Between Takes with 1413
The two creatives spearheading 1413 Visuals are talking about all things studio life -- work, music, love etc.
Between Takes with 1413
Ep 7: Chalk Dreams and Photographic Schemes: Art in Unexpected Places
Ever had to sideline your passion because life threw a curveball? That's the scoop with Courtney, who, despite a wrist injury, has been spinning tales of her chalk mural escapades in local cafes and bars, with a security camera-camouflaged octopus stealing the show. Meanwhile, Josh swaps lenses for laughs, capturing the candid charm of his kids and sparking a lively debate—pickleball versus tennis, anyone? Art and athleticism collide in our friendly banter, where we also peel back the curtain on the artistic process and muse over the endearing quirks of public creativity.
Pull up a chair as we swap chalk dust for the slick precision of acrylic paint markers, and unpack the reality of night owl artistry in after-hours bars. Our brushes may be capped, but the stories flow freely, from the joys of dodging the well-meaning but oh-so-disruptive public to the tightrope walk of artistic and commercial needs. The tempo changes as Sierra Ferrell's "Dollar Bill Bar" plays us out, a musical gem that's snagged our earworm status. Join us for a symphony of musings, from our playlist standoffs to the charm of a single, well-crafted tune that keeps the beat of our eclectic lives.
Song of the Week Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7lDyWnUnAmvuUkf8wj7ilK?si=df11343db17c4df0
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Watch the Episodes: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNEbTpI9bZA7POvKaNto2RQ
Your picture will get taken. It's just not going to be by me, yeah. So, courtney, tell us what you've been up to.
Speaker 2:Rotting on my couch because I can't do anything right now. Right Because you broke your wrist Because I broke my wrist. What about you, Josh? What have you been up to?
Speaker 3:Oh, what I've been doing. I've been watching my kids a lot. I've been using them as guinea pigs for trying different photography stuff. I've been happy with it. Yeah shooting old school pictures of my kids and playing in the yard.
Speaker 2:That's cute Aww.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I've been playing a lot of pickleball lately, you have been.
Speaker 3:That's what I've been doing.
Speaker 1:Are you good at it? Yeah, I mean uh, yeah, we're. We've paid for hours, so but yeah, the people I play with say I'm good, they want to be on my team and that's all that counts. I felt like the opposite of the last kid in gym class oh, I was the last kid in gym class.
Speaker 1:I feel like I was the middle kid in gym class my whole life, Like I. I was an athlete, so like, but I was still a girl. Yeah, so like in the middle, you know. No, I've been playing and I enjoy it. Somebody told me it's it's for people who are too lazy to play tennis.
Speaker 2:It's, I think it's, it's supposed to be for lower impact than tennis for, like people that might have joint issues, like it started as an older adult thing, yeah, it's not as much impact yeah, possibly, but my entire body hurts when I'm done, so I don't care.
Speaker 1:those old people are in shape because I'm like dead and I'm like I'm like fine with it because I've been wanting to exercise. Yeah, I don't know, I I've been having fun, nice. Yep, I've been thinking about taking my camera out there, but I feel like people might not want to be recorded. All right, I guess we can just jump in. So on our podcast, we talked about creative stuff, and I was telling Josh that you do the chalk murals in places around town, and so I thought it would be cool if you came on and talked about it a little bit okay, okay, um, I haven't been doing it very long, probably like two, a little over two years now.
Speaker 2:Yeah, at least as long as dan's been open getting paid for it for two years, yeah, but I started doing it at the bar that I work at and doing the specials and just like writing cute little like shit up there with the specials. I drew a piece of bread that had a beret on it for a french toast shot very nice, cute little shit like that makes people look and actually order the specials.
Speaker 2:And then when Dan's opened I started doing their chalkboard behind the bar, which was supposed to be temporary, but they decided they liked it and kept it and it kind of just like spiraled from there.
Speaker 1:You did the big, the octopus yeah. Mural in the bar too.
Speaker 2:The octopus is my favorite thing. That's my favorite thing I've ever done.
Speaker 1:That's a really big piece. It's huge. It takes up like the whole back wall.
Speaker 3:So I've not been in the. I guess it's dirty things. Is that like a painted?
Speaker 2:mural. It's not like a chalk thing, it's chalk and then it leans. There's a mirror right underneath it and so I have like two tentacles with chalk marker that are coming like. It looks like he's hanging out behind the mirror with two of his tentacles peeking over, yeah, yeah and then one of his eyes is the security camera. That's back there, nice yeah, it's cool that takes planning right to probably should have planned it more than I did, but yes, what is the like, the process, like, start to finish, when you get it depends on if I'm doing something more creative or more like planned and like structured.
Speaker 2:I do so like some, some boards I do are like full creative control. I can do whatever I want up there, and then some have like specific things that they need. So, like AJ McMurphy's, I do their board twice a year and in the fall before NFL starts I do their pick the pros and I do all of the rules for that and then they leave a spot for the winners and the running score and everything like that. So I like doing both the creative and the more structured. The structured probably doesn't take me as long because I can visualize it and just put it up there and it's a lot of lettering which is not super hard.
Speaker 2:The creative takes me a lot longer because I have to figure out spacing and what's going to go where and keep the whole board on theme with each other and get everything together that way, but I usually wing it either way. Um, I will sometimes sketch out some ideas if I have them, but half the time I just kind of I'm like, oh, we're just gonna see what comes out. How do you like pick your theme?
Speaker 1:I've done what you can come up with, or the creative boards that I theme.
Speaker 2:I've done. Come up with what you can come up with. Or the creative boards that I've done I've done. Most of the time they kind of let me just do whatever I want and like the creative aspects of the more structured boards as well. They usually just kind of let me do whatever I've done. I did like a St Paddy's Day theme at AJ's for because it's an Irish pub.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 2:I did a SpongeBob theme at Dan's. It was aimed to be a cartoon board and then it just ended up mostly SpongeBob.
Speaker 1:But weren't they doing something like alcohol-related?
Speaker 2:I did like the SpongeBob and Patrick scene of like no, I'm Dirty, dan.
Speaker 3:Oh yeah, that's what it was and that was like true to the show.
Speaker 2:And then I did Squidward when he plays in the Super Bowl. But I put him in a purple and gold jersey and he was catching a bush light instead of a football.
Speaker 3:That's fun, yeah yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:Does the size of the, the board and everything affect what your idea might be?
Speaker 2:yeah, it does. It also kind of depends on how the board is broken up, so like, for instance, dan's board has that big neon directly in the middle of it, which has squashed some of my ideas in the past, because it's smack in the middle and hard to kind of work around. Plus it's just in an awkward spot in general that whole board is, and don't you?
Speaker 1:at the bottom. The bottom part of it is covered by, like the, the bottle liquor. All the bottles sit like at the bottom.
Speaker 2:So I have to keep in mind of like, how tall are they? Is what I'm doing gonna be completely covered by this or they're gonna get messed up if somebody knocks their hand into it kind of thing.
Speaker 1:The chalk I use is like it stains I was just gonna ask, like what kind of if you get a special kind of chalk?
Speaker 2:I just use soft pastels. It's the easiest thing. That's like the brand, just the type. It's just like a step up from sidewalk chalk. Basically, it's more vivid, it comes out a lot brighter and layers a lot better when you're actually using it, but it doesn't stay on.
Speaker 1:It's still chalk.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it stains the boards too, too, which is super fun when it's time to make a new one.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I have tried everything that I could possibly think of to get off Windex does okay. Certain colors stain worse than others and it also just depends on, like, how you want the next board to look, I don't know if we brought up that you freehand everything.
Speaker 1:I've seen, I've seen you do it. So have you been? Have you like? You always drawn like?
Speaker 2:I didn't start really drawing until I started doing the doodles on the chalkboard at max yeah like a couple years ago, I was never a big artistic. I like I used to like write. I like to write, yeah, a lot, but I was never a big artistic. I like I used to like right, I like to write, yeah a lot, but I was never a big drawer and I started doing that.
Speaker 1:I feel like if people saw these boards, which shameless plug will have her Instagram for it linked. I feel like if people saw these boards, they wouldn't believe that you, like, just started doing that that's I don't know like I.
Speaker 2:Just I think it's a big part of, like, my perfectionism and I get really anal about what it looks like and go over and redo, which is why I like chalk too, because it's easy with a wet rag to like fix a mistake and go back and redo what you need to, but I haven't been drawing that long. I'm on a hiatus right now, sadly.
Speaker 3:Do you do other mediums other than chalk?
Speaker 2:I've done chalk markers, basically paint markers. I'm doing acrylic paint markers. I'm in the middle of one right now. It's acrylic paint markers.
Speaker 1:Have you ever thought about just painting? Or do you think you have more control with the markers type?
Speaker 2:I feel like I have more control with the markers. I'm not super comfortable with paint yet, but it's something I really like want to get more comfortable with, even just like fill in yeah large areas and I've done like a few things, like I have my little jar that. I've done. That's the Kody Christian pine needles thing, and I did that with acrylic oh, yeah, yeah, yeah okay, I did that with acrylic and it took me longer than I would like to admit because I was very particular about what it looked like.
Speaker 1:Well, these like the big the projects used to do at these bars. They take you quite a bit of time.
Speaker 2:Anywhere from like 10 to 20 hours. Yeah.
Speaker 1:And you do it all during closed hours of the bar, when the bar is closed.
Speaker 2:Depends on what bar it is, depends on where it is is where the board is physically in the building that it's in, but also what kind of business it is on when I can work on it and how quickly I can get it done. But I get a lot of people coming up and like asking me questions and like tapping me on the shoulder and like yeah, it's just like that's like the worst.
Speaker 1:I don't. I do not understand what goes through people's heads when they see someone like actively working in any capacity, because this happens to me a lot where, like when I'm shooting a show and I'm like recording video and I get tapped on the shoulder or poked or whatever to get my attention while I'm actively recording. It's not one of those things where I'm just like standing there and maybe you can mistake my arms are in the air it's very obvious, it's very obvious.
Speaker 1:I'm currently recording the show and people will tap on me and like, go out of their way to get my attention to be like, oh, take my picture, no, or what kind of camera do you use? Or how long have you been doing this? Or oh, you like shoot like you photograph shows or you do this show.
Speaker 3:It's like just tell me, I don't does this, never done this in my life in your brain, like if we took a step back and thought about it.
Speaker 1:Does this really feel like a good time to ask me those questions? And it's like you're like on a ladder drawing chalk and and like, focused, and like is this the time? Take a step back, is this the time to ask me?
Speaker 2:these questions. Yeah, I make sure I have my headphones in, like very clearly not talking to anybody, not trying to talk to anybody Between like just being friendly and just being like. Annoying.
Speaker 1:And like unaware, just like I feel I swear. I swear to god those people they don't. There is no world beyond the inside of their head, correct? Like you have no awareness of, like what anybody is doing around, like, and it frustrates me because this is, this is my job. I'm paid to be here.
Speaker 1:I'm doing my job you're interrupting and you're interrupting for something like find me on instagram and send me a message, or like come find like when I'm not doing anything. I'm standing and I'm talking to people. Like that would be. If you have like random questions, that would be a time to ask, not when I'm literally. It's always my hands are in the air and I'm actively recording. What about?
Speaker 2:I've seen it happen to you like what about that?
Speaker 1:it's like this is the perfect time to ask her right now where she got her t-shirt like as she's stepping up onto the stage. Let me stop her yeah, like I've been starting to say, people are like can you like take my picture? And I just say no, no, bye, like I like uh, my friend told me that she, she tells people her camera doesn't do that.
Speaker 1:Like sorry, it doesn't take photos like it's, it's so and it happens all of the time. It's like the public service announcement if you see someone with a camera in their hand, it doesn't automatically mean they want to take your photo it sounds like a good thing to put on back of a t-shirt like it's like no, it reminds me of one of those things like, if you can read this yeah, yeah, that's the vibe I get from that t-shirt maybe if it just said it's not photos, it's video or something, something like just straight to the point.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, yeah, but even like, if it's even photographers like I'm, I'm here, like, photographing the band. I don't want to take a picture of you and your drunk friend, you know, in the, in the part of the bar that's not lit like, lit differently than the stage that I'm taking photos of. That you're never going to see or get, you're never going to get this photo, so leave me alone.
Speaker 2:It's not like you've been hired by the bar to come and take photos of the customers, like there's somebody in there to do that. So why are they bothering you?
Speaker 1:And that person is going to come around and say like, oh, you want your photo taken. Yes, yeah, like. Don and say like, oh, you want your photo to your picture. Yes, yeah, like. Don't go up to a photographer in the middle or videographer in the middle of doing what they're supposed to be doing and tell them that's another thing too. My picture, yeah, I get. I would say it's more often than not I don't get the ask, I get the tell. Yeah, take our picture, take this picture. Or like. I've had people who they go and get in front of my camera.
Speaker 2:I've seen that too.
Speaker 1:And I'm like.
Speaker 2:Oh, I know exactly the specific instance you're talking about.
Speaker 1:That's the recent one, but it happens all the time. It's not like one time, it happens all the time. I have a video of like where you can see like I'm recording and you can see like me like turn because there's this like there's a girl who was like trying to get my attention and like wave to the camera and then like I have the fisheye lens on so you can see her like peep off the other side and try to reach her head like to the front of in front of the camera and then her like do this weird, like moonwalk thing to be in front of it again and like do just, I don't get it.
Speaker 3:I don't.
Speaker 1:I try to put my self inside these people's brains and I'm like when, when is this behavior okay?
Speaker 2:like I don't think I've ever done that. I've done that when I've seen you have your camera on me.
Speaker 1:Yeah, when I point it to you. If I point my camera to you and you act an idiot, great, I'm all for it. If I point my camera to you, do whatever you want.
Speaker 2:But don't get in front of it Go insane.
Speaker 1:And if you have energy, like if you're at a show and you have good energy, the camera is going to be on you at some point, like I promise you, because that's what I'm looking for.
Speaker 3:So like it's going to be on you at some point that's the worst when you see people that are energetic and you're like I want to get them. But every time you point the camera at them, they they're like freeze and like no no, too much or the wrong thing I'm like.
Speaker 1:no, I'm not here.
Speaker 3:And it normally does nothing.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I get that. Or I get the people that are waving around and they're trying to get your attention. You finally put the video on them and they pose for a photo and you're like then it's just, the sound is just me yelling it's video, it's video, keep going. It's video keep going, like, move around. So the video is just shaking because I'm like you know, like, do something, your picture will get taken. It's just not going to be by me. Yeah, like, if you want your picture taken and you want me to take it, go interact with the band. I guarantee you you're you're gonna end up in a picture.
Speaker 1:Yeah, a picture, yeah bands that are paying me. They don't want a bunch of pictures of random people in the bar that's not what they're paying me for. No, I don't care if it makes me a jerk, like that's not what I'm being paid for. It makes you a jerk go, go over there in front of the band and put your arms up and sing, and then I'll take your picture. That was a long way to decide like.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I hate that don't get in Sam's way.
Speaker 1:Well, like you're talking about, people tapping you.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I don't like when people watch me in general, like I'd rather work on a chalkboard when no one's there, because I don't like when people watch me do it.
Speaker 1:I don't like when people watch me edit. Yeah, like I just can feel every eye that's staring on like staring at me. I want to justify every move and be like trust the process, not to drastically change the subject. But, um, you said you've been like getting paid for it for like two years. Do you feel like, um, like, was that like a hard shift to start like commissioning or?
Speaker 2:I don't think so, because it didn't. I didn't ever really think about it like that until I started doing Dirty Dan's and they asked me to do it when they were opening up, initially, just from having like friends that worked there and everything I got asked they had seen what I'd done at max and they were like, oh okay, why don't you come and do this chalkboard? It's not going to be up there very long.
Speaker 2:We're getting a mirror, but we don't want to have it blank and then I went and did something and then the boss man saw it and was like, oh no, we're gonna keep the chalkboard.
Speaker 1:So I kind of just like fell into it a little bit but I do feel like investing in something like that and making sure those things like look nice and are actually like artistic, um, I think it does make a difference in like the overall feel of the place.
Speaker 2:Yes, yeah, exactly. Yeah, it's fun. I don't understand how I got into chalk, though, because the feeling of chalk makes me want to claw my skin off sometimes I can.
Speaker 3:I can see that especially like near nails and if you touch it, yeah writing in my like finger.
Speaker 1:First of all, sensory problems with your hands. Yeah, big time Will be my downfall, amen, yeah, no, I wouldn't be able to do any of that If you whipped out the gloves.
Speaker 3:My hands sweat I can't wear gloves, sensory things yeah.
Speaker 2:That's another reason I don't like hand-on-hand contact is because even when we're partner dancing and I'm like you have to hold on to my hand and she's just trying like barely holding on to my fingertips, and I'm like sam, we have to hold hands, I hate every time I hand her something like if I'm driving and I'm like here and like, if any, if like, if this is her hand, if it any like she's like.
Speaker 3:I can't, I'm like I hope there's never a scenario where, like Sam is falling off a cliff and I'm like here she's like no, she would die, she would have rather die let me die no, I'm okay with this.
Speaker 1:I'm good, toss me a rope, you idiot.
Speaker 3:Don't use your hand take your belt off your leg anything, your pants leg just not your cargo shorts that's not your very hand.
Speaker 1:Do you want to do Song of the?
Speaker 3:Week.
Speaker 1:Yeah, we've rambled on about my mental illness for long enough now.
Speaker 3:All right, song of the Week. My song is by the Queens of the Stone Age and it is Song for the Dead. It's one of the songs that if you listen to where you're driving, you immediately want to speed. Oh, I like that yeah yeah, it starts out with guitar. It has this really epic drum intro. That is, that is it. Just, it's good. It's good driving music pedal to the metal.
Speaker 1:It is that it is it is that, yes, it's good driving music. Pedal to the metal. It is that. I love that. It is that yes. It's good driving music Shut up Sam. That was the only part of it that soaked into my brain.
Speaker 3:What sad song did you pick out? It is a sad song actually.
Speaker 2:I think a sad song too, Aha Game over. Go ahead with your sad song. My song of the week is good to drive by muscadine bloodline oh, that is a good one.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I you know, I'm not a big muscadine fan, I know you're not not like I don't dislike them, I'm just not. They're not like someone, a band I reach for, but I do like that song.
Speaker 2:It's I've been listening to their older stuff. It's good. Live too, yeah, and it's very like flowy easy. It's a good like very opposite driving vibe, but like chill like windows down back roads like it's actually not good to drive, yeah yeah, yeah yeah, I do like, I do like that song.
Speaker 1:It is very. Yeah, uh, summertime song, yes.
Speaker 2:It's been putting me in a good mood while I'm stuck inside my house, even though it's kind of about a sad thing, but it's okay. Drunk driving, yeah, because your girlfriend just broke up with you and you want to drunk drive to her house. Ooh, yeah, yeah. Don't do it, kids. Don't do it. Bad't do it. Bad idea, what's your song of the week?
Speaker 1:it's called dollar bill bar by sierra pharrell. It's a sad song. It's kind of disguised as like a um, I wouldn't say it's disguised as a happy song, but it's a little more ish, upbeat sounding. And then if you listen to the lyrics, that's when you realize like it's one of those like better off alone songs. Yeah, I've listened to it's on her new album that I've listened to like cover to cover a bunch of times. Bit obsessed right now, but it's really good. I like it a lot. It'll be on the playlist 14, 13, not, that's not what it is. I mess it up every time between takes. Playlist on spotify. I haven't made one on apple and you know what I probably won't? Oh, the camera's on I probably won't to the apple users. I or youtube users, Thank you. He listens to music on YouTube.
Speaker 2:That's disgusting.
Speaker 3:Because I pay for YouTube Red and I just make a playlist of the songs I want to listen to.
Speaker 1:I don't like that.
Speaker 3:Loose use of the word makes a playlist.
Speaker 1:He has like 10 songs. You're in a room with playlist, girls, right?
Speaker 2:now she's worse than I am. I just listen to a bunch of her playlists. Smart move, I know I still listen to Crunch AF all the time Me too.
Speaker 3:Crunch AF playlist has been brought up many times on the podcast.
Speaker 2:It's a quality podcast. It's a quality playlist.