Artist Story: Shawn Stucky

Shawn Stucky, Agaetis-byrjun

I began screen printing in 2006 as a way to relieve stress and to put my personal feelings into a form I could easily understand. Creating something beautiful and sharing it with those around me was a way for me to communicate my feelings. The truth is, I never intended my work to be seen by anyone beyond a close circle of my friends. However, I was encouraged by friends and peers to not only share my work with others, but eventually, to sell it. I really struggled with the idea of selling my work—my art is so personal that I feared it would feel like I was selling a part of myself. I dealt with my discomfort and began selling my work in galleries and directly to collectors who contact me via my website. Another one of the main outlets to sell my work has been at the Around the Coyote festivals which is a great networking environment for emerging artists, and has helped me to gain exposure in Chicago’s artist community.

That’s not to say I haven’t had challenges in the transition. For example, when I first realized that I was red/green colorblind, I was in denial and felt ashamed. I thought that being colorblind would inhibit my credibility as an artist. I didn’t want to switch degrees and study something other than art so I stuck with it and hoped that I would be able to fake it. Over time, and with practice, I began to rely on something I could always see regardless of color and that’s value. When it’s time for me to mix ink, I focus on the value of the color and how they work with each other. I often do studies to get a color that’s similar to what I envision in my mind and then I’ll mix the ink in small amounts until I get a color worth producing on a larger scale. On several occasions I’ve tried to mix a larger batch of color but ended up with gray or some color that I never wanted. It can be a very frustrating process and I get upset when it goes moot because not only am I wasting ink, but I’m wasting money. The times when I’m having a problem mixing color or need to mix a large amount of a certain color, I will call my friends Gwynne Johnson or Damien James to assist me in mixing up a color I’m trying to create.

My trajectory so far has been unplanned and organic. I started out as a photographer—mostly self-taught. Initially, I was met by nothing but failure – turned down from every juried gallery, rejected from every submission. I eventually let photography go and found another outlet – my computer. I began designing on my computer and these initial designs were to become my first screen prints. After a few months of working digitally, I really wanted to find a way to output my work and give the pieces permanence. I researched a little and found that screen-printing could be an option. Not fully understanding the process, it easily slipped from my mind until I was walking home and saw an advertisement for a screen printing class taught by Steve Walters at Screwball Press. And so, one cold afternoon in February 2006 I took his course and made my first screen print.

Screen printing was a perfect fit for me from the start. I produced several prints a month. On completion of each print, I would sit in my apartment and study the results, trying to figure out ways to improve my designs and print quality. I was very persistent in my desire to produce better quality prints and having Steve's studio less than one block from my apartment allowed me to focus and create with intensity. But I wanted to print at my leisure, without having restraints of someone else's studio, so I decided to build a screen-printing studio in my apartment. After a few months of planning and setup, I was finally able to print whenever I wanted. I felt that there was nothing to stop me.

Looking back at my approach, I realize the key elements were quite simply persistence and my love of the work. I am hesitant to give much weight to critics, but instead focus my attention on refining my skills and seeking opportunities to do what I love. I've learned many lessons in developing and professionalizing my art career. One important lesson I learned is this: if you’re working with a gallery or individual who wants to show your work, get a legit contract or legal document. I made the mistake of not getting a contract from a gallery that exhibited my work and I never got my work back or the money from the sales. After that, I went to seek legal guidance from “Lawyers for the Creative Arts” (a legal company for creatives here in Chicago). They put me in contact with a lawyer and I now work with her regarding any legal matters relating to my work.

Planning my financial and business career is something that I daydream about now. When I began designing and printing a few years ago, I had no expectations, I just wanted to focus on creating work that had special meaning to me. As for right now, I’m not sure if I would like to create art full- time. I am still relatively new to the art scene and to selling my work, so I still work a full-time job in advertising to support myself. It’s hard for me to think about the future of my work in this regard. I am an artist because it’s what I love to do and if I had to rely on it to be my main source of income, I fear that I might lose the underlying passion that inspires me to create my work in the first place--but these are just thoughts. It’s hard to say what I’m capable of doing until something is put in front of me and the right opportunity arises. I think eventually I will begin to challenge myself by incorporating other mediums and elements and exploring other creative fields. For now, I’m going to take it as it comes.

Shawn Stucky was born red/green colorblind in McPherson, Kansas in 1979. He moved to Chicago in 2002 to complete his BFA in Visual Communications at the Illinois Institute of Art. He has been exhibiting his work for less than two years, and in that time, Stucky has shown work throughout Chicago and in galleries in England, Italy, the Netherlands and Iceland. His works are published in books in Australia, Italy and Holland. His screen prints are also displayed in Sundlaugin - the recording studio of Sigur Rós in Mosfellsbær, Iceland. Currently, Shawn Stucky produces artwork for the Ring Road Records label and Mar, an ambient rock group fronted by Kyle Reidy. He is also a member of a Chicago-based art collective called Deadline Projects.