Artist Collaboration - Justine Gabreski

• First things first, what’s the name of your business (or if you work under your own name, we clearly know that… but help us make sure we get it right!) and what kind of things do you create? What medium to you typically work in?
• I'm Justine Gabreski. I can’t remember a time in my life when I wasn’t creating things! As I grew up, I was always playing with paints, drawing, or working on a craft kit. I was very lucky to be surrounded by a lot of artistic talent in my family, especially my grandparents, and they really nurtured my creative side and taught me the importance of working with my hands. Once I was in college, I made the decision that I did not want a career as an artist. I wanted to save that piece of my life for pure enjoyment, free from the pressures of needing to generate an income from it. I pursued a career in the helping professions, but also obtained a minor in visual arts and new media with a concentration in drawing and painting. Through formal education at the collegiate level I was able to learn a lot about what it takes to be successful as an artist. During that time I worked primarily in pen-and-ink drawing and oil painting, which are still my two favorite mediums to work with. Ever since, I have kept design and art in my life in any way I can. From hand-made cards to murals on the sides of buildings, business cards and website design to chalkboard signs and full-size paintings, I look for opportunities everywhere!  

The print Justine designed:

• What made you interested in doing a collaboration with Resident?
• Resident’s unique and stunning designs never cease to amaze me. Tristan has such an amazing ability to think about space in three dimensions and craft sculptures that capture the energy of nature with clean modern lines. I also love the idea of offering craft kits to adults, that we are never too old to create. It promotes the idea of slowing down, making something with your hands, and being mindful of the present moment, something I think we all can use a little more of these days. I was also excited by the idea of making these really cool creatures look even snazzier!

"I love the idea of offering craft kits to adults, that we are never too old to create. It promotes the idea of slowing down, making something with your hands, and being mindful of the present moment, something I think we all can use a little more of these days."

• Walk us through your design process for this specific creation - what influenced the final work?
• The biggest factor that influenced my final work for this project was the challenge of knowing that this design would ultimately be cut into pieces, and glued back together in a 3D shape, and therefore the overall 2D composition was unimportant. For this design, I wanted to challenge myself by using all straight edges (shoutout to my 6” ruler, without whom this design would not have been possible). I was curious how this style of drawing would compliment the geometric design of the overall sculpture. I typically work with very organic shapes, so it was a fun challenge to work with lines as I constantly thought about how this design would translate into the final sculpture.

Justine at work building James the Owl

• Did you run into any challenges when creating a design for a 3D paper product?
• For me, the biggest challenge was that we had no idea how something like this would look on the final sculpture, because we hadn’t done a design of this tight, bold nature on one of the sculptures before. But this unknown factor is also what made it exciting!
• If you had to choose one Resident to hangout with (or to hang in your house!) who would it be?
• I am lucky to have several Residents living with me already! I like to hang out with Leonard the Moose in my living room while I eat dinner and reflect on my day, because he is an honest dude. James the Owl keeps things interesting in the room where I do a lot of reading and my design work, so it’s never a boring day. Heidi the Racoon fills my bathroom with positive vibes.
• Any podcast, album or show suggestions for our community to check out while they build their next Resident?
• Hidden Brain by NPR will make you see and think about the world and the people around you (and probably yourself) in a whole new light! I also like to mix it up with new albums from The National (Sleep Well Beast), Brand New (Science Fiction), and The Oh Hello’s (Notos).
• What are you working on next? Any suggestions for what we should be making next?
• I am working on some more new 2D designs for Resident - so stay tuned for more from me and other artists! [We're working on a floral design - think flowers and vines. Keep watch for a prototype soon!]