MMM, An Exhibition of Fine Art Fashion!

After doing loads of research on Marina L Makaron and reading many interviews I have to admit I am no fashion expert. I do not want to follow in the footsteps of the experts and do another cookie cutter interview. I would like to take a different approach and see it from the art side. Her clothing and accessory line is functional art at i'ts absolute finest! This stuff walks, talks and commands attention with stunning colors and patterns. If you wear MMM you become an exhibition of fine art fashion!

Marina L Makaron

Please give us a bit of history on yourself.

I was born in Moscow, Russia where I grew up. During my childhood my family traveled quite a bit since back then my father was in the army. When I was 12 I came to America but soon left to finish high school since Russian school education is stronger. After high school I came back to the USA where I graduated Drexel University with Magan Cum Laude. Then left to the UK for masters at London School of Economics and back to Russia for the second masters degree at Moscow School Of Economics. My higher education was focused on marketing, international business and media. While in school I traveled and worked in the field of study which helped me understand and develop what today is my brand.

After following your work as well as you personally on twitter and Facebook for about a year now, I see you are very driven. Where do you find this drive to press on and make your brand successful?

Just like creativity, drive has been in my blood, therefore I can not take responsibility for it. My father is a colonel who spend 20 years in the military, so I grew up in a military family where order, endurance and to thrive was a way of life. When I take on a task I do not think that there is an option to fail or not finish, I focus on how high or fast I will achieve it.

I myself have always been blown away by your creativity with color and patterns. Some of my recent work has even partially been inspired by it as well. I noticed that you did not go to design school, but studied business. Where does this almost divine instinct for color come from?

Thank you Ron, the clock that you have created is fantastic! I can not give a source of the "divine instinct" I guess its something I was born with and have to be thankful to my parents for. My father has an impeccable taste and my mom is an artist (she paints, sews, makes wall pieces out of corks, etc) so creativity is something I grew up with. Also, when I was little I was left with my grandma who spent her time raising me on fairy tales, which undoubtedly contributed to the light within my designs.

I am aware that you pride yourself on high quality products and not "fast food fashion". Your silk is of the highest quality, and made with secret old fashioned Russian methods. I know full well that making silk is an art in itself. Please talk about you're attention to detail and the level of craftsmanship that goes into each piece.

Production platforms is what differs each designer. I carefully test and choose people and materials before working with them. I strongly believe that there is no need to stay within the barriers of the box (regardless of how trite that may sound) yet while getting all creative I focus on quality and safety.

You told me when we first started talking that you originally wanted to start with furniture. I hear now you have plans to start a home decor line, what might we expect? Will you be bringing your vibrant colors and flashy style into this venture as well?

First I will focus on carcass free furniture like tear drop seats. And of course I am incorporating my designs in the furniture since that is what I am as a brand.

Now to get away from everything above, I know that you are quite the world traveler. I have enjoyed seeing pictures of you from various trips and adventures. Tell us one of the most memorable or funny stories from your travels.

I have traveled quite alot. It has been in our family tradition plus living in Russia made it easier to visit places. Yet it is difficult to select a single story, I guess I will go with Dubai only because it is a very diverse world filled with oxymoron's. First of all, the visual space is beyond description. Everything is of world record proportions. Tallest building, biggest indoor skiing, biggest outdoor light show and so on. Facilities are clean, organized , and nothing like the stereotypically depicted Arab world. Abundance of food and alcohol, royal attendance, its a dream. Yet you understand that all of this is in the desert where oxygen levels are half of what you are accustomed to and temperatures are of cooking caliber. However, while being a business woman and a leader it was quite difficult to take the back seat since in that culture women are still viewed as submissive. So it was a mixture of head spinning all access heaven and a confusing restricting regime.

To close this out tell us what Art is and means to you and how that pertains to your work.

To me Art is a frozen in time flash of emotions, feelings and perception of the world taken through the personal filter. It is vital to my work since I base my designs on color and shape combinations, which clearly are influenced by my inner state at a particular moment. I believe Art is a way to share your soul with the world.

I think this is my favorite so far.

Above are pictures from the Miami Beach International Fashion Show 2011

A favorite picture of mine from an earlier industrial photo shoot

One of my favortite pictures of Marina in her travels. This really shows the excitement for life that she has!

Please visit MMM and find her on Facebook and Twitter as well.

If you want more info about silk and how it is produced check out this blog post from Tania at Passport to Design.

Ostlund Custom Works New Release

"Curvilinear Abstract"

Well here it is, the anticipated release of my new work! I have been busy in the shop for about 2 weeks now and have decided to do some things differently. I will be releasing groups of work rather than one at a time. I am also thinking about doing sets of pieces that all go together in a category. You are going to start seeing some things you didn't expect from me! Like the above clock "Curvilinear Abstract" Lets just say I have been inspired a bit!

This clock is more than a clock! It is a stunning piece of functional wall art and is HUGE! I call this clock "Curvilinear Abstract" This was a sudden inspiration I had one morning while looking at my two of my favorite artists online. The first of which is April with Lucas Leaf Creations she makes the most amazing concrete castings using real leaves! The colors and color combinations just grab you and you can't resist staring! I own one of these leaves and I can tell you that pictures do not do it justice. It is quite mesmerizing actually, I just look at it and feel its energy.

The second person is actually a fashion designer but she is an artist none the less! What she does with silk.... the silk worm wishes it could do! Her colors and patterns are in your face and spicy! The styles she comes up with are what true high fashion is all about. Marina L Makaron of MMM (Marina Makaron Moscow) really knows how to get it done! So what this all comes down to is I have been inspired by these people and when you look at their work you will understand why.

"Curvilinear Abstract" is a Huge clock! It is 4ft tall and 6in wide in the center. The aluminum rods are also 4ft long and are upcycled aluminum from Huth machine shop here in Ft Wayne. It uses a high torque movement to turn those long hands! The minute hand is 22.5in long and the hour hand is 18in long. You will really make a statement with this clock on your wall.

This new wall clock uses extruded aluminum air cylinder tubing for the body and a painted face. This deep blood red face was an experiment for me and it turned out great. It is a combination of two different spray paints I had around the shop. It features a continuous sweep clock movement which is my favorite. It has a nice smooth motion instead of the ticking type associated with most clocks. I have to say that this Gothic style is something out of the ordinary for me but it really works. The serpentine hands I had in my "clock stuff box" and they just never fit anything till now. I love it when a plan comes together.

"sexy pendulum"

This next clock is called "Red in the Face" and you can see why! I am going to start with the pendulum because I think it's really cool! It is delicate and even sexy, and is made of a slice of extruded aluminum air cylinder tubing and aluminum rod. I love having more moving elements in my work and a pendulum really does that. The red insert in the bob section really catches your eye! I think you almost start there and then work your way up to the clock. This time I decided to go big with the body and used a much bigger piece. It is an unusual look and really stands out! (no pun intended) This piece also has the Ostlund Custom Works engraved signature plate and title plate included.

"Red in the Face"

Simple is best sometimes! These tea light candle holders are simple but elegant and the perfect accent for your home. These slices of extruded air cylinder tubing from PHDinc are just right for mixing cold metal and hot flame. The ambiance of a candle flame is hard to beat. An interesting shape and multiple facets lends itself to being placed and arranged in many ways. These sets will be in regular production and not one of a kind pieces!

My love for lamps continues here with this cute little MCM style flicker flame bulb night light. The flicker flame bulb is on of my favorites bulbs for its unique flickering filament that mimics a flame. I have this lamp shown here in my son Liam's room on his dresser it is also made of extruded aluminum air cylinder tubing from PHDinc. I really love this material because of its amazing shape and great versatility in my art.

Now here is my second necklace I have made. It is a thin slice of the same tubing I use for a lot of other things, just a smaller diameter. I filed and polished this pendant pretty well but I didn't want to get away from my style so there are still nicks and scratches in it. I don't like to over process anything and my jewelry will be no different. It is an industrial, simple and even beautiful necklace that a man or woman can wear. The closure is a loop and bead style with the bead made from aluminum rod upcycled from Huth machine shop. This will be another production piece and not a one of a kind item. One last thing.....but I wont say too much, Ostlund Custom Works will be coming out with a jewelry line soon! Keep an eye out for it!

Thank you for looking at my new work and taking a bit of time to look at the links on my sidebar. You will find amazing things!!!

Sayaka Ganz, Art that will move you!

Sayaka with her new piece

Not long ago I decided I wanted to start doing interviews on a few of the things that I enjoyed. Art, interior design, and fashion. I knew right away who I wanted to ask to be my first interview, none other than my favorite artist Sayaka Ganz. I will admit that she has become an "idol" of mine! My good friend Julie Toles intoduced me to her work (back in my art hater stage) and I was moved to tears by what I saw. I was not ready for the impact and emotion I felt looking at this amazing art. A change had occured in me and I have been different ever since.

I first met Sayaka at an art opening at Continuum Art Gallery here in Ft. Wayne. She is one of the nicest and most humble people I have ever met. I was quite nervous to be meeting this amazing artist and was a bit starstruck! Ok alot starstruck, and I still am! Well let me start this interview before I blab my way down the page!

Tell us a bit about yourself.

I was born in Yokohama, Japan. My family moved to Sao Paulo, Brazil when I was 9 years old and we lived there for almost 5 years. We went back to Japan when I was 13, then moved to Hong Kong and came to the United States to attend university. Up to high school I never graduated from the same school I started in. All these relocations have affected my thinking. It has made me flexible and also made me crave a sense of belonging. I get great comfort from fitting things together, perhaps partially because of these experiences.

Explain to everyone what you do as an artist, in a general sense.

I make organic forms from discarded household plastics that I collect from the thrift shops. Mostly I make animal forms of various colors but I also make more abstract sculptures. I try to use motion lines in my sculptures, just like some old cartoon drawings, to create the illusion that my animals are moving. My process is very experimental and non-traditional but my techniques are almost primitive, I drill holes in the plastic objects and tie them together onto an armature.

I have known you for a little while now and am continually amazed at your work. What drives and inspires you to create new work?

I get the inspiration from the discarded objects themselves. The human history behind each piece is very interesting, someone designed and created this object, someone used and later discarded it. I am also inspired by nature and the life energy of animals. The motion, wind, water current, waves and time.

I feel a tremendous amount of energy in your art. Please explain your philosophy behind your work and how you bring your pieces to life.

My philosophy is that beauty is all around us, but sometimes a shift in perspective is necessary to find it. I try to use the organic forms of the man made plastic and align them in a way that funnels the directional energy into a flowing stream.

What do you like most about the medium that you work with?

The objects that we use around the house are often designed to fit our hands or body and have beautiful curvilinear forms. I love putting odd shapes and forms together like a puzzle, so these objects work very well. I also like all the colors they come in, and that there are subtle variations in colors within each spectrum.

Do you have any plans and goals for the future of your art that you can share with us?

Jim Merz and I are applying for a public art commission in Seattle. I'm in a group exhibition in Washington D.C. in March. I have a commission to create four horse sculptures at the Isle of Man in October and I will make a series of four sculptures (three of marine animals and one of the North Pacific Gyre) for the Monterey Bay Aquarium using plastic debris from the ocean in 2012. My goal would be to find the good balance between having enough work and having too much. Its sometimes difficult to decide which shows I should enter, which invitations or commissions I should accept or reject.

Art tends to have many deffinitions, and means something different to each person. Give us your definition of Art and what it means to you.

Art and beauty cannot be separated in my mind. Some people look for more intellectual stimuli in art, but to me it is more about aesthetic and visual engagement and the messages you broadcast through them. I want to challenge the viewers to try to find beauty in the mundane, find hope in difficult situations and be kinder toward the little "stuff" around us.

I would like to thank Sayaka for letting me do this interview with her and for the wonderful answers she provided me with. I hope that her work can inspire many more people like it has inspired me! If you want to go look at more of her art take a look at the links I have provided. I highly recomend that you take the time to look at them and to "Like" her page on Facebook

http://sayakaganz.com/Home.html

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/pages/Sayaka-Ganz-Sculptures/139396576111031

Coming Soon!

Coming soon to Ostlund Custom Works are some big things! Everybody knows me for clocks, lamps and generally small pieces. Once my new shop is put together you will start seeing furniture! Yep that's right! I have some tables planned at the moment, as well as some very interesting other pieces!

Also you will be seeing a badge from Passport2design on my blog! We have worked some things out together and I will be advertising on her amazing interior design blog! You really need to go look at this blog and follow her. Tania REALLY knows her stuff and always has interesting and informative articles. I feel like this is a huge step for OCW and will be a great partnership for us both.

You really need to see this post! This furniture is beyond amazing to me! I know its not every ones style, but its mine! I just love it!

http://passport2design.com/furniture-friday-marine-mine/

Mindless Ramblings

As I sit here and wonder why somethings happen I am forced to realize it all has a purpose. There is a purpose for all energy in this world. It cant be created or destroyed and sometimes we can control it, mostly we cant. This energy I try to harness in productive ways and some of it is channeled into my art. I want each piece to breathe and have a life separate to mine. It has to stand on its own without me. Maybe that sounds crazy to you, maybe not but for me it's how I work. I am just lost in thought right now and trying to make sense of the swirling thoughts as they pass my eyes. Where will the inspiration come from this time? What shape will spark a fire in my mind? What direction will each decision take me, what has fate laid out for my life? Should one even take the time to ponder these things or should you just let it flow? I guess I do both, but the best thing I feel is to just let it flow. Don't over think anything, accept the path and remain positive. That works best for me. Ultimately your energy and believing, negative or positive will dictate your direction in life. If you find yourself stricken with bad things, check your mind! What are your thoughts? What are you actions? Remember thoughts dictate actions, and actions speak louder than words! Well I may have rambled along far enough, so remember to stay positive. It takes work and practice but keep at it. It WILL change your life! It has changed mine and it has therefore changed my art!

Masterpiece!

The day Liam Alexander came into this world, was a moment that changed me to my core. I never knew I could love anybody or anything to completely and so much. My love for my first child and son is something i cant even begin to describe adequately. It fills me to the brim and overflows. I look at this sweet Innocent child and am overwhelmed with emotion. He is my Masterpiece! The most magnificent piece of "Art" i have ever made. Now please don't think i am leaving my wife out of this! She actually did most of the work, carrying this little angel for 9 months. And now feeding him what seems to be constantly, along with changing diapers doing laundry and getting up at all hours of the night. He is quite the mess machine but it doesn't bother me one bit! Life as we know it has changed in a huge way, but for the better! I cant imagine not having him here with us.

Now we live hand in hand in a way that never existed before. Our thoughts are always with him, and we cherish every moment and sound he makes. The cute little coo after a sneeze or the grunting of a soon to be messy diaper! I love it all! He motivates me to be better and to make what i do really count. I want him to be proud of his daddy. Liam is a reason to reach a higher standard. A reason to excel in this life and give him the best I can. I cant wait to teach him all the things I know, and to build our relationship as a family. To build that father son bond and build a birdhouse for mom. These are the best times of my life, and I am happy to share them with the two people I love the most! My wife Carissa and our beautiful son Liam! Stay tuned for updates!

"like" my Facebook Fan page and see more pictures of my son and of my work!

A new life begins

When one is inspired there is not much you can do about it. But what you can do about it is to act on that inspiration. I chose to act instead of sit and do nothing. I have wanted to explore a different side of art and to bring something different to my work. I am known for making functional pieces ( clocks, lamps, home decor) of art. I, however, want to break out of that. To become better and more versatile artist is a dream that had to start somewhere. This whole idea of bringing my feelings and emotions into my art has been nothing but a concept in my mind. I didn't have a clear answer as to how I should go about it till now! It started with me sitting on the couch listening to some music with a sketch pad, a pen, and a bit of vodka! As I sat there and my mind cleared, it became clear that i was on to something. "This is a bit risque" I thought, well after what I saw at the last 2 art shows I attended that was the least of my worries. I wasn't even going to start building it for awhile but because of the way things went it happened the next day. So the real story begins!

My wife and I met through a crazy random set of events that confirms our belief in a higher power. I won't get religious on you here but we believe we met because we were supposed to, and a higher power set it up. Our energy was powerful and really seemed to match phase when we met, meaning things really just worked for us. We have wanted to have kids from the very start and it was a dream of mine for a long time as well. Most people don't really think about how and why everything happens, but I tend to often. Sitting on the couch that night I realized that it was quite amazing that we were bringing a new life into this world! This was what I was going to show, and I didn't care what anyone thought.

So here it is, a symbolic show of our winding lives and how they came together at one point. Thus enabling us to change the world by bringing a new life into it. It is also symbolic of the biological process involved. The sperm on its path to find the egg and set in motion the creating of a new life. My emotions as I sat there and thought about this were intense, something so small and unseen is changing my life in untold ways. I had to show this in a way that was visible to anyone who cared to look. For them to look past this "giant aluminum sperm" and think about the meaning behind it. That's what art is supposed to do, make you stop and think! To cause an emotional response at some level, and to move you. Look beyond the physical and stare into the depths of your own mind. Think about how life works, that one microscopic spark of life, that changed your world. This my friends is the beauty of art! Through it we all have the power to effect our own thinking and emotions and to show others this in a physical form.

Another thing that excited me about this project was that I take objects and make them into something greater. The combined energy is greater than the individual energies added together. Its a synergy just like with people, the baby is of a greater energy than the two parts that made it. I also wanted to stay true to my medium which is mostly found objects and materials. Branching off into another medium didn't feel right. I have taken this junk and gave it a new life with a greater purpose and power than it would have had. All the metal is aluminum and is up cycled from various places. The base and top are from the scrap yard Hoosier metals and the rod is from Huth Tool & Machine Corp. The small piece of wood is scrap oak from other projects. I am looking to get this piece into several different galleries in Fort Wayne and at the moment am not sure if I will be selling it. If i do have it for sale it will most likely just be local and not through my etsy shop. Thank you for reading and I would love to hear your comments!

Check out my Facebook fan page and like! Keep track of all my work! http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/pages/Ostlund-Custom-Works/115110605195978

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