast that ignites inspiring and transformative conversations about art as a magical practice. I'm your host, Edgar Fabián Frías—a multi-passionate artist, witch, therapist, and proud mutant shape-shifter. My art spells have reached audiences through social media, billboards, and skyscrapers and have even been placed on the surface of the moon! Join us as we explore how reclaiming your unique artistic voice and embracing bold creativity can transform your life and the world around you. Subscribe to the podcast and sign up for our newsletter at www.yourartisaspell.com to stay connected!
The algorithm wants a brand. Your soul wants
chaos. Have you ever felt like the internet wants
you to become one thing? One niche, one identity,
one brand that's easy to understand and consume,
easy to sell, easy to categorize. I know
I sure have. A lot of artists, witches,
and multi-passionates know this pressure. all too
well. We're constantly told to narrow ourselves to
make our work more legible, more consistent,
more algorithm friendly. But the truth is,
none of us are flat or one dimensional. We're
messy. We're intuitive. We're contradictory.
We're evolving constantly. And that complexity is
exactly where our magic lives. And that is what
today's conversation is about. In this episode,
I'm speaking with my friend Colin Frangicetto,
a musician, a visual artist, a creative force
who has explored different names and identities
across his practice, including ADHD, Space Case,
Colin Cosmic, Colin of the band Circa Survive,
and so much more Together we talk about what it
means to resist being boxed in, how to create
from a place of freedom instead of fear, and how
to keep expanding and making whatever art it is
you want to make when the system tells you to
be small or to be easy to consume or legible.
This is really a conversation for anyone who
has ever felt too expansive for one label,
too strange for one lane, or too alive to fit
neatly into a feed. If that's you, I hope that
this episode gives you permission to trust your
depth, your weirdness, and your own creative path.
Hi, welcome Colin to Your Art Is A Spell. I'm so
honored for you to be here. I am, as you know,
such a huge fan of your art and of everything that
you share online and in many other spaces. And I
would just love for you to introduce yourself and
just share a little bit about who you're showing
up today as. [laughter] Hi. Hi, Edgar. Uh, thank
you so much for having me here. Uh, the fandom is
very mutual. Uh I feel exactly the same way about
your work and you as a person and I'm just so
uh grateful to um to be connected. Uh and uh this
feels very much like a full circle moment because
we met um with me doing this to you. [laughter] So
um so this is a so that I don't know even know how
many years ago that was but it was a long time
ago. I want to say maybe even seven years ago.
Um you know a whole different world. Yeah, we
absolutely. Yeah. Many worlds ago. Um, so yeah,
it's it's been such a pleasure to get to know you
and see how you operate in the world and I I feel
like I've I've been inspired by you as a friend
and as an artist. Thank you. Um, I'm Colin. I am a
um artist, a musician. I kind of file all these
things under artist, but you know, I'll give you
all the hyphens. Um, yeah, artist, musician, um,
writer, uh, editor. I don't know. I do I do pretty
much anything creative that can um, help me pay
the rent, but also express my innermost being.
That's kind of that's kind of my hustle. My hustle
is always trying to find things that excite me uh,
and fulfill me. And somehow, you know, maybe the
spell part is um, you know, convincing people that
somehow it has, um, value enough for the Scrooge
bucks or whatever. Um, [laughter] you know,
uh, but yeah, I mean, I think, um, I also go by
ADHD. Um, some people even call me Space Case.
That's that's some weird side effect of um the
different names on profiles versus handles and
all this stuff. I kind of embrace it all. I think
as we were like briefly touching on before we hit
record, I you know, I think it's always something
I've I've had a push and pull with identity in the
arts. And even as simple of of a thing as the
decision to name my solo music project with a
moniker rather than use my name. Um, I think
initially it was like, oh, I maybe I wanted
to be a band at some point, but also I think
just in general I'm more there is some type of
like license or like there's like freedom that you
get with these monikers that I was interested in,
always always interested in. And uh I felt that
way even like when I first got introduced to like
graffiti when I was really young too. Just like
having a tagging name or you know just anything
that gave some veil of anonymity just taking on
a persona that was always interesting to me. Um
yeah I'm curious what has that made possible to
to have these little containers or these personas
to jump into? You know, I think in a lot of
ways for me personally, the way it's served
me the most is it's given me courage to explore
things that perhaps I felt didn't fit some neat
um you know, box of what I was supposed to be
as a creator or maybe what I was known for.
Um, I think there's something I always
kind of throw around this term. It's just,
you know, it's nothing earthshattering or
anything, but I just say like new energy. Um,
or like in in music specifically, I would
say like new band energy. Um, or you know,
it's kind of this idea that the audience I
always want to respect the audience, right? Uh,
I think the audience is always smarter than most
would give them credit for. Yet, at the same time,
I also have sort of an animosity towards the
audience. Um, and maybe it's it's playful for
the most part, but I think the animosity is is
sort of like twofold. It's I would say primarily
the animosity is towards the marketing entity
that the audience sort of h um you know they
they kind of just um succumb to and they become
what we're told they are right which is obviously
a lie right people are are are vast and they're
sensitive and intelligent but I There's something
that happens with these funnels of um you know the
social social media algorithms, these um you know
targeting ad campaigns and all this stuff. And
even as far back as before that
with like I always was like irritated when I'd
go into a record store and see genres, you know,
like ugh it's so limiting. Um, and so I think for
me, I've always known that there was this hurdle
of like having to get past what people recognized
you as. They always are going to want to put you
into a box so that they can understand you better,
but maybe more cynically, um, put you in a box so
that they can consume you easier. And and so for
me, I've always wanted to sort of play around with
that. And I don't I never saw it as like tricking
people, right? And even when I would do things
that were pseudo-anonymous, I would never shy away
from the truth that it was me, right? But there's
something Yeah, there's something freeing to that.
I think that uh very uh often I think people will
think they know you and they will think they know
what you make and they will think that you know
on one hand they'll think they've seen or heard
it all be all before right and oh well that's
just that person they've been there forever doing
their thing and I like it but it's not the same as
something they see that's like oo shiny new right
and they have this like oh my god right it's it's
so much harder to get that oh my god shiny new
when you're established and so I think that you
know there was just some type of hack in that
where I was like oh if I present a new name and
just don't even talk about the fact that I had
this history um I could get that ooh shiny new
reaction and with that there is opportunity
to infect in a way that I think sometimes
it's harder for us as longstanding established
identities. Yeah. I I really appreciate you being
so vulnerable and and sharing about the need to uh
create these personas, these shields or facades,
right? Especially I know that a lot of people who
listen to this podcast are like multi-passionate,
multi-hyphenate and as you said, humans are
vast, right? We contain so many multitudes.
And I'm wondering about that courage that it took
you to go from something known into something new
and to also hear those voices or those parts of
you that were saying maybe you're not known in
that world or or do you really, you know, belong
here? Like yeah, like I just I'm curious about
what it took for you to like take that leap
in a sense. [sighs] Um, yeah, I think that
it's probably a little bit of of devastation and
I think needing a sense of closure in some way,
needing something fresh for myself. I think
that's usually where it would start, right?
But you're right. There is this feeling of, "Oh,
but I've worked so long to be known in this way,
be seen in this way." Many people thought
I was crazy. anytime I would do anything
that didn't directly lead back to sort of
this resume, this long-standing history,
you know, close friends or managers, agents,
you know, any people that I would work with,
why wouldn't you use your old band name in this
or why wouldn't you use your name that all these
people know you for? Why not make it easier to
figure out who you are? Like all this stuff. And
um to me it was always like no that that that's
a burden. That's not that's not a that's not the
thing that you think it is. And I think for the
most part the burden is really just the creative
sort of net and you just get caught in it and it's
just so much. It's not that you can't expand. You
can absolutely you can. But for whatever reason
to me, I don't know. I just had a strong inner
voice that was telling me, you know, the best way
to do this would be like incrementally over time
in these in these sort of like sneaky playful
games. And in a lot of ways, I mean, you know,
if we take the ADHD persona for instance, kind of
exploring digital art, just with my regular name
for a while led me to just this very simple
uh restriction that was like this lack of um
curation on Hic et Nunc um this platform that we were
minting work on. Everything was just this big mess
of everything was there. And some part of me just
wanted to have a collection. I just wanted to do a
very concentrated, very cohesive collection that I
didn't really want to be in this big blob of of of
different things. And so it just by default meant
you had to start a new wallet. You had to start a
new profile. And so that moment usually um being
someone who has just like a lot of um issues with
like you know various so I'm I'm AuDHD so I have
like you know I'm ADHD but also have autism and
um I would say my ADHD is definitely far more
pronounced and committing to changes committing
to choices [laughter] is is a struggle on any
given day I'll have 8 bajillion thousand tabs
open because I'm like, "Oh, I there's something on
this page that I need or that I want to absorb or
something, but I'm not ready to close it yet."
And then it's like, "I'll start another one.
I'll start another one. I'll start another one."
And so, I think I sat open with that new profile
page open for weeks, not knowing what I was going
to name it. And it was just this frustrating kind
of humorous moment of just realizing that I was
struggling with ADHD at the time and that was what
was keeping me. So I just literally just typed
ADHD and to my surprise no one had claimed it yet
and I was just like all right that's [laughter]
it. Um and from that point on it was just like one
thing led to the next. One choice was like are you
ready to give up this? Are you ready to shed this?
Are you ready to shed that? And I um for whatever
reason, you know, every little bit of a win that
I would have would just give me a little bit more
confidence to let go and know that um I think it
was just the transiencece of everything and just
really seeing that my god, I've been making art
for so long and the the only reason any of it ever
stays is is because I have to choose to catalog it
and put it on a page and say this happened. I made
this. You know, if you don't, the sands of time,
just erase it. And uh or just wash over it and
make it harder and harder to find. And I know I'm
jumping around a lot, but essentially I am I feel
like this ties back to, you know, existential sort
of things. I think in a lot of ways are grasping
on this desire to be remembered, this desire
to not just disappear. That's something that I
struggled with as a young person deeply, right?
Because I I also struggled with spirituality and
just like this idea of God, of afterlife, of like,
you know, I'd pingpong back and forth between like
atheist and like ultra spiritualist like you know
uh for for a really long time and I always
wanted to avoid fear being what was guiding
my beliefs right in that sense. But it was hard
because I think really it's a hardwired in us,
you know. So I remember just having a like pretty
pretty sure it was like an LSD experience that
afterwards for whatever reason it just sort of had
had dissolved this fear of being forgotten. It it
it had like literally inversed. So and and it was
something I was consciously trying to work on for
a long time. M um but yeah it was just I had this
profound experience various visions uh of horror
and also um I I would say you know ecstasy but
really this sort of relief that comes from being
um annihilated to some degree or sort of sent back
to the whole and eventually I started realizing
like Oh, there's there's a lot here that mirrors
how I feel about collectivism versus, you know,
the individual identity and all this stuff. And
yeah, I just started really surrendering to this
idea that you cannot you cannot control whether
or not you're reme you're remembered or how you're
remembered. I mean, you might you might be able to
guide it here and there, but ultimately, you know,
that that's out of your hands and and to sort of
hyper obsess on it. It's one thing to play the
game and to know that you're going to do certain
things with your web presence or as artists,
we always have to deal with this with our
portfolios and our websites and all this stuff,
whatever. It's a game. That's that's all it is. Um
but just this um going beyond that it can become
this compulsive obsessive thing that I think
artists try to manage like hyper manage. And so
for me it was like oh no I'm going to completely
release myself into this idea that none of this
matters and that in a year from now or less people
won't even remember half of these things. And I
would even play around with that and post things
that I had already posted and see how people would
react to it like it was new and I was like you
already reacted to this 6 months ago. You don't
even remember it. And I don't take that personally
or or like judge them for that. But that is uh
there's something about that that's freeing when
you start to realize none of this matters. Like
we tell ourselves that the things we're going to
do have so much weight. they're going to just echo
into eternity and that we have to, you know, for
some of us that's paralyzing to think like that.
So for me, this has all been one big like exercise
of like surrender into the disintegration of the
self and to know that it's all just temporary.
All this stuff we're doing here, you don't have
to take it so seriously, you know? It's like it's
a it's sacred comedy really. [laughter] Yeah. And
that liberation that you're naming, that feeling
of freedom and flow. I can really see it echoed in
the work that you've been making. I've been in
awe of your generativity, like how much you've
been able to make in the last few years and the
layers, the density, the complexity of your art.
I'd love to hear you speak a little bit about
your artwork that you've been making as ADHD. And
also if you could speak a little bit about the
process that you go through when you're making
um the work. Yeah, totally. Thank you. I feel
the same way about you by the way. you you
are extremely prolific and I it's uh it's always
amazing to me to to go on your site and just just
scroll through everything that you've made and
and realize that this stuff is not only is it it's
hard work because there's there's deep concepts
there at all times and everything is relating, but
there's there's also just this it's so natural and
I and it everything about it just feels like it's
flowing out of you like you just touch something
and it and it appears like that's that's the way I
obviously I glad it feels it appears that way to you.
[laughter] Yeah. Well, that's the trick, right?
Like that's what we almost hope that like um we're
so in in tune with our our essence as artists that
it starts to feel that way to others when they
look at it. And I really do get that from your
from your work um in in all of its different
forms and dimensions. And I think that that's
that's been, you know, essentially I wouldn't say
it's like this primary objective that I obsess on,
but it is something that subconsciously I'm
going for. I don't want to create processes
that are difficult on purpose just to kind of flex
technicality or anything like that. I'm always
trying to make my process more streamlined.
And how do I get to the part where I'm making
the decisions and and um you know really um I
don't know I've kind of pinpointed like these
are like the pivotal moments in my works that are
gratifying and this stuff is the grueling part and
you know how do I make this this this a little bit
easier. I'm speaking mostly about my hyper layered
like collage works with digital painting that's
different. And I would say that I've kind of
always had a pretty streamlined process with that.
It's like you you pick a few brushes, you make
a few brushes, you have your pallets, and then
that to me is more like meditation or something,
you know? At least for abstract painting. I mean,
abstract painting to me is just this it is so
innately gratifying for me that it's almost like
makes me feel guilty [laughter] because I'm like
I'm like to me this is just like this is heaven.
this is like you know um yeah just nonverbal like
again like this dissolving of the self but
when it comes to I've been sort of fixated
on on collage for you know probably the last four
yearsish maybe more maybe 5 years and that's been
this mostly a process of cataloging constantly
taking screenshots const constantly saving things
and archiving them and creating these many, many
folders of images, text, videos, pretty much just
anything that makes me feel something when I look
at it. Even if I don't know what it makes me feel,
it's like I'll get a little ping like this is
something, you should have this. And so I I am
sort of a bit of a digital hoarder in that sense.
probably about like two years ago, maybe a little
bit more, I started a series called Inset that was
very focused on quite literally what I was taking
in on my devices. So, every day it was like I
wasn't any longer going out and searching for
material. I was literally like my regular behavior
on the internet was that was the material I was
taking. And so I wanted to basically make works
that were if you flattened time and just took all
of the things that were hitting my eyeballs um
over the course, you know, of six to 12 months
or whatever and then you put it on a surface and
just vomited it all right there. That was what the
initial sort of background would would would
start as, you know, this multi-layered all of
these source images. And then what I would do is
sort of I guess you could say is um someone used
the word excavation, you know, I feel like that's
becoming some like normal art speak or something,
but like to me like it's a it's quite apt
because it would feel like I was excavating
the work that already existed somehow because
intuitively I would start to chip away at these
layers and find what was supposed to be there and
it was never like, oh, there's a rabbit, you know,
delete background rabbit. Um, as much as that I
have actually gotten interested in doing that,
too, but for this series, um, it was specifically
about trying to allow abstraction to play a role
in this. So, in a way, I was starting to use the
layers like like the layers of images were being
used almost like paint in a way. Um, I was trying
to let them like their shapes guide me. And I was
always astounded by the end result would always
seem so much more intentional and so much more
planned out than they were. Just like so much more
like eerily. And I think at this point I've I've
come to just accept retrocausality and and accept
that that time does not exist the way we think it
does. And and so when you accept that um what that
really means is sort of having a trust and again
I think what accepting that kind of there's a
there's a at least somewhat you are accepting
determinism to some extent. You're you're sort of
acknowledging that some part of this is already in
existence. some part of us, some part of this is
predetermined. I wouldn't say I believe all of it
is. I I do believe that there is um free will as
well. There's like this weird push and pull. But I
think the anxiety that we get in our decision-m
as artists is related to this distrust of uh
determinism, right? So like we don't we think
everything's free will. I think it's all us. And
uh once I let go of that, I think everything I I
could find a flow in my work that was it was like
what I was always looking for like but I would
just get in the way of it [laughter] cuz I was
just trying to dominate the the work so much with
my free will and just constantly everything that
was I think when I was younger just everything
that was good about my work I would overedit and
overshape it. This is kind of like what we were
getting at earlier. This like you know sort of
this pressure to just constantly be chiseling your
aesthetic into this very narrow this is what I am.
And yeah, so over over the probably because of you
know embracing this ADHD moniker and just more and
more so playing with the idea of I don't have to
be one thing. I don't have to just do this. And
then a little bit of just the environment at large
being incoherent and I think people more and more
so seeing creators as multi-dimensional and yeah
despite our systems I think fighting against that
I think the audience actually has updated itself
in this way. I think they do come to expect um a
much wider universe. Uh so so yeah, I think that
that's really um it's been interesting to to just
really release myself again into this into this
trust that the work already exists in some sense
and that I'm just discovering it. I'm just here I
just need to really turn off my conscious brain,
let my my subconscious drive it. And god damn, the
subconscious is just so much more wise than me. I
mean, like so much more wise than my my conscious
mind. I mean, I'm just always astounded. I'm like,
"Wow, I just need to let you drive." [laughter]
Yeah. Right. How can we quiet that other part
of the brain to just allow it to do its own
thing? And I love the word trust and excavation,
surrender. Like these are all technologies, tools,
perspectives that artists could really benefit
from, especially when you do get caught up in
that either fear, uncertainty, unknown that does
stop that flow and being able to enter into that
flow. And it's interesting cuz I also very much
resonate with what you said around abstract work
where there is this really easy like it's almost I
almost like felt like I needed permission a lot of
like am I allowed to do this? This is so much fun.
like [laughter] so I totally get that. Um but
I you know I wanted to ask you like what are
um some things that you maybe are excited about
that are coming up in your world that you want
to share with folks and I also know that you have
a very active Patreon community. Um I'd love for
you to also tell folks about that too. Sure.
Um I am, you know, like I So right now I have
like a a handful of of um projects going. I guess
that's kind of usual, but um I've been sort of in
a holding pattern, I would say, with visual art,
at least in terms of um like releasing. I think
um yeah, I just go through these periods of time I
think where I struggle with the I struggle with I
struggle with formality and sort of capitalism. I
I struggle with um the the modes that it pushes us
into. Um, and yeah, I I think um, so I've been
really I've been making a lot and and really,
you know, I kind of see it as or I or I call
it research mode. Research mode for me is just
testing things, experimenting. Um, sometimes it's
just um I also have a thing that I I say like
input output mode. I'll go through these heavy
phases of input mode where I'm just watching
films, reading books, you know, kind of going on
archiving rampages where I'm just saving things
and um even oh, god forbid organizing things. Um
but so um so yeah, I think I'm getting closer and
closer to, you know, releasing some collections
out there. I've also been moving out of my
studio space because I, you know, I just can't
rationalize spending the money for it anymore.
And so I'm building a little studio space in
my basement. Um, I also have an office. So,
uh, you know, it's not it's not a um, a tragedy
by any means. I am going to like miss that space
a little bit, but again, this is like making room
for new things, right? Uh, letting go of that. Uh,
Eventually, there'll be another opportunity for
a studio space if I want one. Um, or I might
just get so attached to working here that uh I
don't need one. Um but yeah, so while doing that,
I've been going through a lot of my older like
physical works and kind of like revisiting a lot
of um you know, my earlier phases that um it's
interesting like as I continue to progress in my
digital work and in the ADHD realm, I start to see
more and more parts of my other self coming closer
to the I'm like, "Oh, they're bending towards each
other or I guess I'm bending them towards each
other. Am I? Um and so so that's been interesting.
Yeah, I've been playing more and more with with
physical works again. Feeling strange compulsions
to paint figurative things again. I'm like,
do I really want to do that? I don't know. Um,
you know, um, but again, I think this is like when
I start to feel that resistance like, oh, that
doesn't belong there. I'm like, it might actually.
Um, that might actually be exactly what needs to
happen. But I think uh probably right now what's
on the top of my mind is that my band Circa
Survive, we we sort of like had this long period
uh where we weren't really sure if we were a band
anymore. We announced that we broke up. Well,
actually we we announced a hiatus and then we
broke up. And that's sort of like the you know
very like uh you know this is the traditional
path that happens for a lot of a lot of bands.
I have to say even me being the cynical like you
know person I am when it comes to music and the
industry and just like these types of histories,
I really didn't think we' we'd get back together.
I didn't think it would happen. But I'm also one
of these people that I just don't I don't close
myself off to things and I have my, you know,
kind of lines in the sand for what is important
for me in order to do certain things. And um for
me the line in the sand was really like friendship
mending like that was first and foremost. And once
that occurred and everybody felt really just in a
good place in terms of just like being friends
again, communicating in in a normal way, um, a
few things popped up and our our manager just kind
of presented us these opportunities and I think
it was just like, okay, all right, let's give it a
shot. So, we're playing a few shows together again
later in this year, uh, in the fall, and there's
no, we really have no idea if it'll continue past
that, but I'm looking forward to that because it's
going to be a reset. It'll be it'll break me out
of my normal routine, force me to perform again,
which performing for me is very like I have a um I
would say complicated relationship with it, but it
always produces interesting things internally for
me and then I take that and kind of bring it into
my visual art practice. So, I'm looking forward to
that. I think also I'm just there is a certain
catharis that comes with playing loud music
with a crowd that knows it. You know, it's very
spiritual. It just really is. Um it's the closest
thing for me. It's the closest thing to church
that I've ever experienced really, you know.
Um yeah. And uh so I'm really looking forward to
that. Um, and then beyond that, I've just been,
you know, trying to trying to find a sense of
stability again financially just so that I can I'm
really just craving um fun time with, you know,
with my partner and our animals. And, you know,
I just just lost a companion, as you know, and
um RIP Benny, my boy. Um, but every time I lose
a companion, I it just makes me want to carve out
more time both with the humans that are really
important to me and the animals that are really
important to me because, you know, I mean, it's
it's not easy when you're when you're a full-time
artist because you're just constantly grinding
and you're constantly just trying not to fall off
the surfboard and, you know, keep keep the bills
paid and and really just ultimately keep your
freedom. cuz you don't want to have to succumb
to to basically what for me would really make
art making really difficult if I had to go get
a full-time job. Um it's just kind of out of the
question. I mean my mind would would fail. I would
there's just no way I'd be able to do it. Uh many
many bad things would happen if that happened. So,
you know, uh I'm no stranger to hard work and
hustle and all that. Um but I am looking forward
to just having a little more breathing room,
a little more like um space to create some new
visions for what the next few years will look like
as we navigate the American hellscape. [laughter]
Right. Uh Oh, yeah. Patreon.
um patreon.com/colincosmic.
That was that was born out of when I was doing uh
the podcast that that you were um so kind to be on
uh the Cosmic Nod, which is um basically defunct
now. But at the same time, I have been feeling a
pull towards podcasting again and just um making,
you know, I'm kind of intrigued by maybe making
documentaries or um I definitely want to play more
with the video medium. Um I've also just been like
recording myself like this is I haven't figured
out what I'm gonna do with this yet, but I've
basically been like uh on on this app. um like
recording myself scrolling through Instagram and
just commenting because god it is just bat [ __ ]
over there. Um and there was just so much stuff
that I would love to watch this. Oh see see my
basic idea now is like I think I should just like
do this but just pull a different person in every
time and just we just go through it together and
just comment like what what is this? What are we
looking at here and what does this make us feel?
Um because there's just so much in like just every
day in there that just like makes me question
reality. I'm just like is this real? Is this
real? And of course the answer is sort of. Um,
so yeah, I absolutely encourage people to come to
the Patreon and just become a free member because
um, for me it's very overwhelming to interact on
Instagram and um, on on other channels. It's just,
you know, there's so much spam in the message
box and just in general, it's um, it's just a
contentious environment. So, Patreon, you can be
be there for free and then that opens up a channel
communication there. There's messaging there
that's way more calm and less crowded and can be
um can always evolve into like email or whatever
else. But also, I post plenty of stuff that goes
to the to the free members and um it just is not
a thing where I expect people to have to pay to,
you know, to to kind of be connected at all.
just makes it a lot easier and it's a bit
more personal and direct and yeah, I'm always
kind of hatching new things over there. So,
um, by all means, come on over. I've been
I've been doing a uh a project this year,
which I'm excited for it to be over cuz it's
such a it is such a it's such a lift. But,
I've been doing a thing where I write about a song
every day. So, I do a song of the day song of the
day and just talk whether it's the song that I
just found that someone showed me that day or
if if it's a song that I have a long history
with. Either I just post it. I'm like, "Hey,
so and so showed me this song and it's I'll
grab a couple lyrics or it's a 10 paragraph
essay about how this song changed my life and
how it led to so many relationships." I mean,
there are definitely entries on there that are
very long and very detailed because I found that
uh music for me is definitely um it is a um really
it's a portal for memory for me. Um I don't really
have visual memory. Um, so in a in a in a sense, music can really like just connect
all of these stories in my mind and my memory is
really uh feeling based, more feeling based than
than visual. And so for me, it's like I think of
when did I first hear this song and then all of
a sudden all of these histories come back and all
of these feelings and it's um it's fascinating. So
I've been exploring that. But yeah, I think I'm
I'll probably cut that at at 365 when I'm done
that because that's been a huge responsibility.
[laughter] But uh that's a lot. Yeah. Yeah. But uh
but yeah, every day every day I'm at I'm right at
200 I believe right now. Hard to say. I mean, hard
to believe this year has flown by. Yeah. Well,
Colin, it's always such a gift to connect with you
and I so value our friendship and the many ways
that we've been able to come together and yeah,
I really appreciate you bringing in this full
circle of um you know, you being on my podcast
now and I um can't believe it's been 7 years since
I was on your podcast and how much has happened
in our lives both individually and collectively.
And yeah, I would love um if you ever bring this
Instagram, you know, commenting into fruition,
please. I would love to be a part. Oh, yes. Oh,
yes. It's happening 100%. [laughter] Yes. Well,
yeah, but um thank you so much and you know,
I'll definitely put um your Patreon as well as
other ways that folks can connect with you in
the description of the video or in the um episode
notes for the podcast. and just sending so much
love to you and your, you know, family and I just,
yeah, so appreciate you as and cannot wait for
future collaborations, too. Absolutely. Like 100%
reverberated right back um to you and um yeah,
thank you for having me on. It's a total honor.
I'm really touched by so much of what Colin shared
today. I really want to highlight a couple
of the things that he spoke about which feel
really important to name as artists. One is this
idea of really being in tune with our resistance
and also with those parts of us that show up when
it comes to art making and when needed to create
technologies, tools, containers, however you
want to see them to support you in that process.
Knowing that sharing our art is such a vulnerable
process, it does mean letting parts of ourselves
be seen that maybe have never been, you know,
able to be shown to the light of day. And so,
we're bringing them out. We're excavating
them. We're allowing them space to be held,
to be witnessed. And sometimes we need a little
bit of sunblock or we need a little bit of,
you know, shade to be able to be out fully
in the light. And so don't feel like that is
a hindrance or that's something that makes you
less of an artist. Know that whatever you need
to allow some of these parts to feel safe enough
to come out is totally valid. And also I really
appreciated Colin sharing about the burden of
being known in a certain way as like a musician
and then wanting to enter into another realm of
visual art and you know the you know courage it
takes to do that. the tenacity it takes to
do that. And also when you arrive into that
place and you know really work on your practice
and on yourself there can be a moment of just
deep expansive flow and you know as we see in his
art you know such prolific generativity can also
emerge from that space and I'm such a huge fan of
his work and we didn't even touch upon the many
layers that he brings into his work the way that
he's helping us understand the convoluted media,
internet, information age landscape that we're in.
And also how there is something so important about
art being a space of disorientation, confusion,
and unfurling. And I see that so much in his
work. And I obviously as like a maximalist, as
someone who loves to layer my work and smuggle
things in and archive through my work, I really
resonate so much with his visual practice. And I
think that's why he and I have been so inspired
by each other as artists and also uh why we've
been so supportive of each other's work. And so
I want to just again remind you to go check out
Colin's Patreon. It is going to be linked in the
show notes. And I also shared with him off mic
that him having a Patreon has also inspired me to
start my own container, my own space to welcome
you all into. I've created the Mutant Magic
newsletter that is uh a free newsletter where
I will be sharing updates and posts every once in
a while. And it also has a membership space that
you can enter if you want to have more access to
behind the scenes process or tips and tricks to
uh becoming an established artist or navigating
gatekeeping, navigating MFA programs, grants,
residencies, exhibition spaces. I'm going to
really be as open and honest about my own journey
within this private space that will be walled off
because I do feel like this is my container that
I think I need to be able to show these certain
parts of myself knowing that they are behind
a pay wall where people who are committed and
supportive enough will be able to access that.
And another thing that I want to share is that in
the paid memberships, I will also be editioning
artworks that will be a limited run that will be
available first to people who are paid members
before they are released to the free folks on my
newsletter and to the general um public if there
are any left. So just excited for my own evolution
and just also so inspired by Colin's evolution
as well and wanted to tie those together. So
please support your local artists. Know that
we really value all of the care and support that
you send our way. That it is so important for us
to receive it and that it is a huge part
of why we do what we do. So, never forget
that your art is a spell and that it will change
your life and the [music] world around us. Bye.
[music]