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Electric Reverb

About the artist

Rachel Caldwell

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MJ

A word from the curator:
Sound is a swirling mass of unrelated noise and echos. Music makes sense of sound, giving it a purpose and expertly weaving combinations that tug at our emotions just as easily as a guitar string is strummed. This design pays visual tribute to the guitar's musical legacy.

Tell us the background of this design.
It started with wanting to draw something about Hendrix and his guitar. I drew him separately first and planned to fit him in somewhere. I looked at a ton of Fender Stratocasters and started drawing and this organic version of the guitar came out, very slowly. It actually took a pretty long time. Later I went back and forced in Jimi and it looked pretty cheesey so he stayed out. I think it's still a nice homage to him anyway. A pretty cool thing he said once is "knowledge speaks, but wisdom listens".

What do you want TeeFury fans to know about you?
I grew up with art (paint, canvas, galleries, shows, museums, etc.). My dad is a realism painter. He was always wanting to teach me every step of his work but I was this annoying teenager who was more worried about boys, clothes, and the track meet. Thankfully, I went to school for graphic design and have been making a good living ever since. Looking back at school, I have to admit there was something raw and exciting about the painting/drawing/sculpture/printmaking classes that wasn't necessarily there in the graphic design classes. So I am completely in awe of my dad. He gets up every day and creates what he wants . . . like all day, every day. People go nuts for his work since it is so beautiful. For a few years now I have been trying to find out where graphic design meets fine art and what that means for me.

What do you absolutely not want them to find out?
I work for a super conservative financial company as a design director. I went to art school, yet I wear a suit every day--absurd.

Name a few of your favorite things.
Days that are overcast and rainy, Good 'n' Plenty, nice cars, leaves on the road in October, my son's laugh, Dave Chappelle, Cheerios, and Howard Stern.

What are your feelings about flying?
Flying is okay if you drink exactly two* Miller Lites upon takeoff. I learned this from my friend Darcy who once said, "Drink this and you won't be scared".
*If you are a boy, you may have to drink four.

Would you prefer a cruise, camping or a safari?
If I went camping there would be a lot of bugs crawling on my face and bears clawing at my tent. Cruises suck. Safari would be awesome. There would definitely be some bugs, but the amazing animals would make up for that a million times over.

Monopoly vs. Scrabble: which would win the battle?
Scrabble makes me think of retirement homes, like time is standing still and there are old people putting tiny wooden square letters onto a board one by one. Monopoly takes ten thousand years to play. So I don't think there is a battle there. I prefer Operation, the Sponge Bob version. The best is Black Jack in a casino.

Describe your favorite shirt that you own, and why you like it so much.
Party Animal by John Hegquist (Quister). Good God it's a brilliant design. On a trip to New York he took a simple photo of the bull sculpture on Wall Street and added the "rock on" hand signal as the head of the bull. It really is simplicity at its best. I bet a lot of people don't know what a bull market is. A bull market means investors feel confident and begin to buy. Then the value of investments goes up and everyone starts making money. Bull markets are good. Bear markets are bad. The most famous bear market in history came after the market crash of 1929. No confidence, no bull = bad times.

Which is better, gaming, reading, or watching movies? Name your favorite title in your chosen medium.
I have to admit, I don't understand the gaming thing. I have read a few good books here and there, but I prefer movies. Some favorite titles are Pride & Prejudice and Uncle Buck.

What inspires your work?
I love looking at all the gory illustration in Hi Fructose and Juxtapoz. I could look at that stuff for hours . . . like the work of Michael Hussar or Chet Zar. Hussar is simply a genius and the stuff is so disturbing that it's hilarious. In some small way, some f that inspires me because I think it's well done and I enjoy it. My dad's work, however, is the sickest thing ever (note to dad: the young people say "sick" and it means "great"). He works from hundreds of photographs and builds a scene that does not exist in real life--it's too perfect (he even corrects the perspective since the perspective in photographs is skewed). The drawing itself (before there is even any paint) is completely beautiful. There are no people in his paintings, you are supposed to be the person in the painting. Check it out at gordongallery.com.

Any shout outs?
To my dad, Edward, for being my inspiration and mentor. My husband Dave for his patience, and my son John for being so funny and bold at age 3. Also, Leah, Jake, and all of my friends for their support. And of course Teefury for what they do for artists every day.