@jessetreececollage

Instagram: @jessetreececollage Society6: www.society6.com/collageartbyjesse  

1. What's your story? Where are you from?

My name is Jesse Treece and I make collages from old books and magazines in Seattle, WA.

2. Tell us about your aesthetic.

I'm drawn to vintage colors, shadow, light, extreme perspectives, statues, architecture. I'm more interested in conveying atmosphere than any particular meaning.

3. What is your favourite medium and why?

Definitely analog collage these days. I love trying to turn fairly ordinary images into something otherworldly and surreal.

4. What is your artistic process like?

It starts with the source material, whether it's a book or a magazine. I flip through pages until something jumps out at me and it can go anytime from there. I rarely have an idea of how a piece will turn out in the end.

5. Who and/or what inspires your work?

I'm probably most inspired by music and surrealist/metaphysical painters like Max Ernst, Giorgio de Chirico, Francois de Nome, Edgar Ende.

6. What role does art play in your life? How does it change the way you view the world?

Art plays a huge role. I'm always immersed in something (books, film, music, etc.) and learning about other cultures at the same time.

7. Where did you study?

I don't have any formal training. I took a couple of art classes in high school but I'm pretty much self taught.

8. Where do you see yourself in five years? Working in an agency?

I don't know. I hope I will still be enjoying the process and challenging myself to try new things. Of course it would be nice to support myself through art as well.

9. What about in ten?

Same as above

10. What do you hope to achieve with your art?

As long as I'm still able to be surprised by the work I'm making and I can share it with others I think I will be happy.

11. Now, tell us a little more about you as a person: what is your favourite food?

Thai or Mexican food

12. Favourite book?

It's hard to pick just one but Philip K Dick's writing had a huge affect on me. I'll go with "A Scanner Darkly"

13. Favourite genre of music?

Rock. I love stuff from 50s Roy Orbison to Radiohead, Real Estate, Guided By Voices, etc.

14. What are your hobbies?

I enjoy playing guitar and figuring out the chords to my favorite songs. I'm also obsessed with Italian "Gialli" films which was a thriller/slasher genre popular in the 60s and 70s, I've watched over 40 of them so far.

15. If you weren't an artist, what would you be?

That's hard to answer because I've always been a creative person. When I was a kid I wanted to be a cartoonist or a baseball player. So I'll say baseball player haha