Sunday, February 9, 2014

We Make Portland Awesome: UpperCase Studios

"We make Portland awesome" is a twice-monthly series. I’m interested building our community of artists by helping us all find out more about each other.
This week: Mich of UpperCase Studios

 Who are you?
Hi, I'm Mich Conklin and I think of myself as a maker. My work and perspective constantly change over time but my love of the process doesn't waiver. As my interests evolve so do the materials and techniques I choose to work with.


What do you make?
I tend to have multiple projects going on at the same time. It's always amazing how one work can influence the other. Most recently, I made several suitcase lamps as wall mounted lighting for a cool new bar here in town. For that same project, I created large acrylic paintings, giant wall hanging sculptures and all of the signage which resulted in a pretty cohesive body of work despite the variety of mediums. It was really fun to have so many creative things to do at once. Following this endeavor I kept making the suitcase lamps.


Besides making things, what do you do?
Depending on the season which thankfully Oregon has all four of them, I am either out on the rivers in our cute little red boat, hanging out in our garden or traveling somewhere fun.....all the while thinking of my next project.


What inspires you?
I have always been a collector of sorts. Baggies of dirt which are a pretty color, rocks shaped like a heart, sticks that look like animal heads (which must be baffling to the unfortunate baggage screener!) seem to produce images and ideas to work from. I am drawn to the things that seem out of place and try to give it a place in my work.


Where can your work be found?
You can find my suitcase lamps on display and for sale at The Lost & Found bar (5426 N Gay), on Etsy and at www.uppercasestudios.com. I mainly sell by word of mouth but would love to find a shop interested in carrying my work.


What do you love about Portland?
What's not to love about Portland? After taking a year off and travelling around the entire US on a road trip, we decided there was no other place we would rather live. The (not quite) Big City meets the Great Outdoors making it a terrific place for a maker.

Make sure you check out UpperCase Studio's Etsy shop and website. Thanks for sharing, Mich!
And if you'd like to read more We Make Portland Awesome interviews, you can check out the full collection HERE.

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