David Habben, known by his alter ego ‘Habbenink’, is a talented illustrator and creative mind based in Utah. Writer Igor Ovsyannykov explains Habben’s work. “David’s personal works of art are symbolic in nature and often address issues that all individuals confront as we strive to apply eternal gospel principles and maintain the spirit in our mortal lives. Some of his recent works tell the stories of the restoration through visual expressions which engage the viewer through compelling symbols, compositions, and contemporary media.”

You once said, “I’m a member of a large, well-organized church, I still feel that my faith and testimony are unique to me.” How can art connect us and also individualize us? One of the lessons I learned through showing my work in a gallery setting is that everyone sees through their own unique lens. Our experiences shape us in such individual and powerful ways that I can’t expect a drawing to convey exactly what I intended it to and, honestly, I think that’s wonderful. Elder Wirthlin once said, “The Lord did not people the earth with a vibrant orchestra of personalities only to value the piccolos of the world.” That might be one of the most encouraging thoughts ever shared by an apostle. When I hear someone say, “I know the Church is true.” I appreciate it and accept it, but I also know that that phrase and belief will mean something different to me. It’s an important distinction because if we think all the testimonies are the same, we create a hierarchy of belief where we’re trying to achieve the same testimony as Brother Smith or Sister Johnson. In reality, we’re all coming to know Christ is our own way, through our own experiences and opportunities, “working out our own salvation,” so to speak.

You like to draw at church. What types of things do you draw? My church drawings are always in my sketchbooks, so they tend to be about anything and everything. I make it a point to not work on any existing projects on Sunday, so that provides me the opportunity to just relax and create. The quiet and reverent environment of Sunday School is a great place to still my otherwise beehive of a mind and just let the idea present itself. This has become a lot easier since our daughter starting going to nursery. There was about an 18 month gap between my Sunday sketches, but that was an easy sacrifice to make.

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Images courtesy David Habben and 15 Bytes.

Roy Adams enjoys ‘refacing currency’ with homages to KISS and others. Jackson does not seem to be long for the $20 bill, but I don’t think Gene Simmons is on the short list. For the record, mutilation of national bank obligations can result in being “imprisoned not more than six months”.

Explain your interest in currency as a canvas. I remember going through my mom’s magazines as a little kid and drawing beards, eye patches, moustaches, cigars, clown makeup, et cetera on every face I could find (full disclosure; I still do this). I think it was my way of redefining something deemed serious as humorous. After I ‘reface’ the bills they always go right back into circulation with my usual shopping. I don’t think I’ve ever had anyone say a thing about it. I guess money is still money even if it looks like Gene Simmons or a 3-eyed zombie.

Tell us about your relationship to art. I currently live in St. George, Utah and I run a website called RepoFinder.com. Art has always been a part of my life. There are many talented artists on both sides of my family so creativity was always paramount in my childhood. I have vague toddler age memories of my mom giving me crayons and a stack of paper plates to draw funny faces on. I still remember the second grade bully pulling me aside and asking me to draw him a unicorn flying over a rainbow. That gesture earned me not only playground protection but also a realization that art had the ability to influence people. I’ve always been the quiet kid so producing art became a way to communicate my range of emotions too. I think God gave me artistic ability not only to communicate my deepest thoughts, but also to draw funny faces to keep my kids entertained in church.

You recently got EnChroma sunglasses that allow you to ‘see color’ after a lifetime of colorblindness. Wow. It was incredible. I just remember walking outside and looking at a pine tree in amazement. I couldn’t look away. It was the richest, deepest green I had ever seen. It was very emotional to say the least. I saw strawberry blonde for the first time and it’s even better than I imagined. The best way to explain colorblindness is to imagine looking at a very faded pair of blue jeans. After you put on the EnChroma glasses those jeans become such a bright and vibrant blue that they seem to glow. They’ve become known as my magic glasses and I shamelessly wear them at night enough to make Corey Hart proud.

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Katie Singleton‘s canvas is the daily lunch bags for her three girls. She lives and creates in Utah. Her husband, Peder Singleton, was profiled previously on The Krakens for his We Believe letterpress.

What’s your background as an artist? I always knew, even from middle school and high school, that art would be my path. I studied visual art at the University of Utah and received my BFA in 1998. Then I continued on and received my secondary education credentials. I’m always drawing. It’s my first love. I’ve always loved to paint, which was my primary area of study in college, but I’m my own worst critic and find ceramics to be a great hobby and less stressful. Since I’m an intermediate ceramicist, I’m never too hard on myself when I mess up like I am in painting. I have a little ceramic studio with a wheel and kiln in my garage. It’s the perfect set-up for a mom. When you put a ball of clay in a child’s hand, they’re happy and engaged for hours. And that’s how it is with my children. We get pretty messy, but love to create. I have three daughters.

How did the lunch sacks get started? The lunch sacks started about the time my oldest started 1st grade. Many parents like to include a note in their children’s lunches, but that’s not my style. I like to show my kids I love them with a little drawing on their lunch sack. Pretty soon their friends started to notice and even some of the lunchroom workers, and I could see how special it made my kids feel. It was like they had something special that no one else had. Often my girls suggest themes to stick to for a few weeks, like holiday, flowers, insects, around-the-world, Muppets, birds, etc. One of my daughters likes skulls and pirate themes.

What happens to them each day? Many people ask me what happens to the lunch sacks. Well, they get thrown away after a couple uses. Hello, lunch sacks get food on them, ripped and smashed. It’s part of the deal. They eventually get tossed. If they’re in good enough shape to use again, my daughters will trade them with each other and use them again. But in the end, each sack gets tossed and I’m 100% okay with that. If we made some attempt to save them, then the entire spirit of the sacks would change. I go into it knowing the artwork is disposable, and the purpose is ultimately to send a little part of myself to school each day with my kids.

How does your creativity mix with your mothering? Each parent has to figure out their own ways to teach their children that works for them. For us, it’s often through art. Our house is bursting at the seams with art supplies, and new projects are constantly being started, although they may not always be finished. For me, the best way I know how to be a good mom is to actively engage with my children through art, whether it’s clay, origami and other paper arts, drawing, or found-objects sculpture. When we’re engaged in projects, the door is open to communication between my kids and me. That’s when we talk about life goals, how to treat others, family stories, religion, how school is going, etc. I just can’t imagine parenting without art.

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Natalie Stallings is a fine artist and musician living in Utah. She had her work accepted to the Spring Salon at the Springville Art Museum the past two years and currently works a graphic designer and illustrator. When not making art she is writing music and playing vocals and other instruments in groups with her husband, a jazz pianist and composer.

Describe yourself as an artist. As an artist, I’d say that I’m a bit of an eclectic mess. In school I was often taught to find “my tool”, and stick with it. I tried many times, and failed. If you were to imagine a person as a room, I think I’d be a room full of notes (so many notes…it’s a problem), black and white photography, bottles of paints, chemicals, old and new brushes, bags of pens, a few instruments, boxes of fabric, and stacks of paper and canvas. However, I’d like to be a large white room filled with nothing but a piece of paper and pen. I think I have come to find a lot of my work actually might reflect that inner conflict. I am not sure yet.

Your family includes landscape painters, comic illustrators and metalworkers. Why did you choose your particular medium? I don’t know that I can say I really chose my medium! Or what that medium even is. I do tend to work a lot in oil paints; they come naturally to me and I love so many things about them. The color is unbeatable, and they are incredibly bold but not too stubborn (like acrylic paint can be). But I never consciously made that decision. I also work with photography, ink, film, and sometimes a bit of sculpture. I can be a very logical and analytical person — but if there is one place I try to be intuitive, it is in art. I like to think the most authentic works of art were not so much choices as natural expressions; like expressing happiness or sadness in the moment, as it comes, how it feels right.

Talk about your experience working with Brad Holland and Brett Helquist. What an amazing honor; befriending two of America’s greats. I lived in a room about the size of your broom closet along the Hudson River. Every other day I’d travel to Brooklyn or SoHo to study with Brett, then Brad, and on a free day spend time at museums or visiting my uncle (a carpenter and metalworker in Brooklyn). I spent a lot of my time organizing their files and preserving/storing art they’d done, sometimes meeting up with publishers at editing houses that Brett set up for me.

Overall I think I learned three major lessons: 1) I found that the greatest lessons to learn from these men were about who they were as people, and how they lived and thought about life. I was really touched by talking to them about everyday things. They both have incredible work ethic, dedication, sense of humor, and a willingness to give of themselves and their time. 2) Visiting my uncle in Brooklyn was forever and indefinitely valuable to figuring out who I am as an artist. He had posters of Mt. Everest on the walls, music playing, loud machines running… I connected with his world of more hands on work more than any children’s book industry or office I had been looking into. Although I still have a love for illustration and the unique gifts it has to offer there is something about the world of fine arts that is infinitely more satisfying to me. An unexpected result of my time there. 3) Having good time and a good environment is priceless! Using as much time to study at museums or drawing in my tiny dark room as I needed, was unbeatable. And the environment there is so inspiring, full of so much energy; so many amazing art shows, installations, music, and people to meet. Although I come across as pretty quiet, I really thrive off of a certain amount of chaos, I guess.

How does your religion shape your artwork? My religion has everything to do with my art. First of all, I’m not always making art because I’m in love with it; in fact I regularly renounce it. But because at some point I realized it was one of the best ways that I could do my part in contributing to the world and a community. Seriously. I am incapable of really doing anything else for extended periods of time — I go crazy if I don’t make art. Art has, in the best way possible, become a plague. Which is absolutely part of what I believe in – not plagues – but that service (thus joy) is what God wants for us. That being said, the images I make are also very much a part of my religious beliefs; they explore ideas of exploration, and the innate desire humans have of wanting more in life. It has a lot to do with my own history and love of outdoor adventure/sci-fi, but even more to do with my Mormon pioneer ancestors and struggles with existentialism and finding God. I am in love with the ideas that surround such stories — That we are, for some reason, born just knowing there is something more to life… and we will spend years and countless thoughts, dollars, and excursions to find that. Does that not hint that we are more than just developed animals? We want life to make more sense, to be more excellent. There is something inside of us, pushing us further. Perhaps to a point no one will get to in our mortal lives, but at least through art I can contemplate it for a couple of decades. I’d say that’s pretty satisfying.

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Steve Vistaunet is an Art Director for a company in Lehi, Utah by day and does a number of creative projects by night. His banners currently hang in Provo promoting the summer Rooftop Concert Series, but his distinctive approach to hair and beards can be seen in murals around town and filling up his Instagram feed.

How did you become an artist? I grew up in Newport Beach, California. My parents were both music fans so I grew up listening to music and going to concerts. They were always very supportive of the arts and always encouraged my music and my art. The perfect day for me during my youth was to sit at my desk, play my favorite record, and draw. And to be honest, that is still my perfect day. Ha! My silkscreen class in high school made me realize I wanted to do art for a living. There is just something so amazing about printing your own art on a t-shirt and then wearing it around. I’ve always loved the do-it-yourself mindset.

How is the Provo art scene these days? Provo is the place to be! It is really fantastic here. There is a great art scene, loads of fantastic local bands, and creative people all around town. There is definitely a great creative vibe happening in Provo right now and it’s rather contagious. There is a wonderful monthly event called The Creative Collaborative on the second Tuesday of each month where someone in the creative field talks about their career, how they got there, what inspires them, etc. The presentations are great and it’s a perfect place to meet and network with other creatives after the presentation.

Who are some of the artists you work with? During the past year, a group of six local artists including Brian Kershisnik, Fidalis Buehler, Andrew Ballstaedt, Greg Caldwell, Jacob Haupt, and myself (how’s that for a bunch of last names) have done a couple of murals in local restaurants. It was great to be with other artists creating art together. Brian Kershisnik and I also play music together and we are currently recording our first CD of music which should be out in a couple of months.

What’s your next project? I am currently designing and illustrating the concert posters for the 2015 season of Downtown Provo’s Rooftop Concert Series. I am also creating a t-shirt for the next concert. My wife and I are working on a mural for a new building in downtown Provo, and also have a coloring book in the works! For the past several years my kid’s friends, and my friends for that matter, come over to our house and we have coloring nights and just color my drawings and the coloring sheets I would make, so I decided it was time to publish a coloring book.

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