When I was a kid rollercoasters weren’t for me. First it’s a height restriction and after that it was because I was scared. Then I got a few decades of loving them. Now, as much as I want to ride one, my body says otherwise. So a thing I really enjoyed in life is over for me. Better to have loved and lost, right? For rollercoasters, if I graph a “for me” over time it looks like this:

A lot of these things are out of our control. Sometimes you can’t help what you like. Can I enjoy The Beatles from birth until death?

Here are 20 things in my life that are for me, or not for me, over time. Obviously I have to predict the future, and I’m not planning to live until I’m 100, but you never know.

What am I sitting at zero on because I haven’t tried it in ten years? Or ever?

That’s the fun question. The other one is what’s at 100 right now that won’t be for much longer.

Although we are most of the way through July, you initially sent me these questions on May 14th. If that wasn’t the exact day, it was pretty close to when the black flies started hatching in Northern Maine. I have lived my entire life in Maine, and would camp every summer up here in Baxter State Park (almost always late summer, probably for this exact reason). I thought I knew what black fly season was. Yeah, they’re annoying. And yeah, it doesn’t seem like any insect repellent works on them. But they’re not THAT bad. People just like to complain, or so I thought. I had never spent late spring and early summer deep in the woods of Northern Maine.

My first official black fly season was in 2014 when I worked for the Appalachian Mountain Club outside of Greenville, ME. And it has only gotten worse since moving up here to Mount Chase, ME. We live in a swampy area, on a pond, lots of cold water streams around us and the black flies will drive you nuts. They swarm you, their bites hurt, they draw blood, they leave welts, and if you are trying to accomplish anything with your hands outside, they own you. I very quickly bought my first bug jacket, with a full covered hood, in 2014 and have made sure I have one every season. If you have never seen a bug jacket, it is a loose fitting lightweight mesh jacket that covers your head and entire upper body, except for your hands, so don’t forget your gloves. I usually tuck my pants into my socks too. I remember this year putting in my dock during peak black flies. I had my jacket on, gloves and all. But changed into shorts as I would be wading out into the water. Securing a few of the brackets in water that was just below my knees, and my shorts were just above my knees, probably took me 10 minutes or so. There was a ring around my knees that were bloody red and swollen from those 10 minutes that my skin was unprotected and my hands were occupied. But then July comes, and the black flies peter out, and you are living in one of the most beautiful places in the world. And it’s not over crowded because black fly season is so brutal.

The other place that came to mind was Joshua Tree. I am sure there are worse desert conditions in the world, like Death Valley, or the Sahara. Those would truly be the most inhospitable places in the world, but I got a taste of it in Joshua Tree. My wife, Lindsay, was working for an outdoor and environmental education group in California after we finished our AT Thru Hike, so I took that time to explore a little bit out west while she was working. I found myself camping in Joshua tree for about a week. There is no shade, there is no water and the sun is beating down on you all day. By the end of 5 days, I was lying in the shade of my car and realizing why desert people are known to be a little crazy. The next day I got a hotel room just to get a break from the sun.

The world is so different now than it was when we grew up. What are some things from your childhood that you’ve exposed your kids to and they love?

Living where we do in rural Northern Maine, my kids don’t have the same opportunities I did growing up in Southern Maine. Walter and Annie are now 8 and 6, and Lindsay and I have made it a point to try to expose them to as much as possible. Obviously up here, we have the outdoor activities covered. Camping, hiking, canoeing, fishing, mountain biking, downhill skiing, cross country skiing, snowmobiling. Even stuff that I don’t enjoy, I want to make sure they can experience it if they want to. For instance, Walter has asked about hunting because all of his friends go hunting with their dads. It’s not my thing, but I feel like that’s an important experience my kids should have. We also want to make sure we travel with them. Bring them to big cities. Also expose them to the fine arts. We brought them to the Nutcracker at the Bangor Symphony Orchestra and they loved it.

But the biggest thing I have been making sure they get exposure to is a healthy lifestyle. And my way of doing that, big surprise, is finding the nearest running community and latching on. Growing up, my family would do road races. Everyone would run, I don’t ever remember being forced to run. It’s just what we did. There are not many runners out here in Mount Chase, or in Patten for that matter. Although we are working on that. Completely independent of me, a running club started in Patten mostly made up of a younger crowd that works at Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument. But the running community I have latched onto is in Caribou, ME. They have this great summer race series, with kids races, and even a kids running team (which Walter and Annie aren’t old enough for yet). We will wake up early, drive almost 2 hours north and have a great time. Road races are where I feel at home. It’s like a big party, no one has a care in the world (except for the people organizing the races which I have found out from personal experience). You meet new people, you run (haha) into old friends. Walter really enjoys racing and Annie has decided she just likes to come and hang out which is great too! I’m trying to instill the love of the outdoors and being active in my kids, just like my parents did for me.

You’ve always been a great runner. It blew my mind in high school when you went out and ran 10 miles, by yourself, not in a race or anything. Just like on a Wednesday or something. What are your running goals now as a 40-ish year old with kids?

Setting running goals in my 40’s has been very tough to figure out. I stopped drinking (for the second time) just before I turned 40. And with a new healthy lifestyle in mind, I made the sweeping declaration that I would run one marathon each year. As I started training for a marathon again, and getting in decent shape, I set 2 goals: under 17 in the 5k and a 2:47 marathon. In the past 3 years I have come very close to those goals… but I haven’t reached them. And every year I feel a little bit older and a little bit slower. So I haven’t quite figured out how to adjust the goals to my aging body.

Then, this past winter I suffered a pretty serious ankle injury. Cutting down a tree that was hung up on a couple other trees and partially blocking our ski trail, I miscalculated the forces being applied to the top half of the tree. The trunk swung toward me after I made the cut and crushed my left ankle. Luckily, I didn’t break it. But I was on crutches for a while, and it took me a long time to get back to walking normal, let alone running on it. While I was rehabbing my ankle, 2 things happened. The local running club I am a part of started a steps challenge, and I became obsessed with the British game show Taskmaster. I think they happened simultaneously because my watch counted the motion on my Elliptical machine as “steps” and I needed something to watch on TV as I was now confined to our exercise room. I have now started doing weekly taskmaster challenges for our club: tallest hat worn on a group run, GPS running route art, most scenic picture taken on a run, most loops on a run, longest water crossing on a run, highest weekly average elevation gain, longest barefoot run… stuff like that. I’m hoping to expand it to more running clubs in the future. But in my “advanced age” (for a runner) I am trying to focus on the more fun side of running than strict time and mileage goals.

I’m not at all surprised that you’ve found yourself cooking for large quantities of people (among other things) over the years. What’s your favorite thing to make for a crowd?

I will never call myself a chef. I am a cook, and really more of a baker if anything. I don’t have any formal training other than working at Subway in high school, but I also don’t like the term “self taught.” I have learned from some really talented chefs and cooks. I was the sous chef when Lindsay and I worked for Kenai Fjords Glacier Lodge in Alaska. Working there I was able to learn a lot from professional trained (or even “self taught”) chefs, and I was mainly in charge of appetizers, bread and desserts. Focusing on bread and desserts, I came up with this theory of good bookends. Starting off the meal with some really good homemade bread, gets people in the mindset of: “Wow! This bread is amazing. This is going to be a great meal.” And then ending with a great dessert, leaves a lasting impression of how great the meal was. So it’s certainly not that it doesn’t matter what you serve for the actual meal, but having those 2 really delicious bookends elevates the entire meal. My favorite breads to make are Focaccia, Everything Bagel Bread, Molasses Rye Sourdough and the local favorite here is Oatmeal Maple Wheat Bread. My favorite desserts to make are lemon cream tart and layered chocolate mousse cheesecake.

As for the meal itself, which doesn’t really matter. I make Prime Rib a lot for big crowds because it has the reputation of being a fancy meal and draws people in to make reservations. But I prefer my cider braised brisket with caramelized onions and blue cheese, with some mashed sweet potatoes (half sweet potatoes and half yukon goldens to make sure it’s not too soupy of a consistency) and roasted brussels sprouts.

I would really love to be able to start serving full vegetarian meals. But we aren’t quite there yet. It would be a hard sell in our area. I, myself, am not a full on vegetarian, but I have started leaning more towards a plant based diet. Once you take a step back from a meat-centric diet, it’s bizarre that all of our meals are centered around a giant portion of meat. One of my favorite things to eat now is rice and beans. Throw some veggies in it and a sauce on top. Boom! You got yourself a meal.

Bam, something magical just happened! The bad news is you have to spend the rest of your life in the world of a book or movie. The good news is that you get to choose. What’s your pick?

Ok. I feel like I have a funny pick and a real pick. The funny pick is a movie I saw recently, but this just might have more to do with the current political and economic climate. Sam Raimi’s newish movie “Send Help”. I won’t get into it anymore than that because I might incriminate myself.

However, the actual book that popped into my head was “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” as I recently tried to start reading it to my kids. I read this before the movie came out, and that always allows you to use your own imagination to visualize the worlds that the author is creating. Something about the bizarre fantastical space travel Douglas Adams created really stuck with me. And it wasn’t that I didn’t like the movie, but it just wasn’t what I had imagined it to be. The only difference is I would bring my towel AND my family.

Mike has a lodge and an instagram

I’ll definitely be making stuff! Whether or not it’s great will continue to be arguable 🙂

There are probably a few bucket list items, but the one that keeps poking its head up lately has been writing some fiction. I have this story idea I’d love to explore if I can just carve out the time. It involves a fisherman hooking an old brass key, a wealthy printing press owner that dabbles in car racing in 1920’s Boston, a famous art museum and heist, and the concept of leaving a legacy. Maybe it’ll be a novella. I like constraints and that sounds less daunting. Having written books in the past about design, the idea of writing something that has no guardrails or “correct” path sounds scary and awesome.

I also want to be an extra in a Hollywood film someday. Even if just for a 2 seconds in the background.

As the saying goes…the happiest two days of a boat owners life are the day they buy a boat and the day they sell it. I see you’re a USCG licensed captain, so what’s your take on that? Tell me about Advencher!

I grew up in landlocked Vermont kind of obsessed with the ocean. Fortunately, my parents were also obsessed and our roots were in Coastal New England, so it’s always been part of my DNA. I’ve lived in Salem, Mass. for the last 25 years and can’t imagine not living near salt water again. About 10 years ago I bought a small Boston Whaler (speaking of bucket lists!) knowing nothing about how to operate it. But I dove in and learned as much as I possibly could about navigating, safety, etc. That led to wanting to study for a USCG Captains License, which I mainly did so it would force me to learn as much as I could about boats and being safe on the water.

I realize at this stage in my life, I enjoy learning about things I’m really bad at. Fishing is another one. I’m a terrible fisherman. But it’s not about performance for me—it’s about the journey and doing something I can feel present in. Things that have nothing to do with pixels or screens or business.

You released a game called Vowels of Hell to accompany the new font it used, also made by you, Dragönsteel. Did making one inform the other?

Ha, that’s a good question. I wanted to do my own take on a simple, clean blackletter typeface and so my mental moodboard was going to places like the AC/DC logo, and Dungeons & Dragons—an almost cartoonish, ironic version of blackletter. As I was playing around with it, I knew I wanted to lean into RPG dice as part of the marketing and realized that all the consonants could fit on a 20-sided die, while all the vowels (if you include Y) could fit on a regular 6-side die. The perfect physical vehicle for showing off the font. Then I came up with a groany pun. It was after all that when I invented the admittedly silly word game that would work well with the two dice. The good news is that you can use them for other, likely more interesting, games or “word randomization” tasks 🙂

I love the idea of making fonts, but then putting those fonts on physical things, and Vowels of Hell was sort of a perfect storm of those goals coming together in one package. Lately, I feel like I’m just striving to make stuff that reminds of all the fun things I was interested in as a kid growing up in the 80s.

What’s the deal with your muppet/puppet?! I love it, I want one, but I need to know more.

Speaking of things I was into in the 80s…I grew up adoring the Muppets, Sesame Street, etc. Puppets have always inspired me for some reason! Alf, The Dark Crystal, Yoda, E.T.—there’s still something magical (and hilarious) about a real, physical puppet character performed in the right way. I also don’t love being on camera or photos of myself, so years ago I found a company that makes Muppet-quality custom puppets and decided to have one made of myself. I even used it to do Zoom calls. People (most people?) like puppets and it sets a humorous tone for an otherwise boring meeting. When puppets are involved, they immediately take the edge off of any situation.

I firmly believe there should be more puppets in the world. Ty, you need a puppet version of yourself. Make it happen!

Your success seems natural and consistent, but is there something you were excited to work on that turned out terrible? Any big lesson learned?

Well, that’s awfully kind of you to say. The truth is, like most folks, I second-guess everything I do haha. And suffer from imposter syndrome. It doesn’t help that I’ll put a lot of time into learning something, only to move onto something else where I’m starting from square one again. But I wouldn’t have it any other way.

In terms of work that turned out terrible…there is plenty 🙂 Just last week I was getting 20+ years of old blog archives reorganized so I could get them back online. Seeing those old posts was, at times, embarrassing! But they represent a certain time. And I have to remember that it was all a step toward what I’m doing today. I’m old enough to have work out there from a long time ago that I really despise. Often it’s the visual stuff. I’m sure a lot of designers go through this as well, but the lesson is to keep making. Keep creating stuff that you want to see in the world. The world will always be changing, of course. And not everything you make will be incredible, and that’s okay.

Here’s a very specific failure I’m proud of. When I was in high school I was convinced I wanted to make a stop motion short film about a Wild West shootout. So I went out and bought all the materials to build a set: posterboard, astroturf, clay, paint, etc. I had no idea what I was doing. I was ahead of myself by hundreds of steps. I didn’t even have a Super 8 camera. I eventually realized that just because I could envision parts of the process well, I didn’t have all the pieces to make a complete film, and so the materials were a waste.

The lesson I leaned is that I was born in the wrong decade and could now easily make a (likely awful) stop motion film with my phone.

Dan has website and an Instagram

Because the month was packed. Almost all of it good, too. I need to write things down sometimes to remind myself exactly how much good there was. It started with our Toco Design Rally art show, Side Quest, right in the center of the Ithaca Commons! I still can’t believe how well that turned out, with it coming together perfectly at the last minute.

Other highlights: camping, a parade, a semi-pro baseball game, cyanotypes, a pre-k baseball game, picnics, a concert, food event, school performances, trail runs, and of course Widow’s Bay! Good thing I take a photo every day.

It was also a month of introspection for me, specifically in terms of my own side quest(s) and my career (which can sometimes feel like it’s own side quest). I had a flight get canceled which caused me to completely miss Config. San Francisco is always just out of reach. Did I come to any big conclusions? Just stay adaptable, I guess.

I put together a very much work-in-progress page on this site called logs, which is where I’ll manually keep track of books read and films watched. You never know what’s going to happen on sites like Storygraph and Letterboxd, so this is my public backup.

Over the course of a few quiet nights while everyone was sleeping I did find time to write and record a new song. It’s called Quells (which is also a 100pt word in Sixtep 🤣). It’s available wherever you stream music. I hope it make you think or feel interesting things.

My memory of the early Flickr days was that the opportunities with photography were endless and community was at the core of it. I wanted to try everything and was comfortable being a learner. I was happy to experiment with projects like Project 50. 15 years down the line I’m too hung up on perfection. I won’t share a photo unless I think it’s really good, but I miss embracing the earlier feelings of experimentation and curiosity. I’m also now interested in film. I think it’s because there’s more of a focus on getting it right in camera and the delayed gratification of seeing your photo. Film is expensive so you’re more intentional when taking photos. I don’t have a community anymore and have been searching for one with no success. If I could find the right community and tap into those earlier feelings of experimentation, I’d be on much better terms with my photography!

What’s something you find beautiful that most people don’t share the same affinity for?

Women with muscles. It’s becoming more accepted now but I grew up when beauty standards were about making yourself smaller. One of the most beautiful sights to me is a muscular woman. It’s not just the aesthetics I like but it also represents dedication and confidence with taking up space.

You’re one of the few people I know who have also contributed to Unsplash. Have you ever seen your photos used in the wild (for better or for worse)? What’s that like, given that you have context for the image and someone else just clicked “download”?

There was a story about a woman whose camera was stolen and she lost important photos. It interested me because I work in insurance and we regularly deal with theft claims. It was a nice feeling providing the imagery that can give a story more context. I’ve uploaded several photos but it seems to be the same 2-3 that get downloaded regularly.

What drew you into starting strongwoman competitions and what about it has you keeping up with it?

The variety of strongwoman is very interesting because you test static strength like deadlifts and overhead, but it also includes moving events like sandbag or yoke and then throws elements of grip into it. Training or competing is never boring because the events always change. I like doing things where I can really lock in, get into a meditative state with my training and nutrition and push myself out of my comfort zone, which lifting heavy and competing does. I wish more people would consider this sport!

You seem wonderfully transparent with the business-side of your life. Your videos are candid and your mini-experiments that you blog about are insightful and undeniably helpful. What’s some advice that you got from someone else that you’ve been able to benefit from multiple times?

Thank you. I am at a really interesting stage with my business and have tried sharing more of it even though it’s uncomfortable being vulnerable. My mum passed away last year and when I was clearing out her house we found a notebook. In it she’d written “I wish Ashley had more confidence. If she backed herself she could achieve anything”. That was exactly what I needed to hear because I was in the process of reaching a huge milestone in my business that was very scary. I try to apply that advice to my business and life now and back myself instead of hold myself back.

Ashley has a company, website, and Instagram

I’m radiating it because for the past few weeks I’ve been putting finishing touches on some art that will be on display for the month of June. Last year I started a local design meetup and in December I applied for us to have a group show. We got it, and time is up, first Friday is this week!

But what did I make? Well the exhibit is called “side quest” and it’s about the work that graphic designers want to do when they’re not making work for others. The stuff that doesn’t get us paid. I’m one of a dozen others who will contribute to this show and things are all over the place, and I love it.  

I decided to make a physical version (or three) of the weekly semispheres design exercise that I started last year. But this time no computer. No Figma. Just paint, wood, and Xacto knife, various papers, wood glue, a saw, and rubber cement. Lots of it. 

The process was a lot different. I had to work backwards to think of the finished piece first on a technical level. I wanted these things to be big. I bought two 4×8 boards and cut them into thirds, leaving me with six 32”x48” wood panels. 

But then how big should the quarter circle be? I settled on just shy of 4” with plans to simply use ink on a cut piece of linoleum. And that’s what I did, on different boards of different colors (yellow, white, black). Then things got weird. 

I didn’t love the way it looked. The ink wasn’t transferring well to the painted wood, even though it looked perfect when I tested on paper. I knew I had to change a few things, so I just set it aside for like a week. 

Eventually I realized that everything was working except how each shape was represented. The size and layout was right, but I didn’t just want ink on a board. So I decided to cut three different materials to fit the 5×9 grid. Things took off from here. What did I use? Aluminum foil, a 2016 Rand McNally road atlas, and some new age ridiculous book that I got from a little free library.

These things took time. Dry time. Measure time. It felt like a hinderance at first but I learned that the slowdown was beneficial. I’m not inpatient when something seems worthwhile. And this was close to seeming worthwhile.

The rest kind of hummed along. I still worried about alignment and measured and taped in ways that others might have found overkill. But it was working, just slow going. Even finding the right amount of rubber cement to apply took some practice.

The key with the foil was to mess it up first. The key to the book pages was to make sure they were full of text. The key to the map pieces was to get a variety of the country. Each one was wonderfully relaxing in their own way, a kind of joyful monotony that I also find in type design.

None of these needed a frame but I felt like they deserved a frame. This ended up being the most expensive part of the project, aside from the yellow paint (the other paints were just laying around). I ended up oak corner moulding, which was already sanded and ready to go, after a few easy cuts. Things really felt finished when that last part was figured out.

And so here I am, finally satisfied with my contributions to this show. My Side Quest. I can’t wait to see what everyone else has been working on. Am I going to keep making these? Maybe, but with some different methods. I think a mid-size scale might be easier and equally fun. Something tabloid sized. My house truly isn’t big enough to keep doing work at this scale. So unless I get a studio space, these are some very limited editions. This work will be on display at the CAP ArtSpace starting Wednesday June 3.

Absolutely. I find BTS fascinating and I appreciate all artists that are willing to share thier knowledge. I am all self taught, so aside from just shooting every day when starting out, I relied on the internet to fill in the gaps. I still love to see BTS, especially on lighting. There are 100 ways to achieve the same result, so seeing other approaches is fun. 

You have a few projects (Book of Beards, holiday cards) that have stuck with me over the years. I think some of those photos will iconically live in my head until I die. When you “finish” an image do you know if you’ve got something sticky? Or are you surprised by what’s really well received? 

For the most part if I get really excited about a photo or project, it GENERALLY translates to what gets traction online (at least with my audience). I’ve built up my online presence over a very long period of time so I feel like the people who are still sticking around enjoy what I enjoy. There are however random images that seem to get lots of reactions that I would not expect. For instance… this photo gets referenced A LOT when people start talking about my work. I mean I love the image but I mainly kept it in my book because its of my close friends. I took it quickly while they were visiting from out of town.

It’s clear by how many people you credit in a post that there’s a decent amount of teamwork involved in bringing a shoot to life. What’s a role during production or post that’s indispensable but rarely talked about/glamorized?  

Having a strong producer makes an enormous difference. Pulling together all the moving pieces for a shoot is a massive undertaking, and someone who excels at that role is truly invaluable. Looking back, I wish I had collaborated with freelance producers more when I was first starting out. I used to handle everything myself, and in hindsight, some of my ideas would have benefited greatly from the perspective and support of a great producer.

You’ve traveled to some pretty amazing looking places for work. What’s a location that you want a client to send you to next? 

 I visited once (see next answer), but never for work. I’d love to shoot in New Zealand… it’s such a beautiful place. After my wife and I traveled there, I tried to land a few tourism jobs, but nothing ever panned out. 

Also Tokyo 🙂

Have you ever been photographing a subject and thought “I want their job”? 

Ultimately no. BUT while I was on vacation with my wife in New Zealand we stayed on an “off the grid” farmstead for a couple days and was able to meet the owners. I saw them farming one of the days at sunset and  I asked if I could photograph them…  I’d say that has come the closest to coveting another persons job. 

Justin has website, workshop, and instagram

I contest the premise of your question. The (former) part. Though John L Parker might have polished to Once A Runner, or runners, in what you’re after. A reflection of both dogs and us, in younger years, by choice, breed maybe, in identity and experience, embedded in competition. Chasing rabbits, wins and times, for ourselves, teams, occupations. The hounds are built to run. Fast. It’s beautiful. No longer to chase a toupee on a line, but because that’s who they are, and things make more sense when they are. Fugazi may have been correct in penning You Are Not What You Own, but as long as we’re able, we will.

You’ve owned and operated a store in this town for 20 years, which is amazing (and seems daunting, since you’ve survived two location changes). What’s some advice you’d have for someone starting a brick and mortar business?

Probably making it through a couple of recessions and COVID more than this being the third location. I don’t know that I’m the poster person for a small business owner in some ways. It’s pretty much eaten my resources, I don’t have a retirement or pension, and after 20 years I can not provide for my family through just it let alone feel secure in what’s ahead. 

But it’s provided an established place in the community, the flexibility to at times be a stay at home parent, to make it to my kids activities, to provide jobs for dozens of people over the years and in what’s hopefully a fun place to work, the ability to have an occasional customer cry in the moment as they’d prior given to hope that they’d ever find shoes that would alleviate their pains in walking and in that sense hopefully contributed to others happiness, and to eek out a living doing what I really enjoy.

I’m not sure I’m worthy of giving advice. Unsure I’m the picture of a success story. I may be in Matt Foley’s shoes in any given year from now. I have though been referred to as an enabler. I’m here to provide that to any who may need enabling.

You’re also a race director and put together a really interesting set of mostly trail courses with huge climbs. I think of these experiences as something that participants will remember their entire life. What’s an event you’ve been able to participate in that has stuck with you (for better or for worse).

 In 2001 I’d been living for a short time on Oahu. Through friends in the community I’d been aware that a first time race was taking place called the HURT 100. The course was about a half mile from where I was living at the time and I headed up after work that Friday afternoon to see if they needed any help. They said the leader, Luis Escobar, could potentially use a pacer, and to come back sometime that night. I didn’t really know what that would entail, whether I’d be able to hang with the leader of the race let alone be of assistance. My longest run to date was probably less than 20 miles. So many hours of bonding as I covered 40-50 miles of tropical rainforest trails with him through the night and into the following day. The smell of papaya in trees and smashed throughout the forest floors. The startling sound of wild boar disturbed in the night and crashing through the forest in their escape path. The sound of water. The envelopment of massive banyan trees. So amazingly visceral. It was hugely influential. 

I’ve probably done maybe 40-50 trail ultras since then including pacing him again a couple of years later. So many incredible experiences and connections. But that first HURT 100 connection in kinship, the minimal degrees of separation in the trail and ultra community for sure at that time, would very much shape my roads and trails ahead. If I’m at all successful in putting on events, it’s if I can come even close to offering those same possibilities for others in return.

What do you do when you don’t know what to do?

A more potent memory, is of one of the opening weeks at Ithaca College. Before cell phones. Before computers being much more than Lemonade Stand. Before an established pod of friends on campus, or homework that needed getting done. Moments of walking around campus with nothing really to do. And the feeling of relative anxiousness that that carried with it. 

I think I’ve been lucky enough to have had a community and support structure, whether in family, neighbor kids, sports, work, study, that it’s rare that there aren’t a plethora of things to pour myself into, or to get done, or those to spend time with. I suppose that’s interwoven into being a small business owner. There’s never really a time when there aren’t things I could or should be doing. I find peace in creating things, in staying in motion, in maybe always having taken on a bit more than I can possibly chew.

We both went to college here and kind of…stuck around. I’ve realized now that it’s  not as common as I thought it’d be. What are some of the wildest differences in town and what hasn’t changed at all?

Yes there are new buildings. The Nine’s deep dish which took forever to arrive on account of the amount of drugs being done in house, but oh how good it was and worth the wait. The ABC Cafe and wonderful breakfast on dirty dishes. The Carriage House’s amazing scones. The Home Dairy’s moon pies. The original Haunt who hosted Dylan and Pearl Jam and where we’d often end up on nights after meets, if only to have drunken teammates climbing up walls to pull decorative records from the walls. Centipede in Moonshadows. These have passed but are fully woven my Ithaca fabric.

Maybe more powerful though are the places that remain, but where we’ve gotten older those places reflect moments and memories that of times gone by. Of youth. Of wonder and experience. So many late August / early September nights under moonlight jumping off the cliffs and climbing the falls above Beebe Lake. Of jumping from the cliffs into tight glacial pools along the Buttermilk Gorge Trail. The house, only a few up from where I now live, where I spent so many nights with my girlfriend, one of the closer people ever in my life who passed away 16 years ago now. Of college kids walking down hudson en route to bars howling in the night to each other. The THERM letters as solid and literally unbreakable as they always were. Of the Finger Lakes Trail through Treman, with nearly every twist and turn of rolling singletrack still there, but where I don’t still carry the physical certainty to send it like I once could. These are the places that remain as they always were for me. Only I’ve changed. We’ve changed. That appreciation, that lens of both experience and longevity in place, that’s the wildest part.

Ian has a few shops and puts on great races

My consumption these days is maybe 80% audiobooks. I’m on a pretty steady diet of self-helpy pop psychology, biographies, sci-fi, pop science, short fiction, and collected works of a single author. My film diet is fairly similar, but with some horror and standup comedy sprinkled in. Almost none of my musical inspiration is coming from other music these days… that’s probably not a good thing. The last few books that rattled me sufficiently are: If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies, Empire of AI by Karen Hao, Determined by Robert Sapolsky, Columbine by Dave Cullen, Murderland by Caroline Fraser, In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson, Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang.

A lot of your work—not this one from the Predator universe—deals with family dynamics. Without prying too much, have you found that sharing these experiences through music changes your existing relationships with family/friends/partners?

I think being transparent about my relationships in my lyrics has both opened and closed doors for me. Much of the ground gained in a relationship by exposing oneself may be lost by doing so in a broadcast format. I think my use of journalistic lyrics has helped me seem approachable and known by people I’ve never met, and thus feel less alone, but I think it’s ultimately a monologue, and relationships don’t get healed or improved that way. Perhaps sometimes a monologue is forgivable or appropriate when the objective is to teach, or model vulnerability, or confess, or create a time capsule for a child to open later… I’m not sure.

I remember at one of your shows (as Grüvis Malt) y’all played the Curb Your Enthusiasm theme before diving into one of your own songs. I don’t think people “got” it as that series hadn’t quite blown up. But I’ve noticed that about a lot of what you do, it seems years ahead of what everyone else is into. In terms of “success” (whatever that means) has that helped or hurt you?

That’s kind of you to say. At the time, Curb was on Season 3 or 4 I think… I think it was as big at that time as it was going to be, but the theme music hadn’t yet become a meme, so that might’ve made what we were doing a little less recognizable. We were just bored and on tour, binging Curb in the van.

If things I’ve done were a few years ahead of their time, then I suppose it could be true that innovation hurt my career success… But I think the best artists are capable of pulling the world along with them, so citing my timing as the primary reason my career has languished feels like an excuse to me. There was never going to be an optimal year to release Grace Land hahaha.

Innovation has always been a primary goal during my creative efforts. I think you’re inspiring me to try to unpack that. Why is that important to me? Should it be?

You’ve released some amazing covers. That probably doesn’t come without a little risk, but also reward. But what’s the driving factor when you hear someone else’s song that makes you go “I need to record my own version of this”?

I think the impetus to attempt a cover has always been the same for me: I just really like the song. It’s always about fanship and coveting: “oh man, I wish I’d written this song.” Often times it’s a lyric and/or melody that I fall in love with, and I just sing it around the house so often that I start to think tracking it is the only way to get some peace. I think I hold the original version in such high regard that I try to make mine very different; I’m almost never confident that I’ll be able to match (let alone improve on) the vocal performance of the original, so I try to compensate for that with rhythm and chord progression embellishments or departures that will share the attention.

Part of what I love about good lyrics is an ability to apply words to things that are very difficult to reduce to words. What’s something, anything, that you believe in strongly but can’t prove. Even better if no one has been able to prove it, actually.

I agree with you—I think that is an accurate depiction of a poet’s job. You’ve posed a hard question for me… I’m realizing it’s far easier for me to list things I don’t believe in. I think, having grown up in a conservative religion and escaped, I’m very skeptical of strongly held beliefs. I’m naturally stubborn but I want to be nimble and change my mind often. I suspect most things we get passionate about aren’t all that important. I believe in aliens. Lately. I sometimes believe in Simulation theory. I mostly believe in determinism. I believe humans are more often corrupted by systems than moral failings.

Gavin has a bandcamp and a linktree

Photo credit for the top headshot is by Tom Cook, art direction by Carrie Von Kiel. Final note from Ty: I mean this when I say you should stop what you’re doing and go listen to some of Gavin’s music. The three albums below are just a fraction of his catalog, but will give you a bit of everything from humorous to heartbreaking. Wouldn’t have it any other way.

What?! People don’t have printers anymore? This kinda blows my mind and makes me a little sad…not gonna lie. A printer was a must-have for me when we left in the Airstream and still is today in our house. I make physical products, and I have to see what I’m making in real life before I send it off to print. Things on your screen don’t always look the same when printed out. I’ve designed brochures that I thought looked good on screen and when printed out would require even a healthy 20-year-old to grab a pair of readers. 🙃 I always trust the printout over the screen…because that’s what it’s really gonna look like. And also, what if you just want to make a quick “Happy Birthday” banner…or your cat goes missing and you have to get “Missing Cat” posters up really quick…you need a printer! Let’s normalize having a printer in the house again, people! 😆

But back to your question…we edited pretty fiercely when it came to personal items we’d bring into the Airstream. It was work supplies that got a lot of the coveted space. My office mostly fit into my backpack, as often I was working at coffee shops or co-working spaces. Or if I was working in the Airstream, I still needed to pack everything up at the end of the day to allow us to use the space for other things like eating, sleeping or just general living. But I did have some extra things like my much-loved printer, a portable photo studio, a scanner, a phone stand for filming in birds eye view and a very skinny lightbox for tracing. We also kept a supply of greeting cards under the couch to keep our online shop going while on the road. A lot of the Airstream was dedicated to work.

When I look at stuff that you make, I think “oh yeah, she gets it.” You make things that I think are great but also my kids and my parents would love. Who and what do you get inspiration from?

Aw! That’s so nice of you! Thank you! I’m inspired quite simply…by humans. And particularly the creations of kids and humans who aren’t artists at all…or at least wouldn’t call themselves one…because there is so much freedom, indifference and irreverence in what they create.

I often feel more like a present-day archaeologist than an artist because I’m really just walking around, finding bits of humanity and smooshing it into my work. I love sitting in coffee shops and listening for tiny moments of human connection and joy. I take the words I overhear and use them in my art—so that I can try and conjure up some of that connection and joy for others. The hand-drawn letters I find on the side of the road inspire my fonts. The layouts I see on sandwich boards find their way into my products and the colors I see on old trucks become my color palette.

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Tiny Talk with Kate Smith

You’re not shy about sharing your process, specifically with time lapse videos. In this AI-era I find it more satisfying than ever to watch someone figure things out (even if it is sped up). Is this something you’ve always done?

Not really. My factory settings lean pretty hard towards perfectionism. On a deep level I want people to think I have it all together and know exactly what I’m doing. I don’t want to people to see me fail, make mistakes or suck at things. And early in my career I wouldn’t dare put out a post that wasn’t polished. And while I still battle with the beast that is perfectionism from time to time, I’ve now come to see that perfect is boring…like soooo painfully boring. The magic is in the mistakes, the smudges, the not-knowing…the humanity. And I don’t mind showing mine anymore.

You spent time in Alaska and recently settled in Montana (said airstream looked absolutely blasted with snow). In your travels, what’s one place that you had no expectations for and just blew you away?

When you start traveling full-time, it’s like you turn on a constant stream of travel recommendations from others… “Have you been here? There? Oh, you have to go here! Ugh, you can’t miss this place!” And so there were a lot of places we got told we “Had to see” and went to check out. The two that blew me away the most were Bisbee, AZ and Marfa, TX. They’re both funky, artist towns with super cool histories. They’re both pretty remote, so if people live there, they’ve done so intentionally…they want to be there…it’s not an accident. And that makes for some pretty interesting communities…in the best way possible.

I always say I feel like I could run down the streets of Marfa naked and people would just be like “Oh, she’s probably just making art,” and go back to eating their sandwiches. And, well, I dig that.

Last one, fun one: what’s a smell that immediately transports you somewhere (traveling without moving!)?

Probably the smell of piñon wood burning. We spent our first Christmas on the road in Santa Fe, NM. Canyon Road on Christmas Eve is full of cozy artist studios, carolers, farolitos and bonfires of piñon wood…and its magic. That smell always takes me back there.

Kate has a website and an instagram