Brothers in Sticker Art: Forge_Fury
Stickers in the street from: 2013
City: Toronto
State: Canada
1 - Introduce your sticker art project
I have been working on abstract art as long as I can remember, but starting in 2006, I started bringing my ideas to canvas and other materials.
I always loved street art/graffiti, but never had a tag or handstyle, but knew the streets would be the best place to share my ideas en masse. For me stickers is all about making your work easily accessible, and to share it with as many people as possible. In the few years I have been making stickers, my work has been seen by more people and in more places than any of my canvases have.
I started off drawing them by hand on labels and postal blanks. They were like a living sketchbook for me as I could try out lots of ideas, get them out there, and see how the designs evolved. I still do some hand made ones (have a ton of variety of blank stickers), but those are mainly for shows, projects, trades, and anything that will be indoors. For the most part, I sketch out some ideas, then once I am happy with the drawing or drawings they get vectored, and ready to print. At the moment, I don’t print my own stickers, as I want to ensure they last long in the streets, and I don’t have the equipment.
Art shouldn’t be limited to galleries, and there are many places that could use some beauty as they were designed for utility and are quite bland. I want to share my art with as many people as possible, and have met and talked with some amazing artists (yourself included) through the years, and look forward to making more. It is easier to share with a global audience as I can ship out stickers to friends around the world, and even share as many as I can in my own city. Even when I do art shows with my canvases I bring lots of stickers to give out, and it acts as a more creative business card. Almost everyone I meet loves stickers, and this includes lots of people who aren’t sticker artists or involved in this scene. They bring happiness to people as they can appreciate the fact that they are getting a piece of art that they can put anywhere.
2 - In what creative ways have you collaborated with other sticker artists?
I have been fortunate to collaborate with some friends on designs that have been used for wheate pastes and stickers. Here in Toronto, I have worked with my friend Urban Ninja on a couple of projects, and in this case I got to bring my designs and patterns to work with his character. Should have a few more of these coming up, as we tend to bounce ideas off eachother often. I met up with ROC514 on vacation, and we got to spend the day collaborating on some ideas that we made into a small batch of stickers. Roc also used one my outlines to mix with their character, and that collab got a larger print run that I can consistently put up or trade.
I do love collaborating and working with other artists. I have worked on many blank templates that other artists have sent me. I do love when someone approaches me to collaborate on a project as they usually bring a cool idea that mixes their work with mine in a unique way. I don’t have a character or a tag, but I have many different styles that do mix well with other creative ideas. It also feels great when other artists you respect like your work, and want to work with you to create something cool.
3 - Have you ever organized an event about sticker art? If not, you can write something about an event you have attended
I haven’t organized any projects yet, but a few friends in Ontario have, and there is another one coming up in June at my local paint/graffiti shop. It is great to see that more shows have been coming up here as we have lots of great artists here, and it has been a great way to meet artists whose work you know, but haven’t met.
What I love about these shows outside of meeting up with artists is seeing the creative ways that stickers can be displayed, seeing new and favorite artists work in person, and of course sticker creation & trades.
4 - What are your future projects in the world of sticker art?
I am always working on new sticker designs, and will hopefully have a few more soon. As well, I am working on one collaboration at the moment, and hopefully some more will come up. Trying to participate in as many sticker shows that I can, so that I can share my work in more cities. Hopefully set up some more trades with other artists that I admire.
5 - What sticker artists do you admire or are important to you?
Too many to name, and I fear that I would forget some. I appreciate everyone who contributes to this awesome genre with us, and always appreciate people who bring their art to an accessible medium.
Contatcs:
Email: davidbaron@rogers.com
Instagram: the_forge_fury
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