Now Featuring SCUBA

SCUBA Exclusive Print

We are excited to announce our second featured artist of July, Sandra & Crockett of SCUBA. We are offering a print of theirs in the Little Paper Planes shop and it is available in both 8.5 x 11″ and 13 x 19″. It is printed with Epson Ultra Chrome archival inks on Hahnemuhle German etching paper in an edition of 50, all signed and numbered. You can view and purchase the print here.

Sandra and Crockett invited Little Paper Planes into their studio and below is my conversation with them about traveling, romance, netflix, and art.

Could you tell the romantic story of how you two met?

Crockett: It was through the Cab Show at the Lab in 2007, which was curated by our mutual friends Archie McKay and Olivia Solis. There was a post-show camping trip where I met Sandra. At the time, I was on a solo road trip through the desert and down to Santa Fe where a friend was getting married. When I got back to San Francisco, I called Archie and asked him if he could give Sandra my phone number. SHE CALLED! and we went on a date in SF General. It was great. We found the vending machines and watched the Daily Show in some random waiting room.

Individually, what were the discerning factors that guided you to making art?

Crockett: I carried around a briefcase filled with paper and pencils drawing Ninja Turtles and Indiana Jones. It was my journal, or just a way to get what was in my head out into the world. And then to be able to look at those thoughts on paper, WOW! I was addicted to drawing and would ask my teachers if I could stay in for recess because I wanted to draw at the desks. I was like a little drawing junky. Luckily, I had good teachers and most of the time they made me go out and play. Now there are no more teachers and I often find myself staying in the studio and making art ALL DAY!

Sandra: Art-making runs in my family, though I’m the only one who does it full-time. I grew up in New Jersey, but my family lived in New York City before then, so we had exposure to the arts. My parents sent me to the free weekend program for youths at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and I went all the time for about seven years.  My then best friend and I became friends with one of the instructors, so we got a lot of behind the scenes looks at the museum, our favorite being the staff cafeteria! After that, I studied Biology and continued to make art, trying out different paint mediums and printing methods. Then I moved to San Francisco in 2006 and switched gears to making art. I met Crockett and we started painting together pretty naturally, no discussions, no pressure. That’s why we’ve been able to take the collaboration this far, though it’s more directed now.  As far as individual contribution, my science training shows in my style. I’ll bring a lot of precision and detail to the art.

What are you trying to show or tell the viewer through your little dream worlds, creatures, and illustrated stories? Does it in some way reflect your lives and surroundings in the past and/or present?

Crockett: I feel like I’m trying to tell myself something through the imagery coming out. The viewer’s opinions are always helpful and I’ll go back and make another painting that will include the viewer’s story. The paintings are always reflecting our lives. The process of making the work is something that is very personal, and through that process things just keep coming out.

Sandra: Ideas often come from a dream state. I’ll see certain color palettes and images before falling asleep and I’ll try to remember them for the next day. I like this method because I feel that the ideas are coming from an instinctive part of myself that I want to share with others. I’ll also draw inspiration from everything in my environment: architecture, animals, conversation, moldy food. We like the practice of turning everyday observations into colorful narratives, this allows us to get out hundreds of ideas and mini paintings. Then we expand on a few.

When I first met you guys, you were in your signature Hayes Valley hang-out spot where you lay your pieces along the sidewalk for all the boutique shoppers and neighbors to stumble upon. What was it about this San Francisco neighborhood that encouraged you to settle there? Are there other neighborhoods you like, or even outside of San Francisco?

Crockett: The original decision to display in this one location was decided by two brothers who owned what was the Hayes Valley Market. In front of their store was a nice bench that was a comfy place to sit and paint. This lasted for a couple months until an uncle of theirs decided to bring everything he owned out on to the sidewalk and, well, the spot blew up and that was that. So, Charlie and Nadal (the two brothers) told me about this lovely parking lot with a long chain link fence. So this space has evolved over time and our work has grown with it. We are open to going to any sidewalk that seems like a good spot. Hayes has been good to us, so you always have to ask yourself, why change a good thing?

Sandra: Exactly. Hayes Valley sees good weather, the sidewalk is wide, and the chain link fence provides a long stretch of blank space for our paintings. Also, every time we go out, we usually meet someone who makes the whole outing worthwhile. Hayes Valley is a lucky spot. We’ve also discovered another spot in Rockridge, it’s like a mellower version of Hayes Valley.

Explain the importance you lay on separating your work at the studio and relaxing in the comfort of your home. At times you’ve lived IN your studio and at other times not. You also have your quiet get away in Berkeley to clear your head of the urban noise.

Sandra: This is something we learned gradually. When we first started collaborating, we lived and worked in a moving truck, then we moved into a small studio, like the size of a kitchen, then we moved into a larger studio, and then finally into a house three blocks away from our studio. Since we’re both pack rats with irregular work hours, we decided to keep the crazy to the studio and move very few things to the house. Living in the same place as the art-making was definitely not healthy with all of the sawdust, spray fumes, and some feelings of cabin fever, but it took us so long to separate ourselves from the work because we think about creating art all day, every day. The house is a great time out. We work in the studio for most of the day, then we go back to the house and knit and watch TV.

Crockett: Living in the studio was like having a valve fully open, we made art all the time. The Berkeley Spot is the special red button that we relied on in case that valve broke. Now the valve is a little closed, with the house away from the studio, but the distance gives us more control and perspective on our work. Now we’re doing the living in a house thing. It feels real nice, just soaking in all of the luxuries.  We probably won’t need the Berkeley Spot anymore, except for barbecues.

Tell us about your truck!

Crockett: Well, the truck is named Peggy’Em due to the large amounts of pegboard and the many hours we spent building it in parking lots in Emeryville.  It was our first collaboration and it has everything you need.

Sandra: Like a kitchenette, a bed that lowers on pulleys, a wood burning stove, solar panel, a fold-down table, windows and two sky lights. There also used to be an upright piano next to the stove with a nap surface on top of it. We traveled down and up Route 1 on biodiesel, making and selling art out of the truck for three months.  Our art was driving the lifestyle and vice versa.

You’re always telling stories of your travels around the world, what has been your favorite place?

Sandra: Hmm…the most memorable night for me was Nuit Blanche in Paris, an all-night art walk. We had never heard of it until we got to Paris, but then spent eight hours that night walking from one amazing installation to another.  The main installation was the world’s largest disco ball hanging from a crane in Luxembourg Gardens. My favorite piece was a swimming pool where you were invited to jump into a pool and listen to live electronic music while swimming around.

Crockett: I concur.

Does playing music inspire your art making or is it the other way around? Which came first?

Sandra: The art comes first. But when we take a break, it’s usually to make music.

Crockett: Music has been around for awhile, but it’s always more like note doodles. We played in Makeing Tents for awhile and now I am working on a project KarateTv. We also have some future music projects that are always fun, but the art consumes most of our time and makes it hard to take music to that professional level. But keep an ear out for instrumental Beatles being played in BART stations.

What do you watch/listen to while you are working in your studio?

Crockett: We’ll listen back to tape recordings. It’s a nice way to take the music we make and stream it into the artwork. Now we have a soundproof room in the studio so one can play drums or piano while the other paints. In the past we just put on headphones that limited us to playing synths and computers. Piano and drums really help us work out some rhythmic ideas that will make painting run smoothly.

Sandra: A lot of radio during the day and Netflix instant stream at night. We work well with a constant stream of storytelling and music in the background.

Favorite movies on Netflix Instant Stream (because any suggestions are much needed at this point, now having sifted through so many)

Crockett: My last favorite was Stage Fright. But you know most of them are pretty bad. Which is good because we paint while they play.  We really got into Clint Eastwood movies, Netflix seems to have a lot of Dirty Harry movies. Radio Lab is another thing we listen to a lot while painting and we’ll often work the stories into the paintings.

Sandra: Recently, Six Degrees of Separation, with Will Smith!  Netflix has a lot of sci fi/action movies that are good to paint to – Logan’s Run, Escape from New York, Mad Max, Time after Time.

What projects are you currently working on?

Sandra: We just finished a painting installation in San Diego, about 9 ft x 7 ft, the largest piece we had ever done, so that was a big achievement for us, and now we want to keep painting big. We’re also working on children’s building blocks sets for an upcoming show at Paxton Gate’s Curiosities for Kids shop on Valencia St. That show will open August 18. Then we have a solo show at FM Gallery in Oakland in December.

What are your hopes and dreams for the future?

Sandra: A children’s book is a big goal, right now we have a couple of ideas we want to work on.  We’re also thinking of turning the truck into a mobile gallery and shop, San Francisco needs that!

Crockett: Living in Chinatown is also a dream and so far we have a few leads.

What are your opinions or general comments on art?

Crockett: I am really open to all art and try to get out as much as I can to see a show. There is a lot of work being made here in SF that seems to reach out to me. Growing up in Santa Fe, there was a lot of traditional art around me and all I liked to do was draw comics and watch cartoons. I moved out to the Bay in 2002 and realized that the world of art was a lot bigger than I could have ever imagined. So I feel like I am constantly catching up.

Sandra: We recently traveled around Europe for a couple of shows and I was really impressed by city-level support for the arts in Berlin and Paris. We stayed in a beautiful artist squat in Paris, close to the Pompidou, that had been around for over 7 years, and it was amazing how organized it was. At the time, a couple of the artists were working on a feature-length documentary. The artists were on good terms with the mayor, so had the city’s permission to continue squatting.  San Francisco is nurturing for artists, but Europe definitely provides models to work towards.  Professional artist ID cards offering special privileges is a good idea.

To purchase SCUBA’s Print go here.

To see more of their works, visit their website www.drawingwhiledriving.com

Also listen for their interview with Pirate Cat Radio airing Monday 18th.