Today we’d like to introduce you to Abraham Gutierrez.
Hi Abraham, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers.
I stole around $280 dollars from my mom because I was buying albums and movies off iTunes. At the time I didn’t think she’d find out but when she did, she had me work with my dad at a print shop, that’s how I got introduced to the art of screen printing! At around the same time I had just moved to Utah from California and never quite fit in the way I did back home, so I kept to myself and started filling my days with painting. My first medium was using the tiny little enamel paints, the ones you’d use to paint a little model tank or race car. Arts and crafts stuff really.
But it really just took one time sitting behind the blank canvas to let my mind get to work, my 12-year-old mind to be more exact.
Although I didn’t know it or would have come to see it for years and years later that painting was a way to escape.
I fit in perfectly here. Nothing else mattered to me except going back to that place. A type of solace like no other! I have yet to understand exactly what or where I am when I’m pulling these paintings out of the air.
My newfound love for painting and screen printing seemed to line up perfectly when I decided to start printing my designs on fabrics. It almost feels natural that I would be so inclined. So, when I turned 16, I printed my first tee, luckily, I don’t have a photo considering how awful it turned out but at the time I couldn’t believe how good it felt. I’m happy to say it’s only feeling better.
I got tired of painting, so I picked up writing and found a whole new way to paint pictures! This time there’s no paint to let dry, that’s what my words are for, there’s no canvas to hang.
These days I get to wrap them all in packages when I drop new pieces, it’s truly a lifesaver. In these packages, I include small works of art, writing exercises, and of course the fabric with its respected print. I got to combine them all and it really improves my way of life. Being able
To open up and be honest in these releases helps me maintain some sense of belonging.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
I’d say the biggest obstacle is myself! Truly it is so hard to keep everything balanced when u get the urge to crate. Sometimes it’s just not there and can be so frustrating but as long as I show up and act accordingly and respectful to my muse, I believe it will come, at times (often) I’ll deep clean my workspace just to coax inspiration to the table. Drugs and alcohol flow rampant during these small but seemingly long creative breaks. You can try time and time again to mimic or replicate your artistic endeavors but when the muse comes in full force it does not matter if I’m sitting at home or standing at work, not if I’m hungry or tired, or sleepy. When the muse calls, I want to be there and if I’m lucky, spend time with it.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I’ve been screen printing for a living for about 8-10 years altogether. Story has it that I was helping my dad clean screens at the tender age of 8 years old. I’m 26 now and it still hasn’t gotten old. Truthfully, I’ve had other side jobs. But I always found myself back in the print shop, the satisfaction of getting the design right, the feeling of the cold ink in the morning giving up the fight and softening up around midday lets the work feel like a living breathing thing!
Every order is different. Maybe I’ve done it 99 times but the 100th time will be different than them all and with good rest and good focus it will be better that those other 99 prints 100%.
It’s romantic. The delicate balance of psi (the pressure used to print through the silk screens) on top of the fabric that can only get so hot for so long yet begs for it to be done right the first time.
I’d like to say that what sets me apart is that I care about my work but truthfully, I think my art looks the way it does because I don’t know how I’m making it. There’s no plan or reference. Although it has a romantic notion, it’s incredibly frustrating.
What do you like and dislike about the city?
I love how people don’t stare at you in California, there’s always good food especially Mexican food around where grew up.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: deadhouselive
Image Credits
Oli Boyce
Kevin Gomez
