Creative Humans - Taylor Bruce | Wildsam Field Guides

I met Taylor in his home town of Austin Texas, at the pop up Northern Grade market back at the start of summer. He was showcasing his brilliant, curated genius - Wildsam Field Guides. I had just driven from San Francisco, where I had relied entirely on the Wildsam Field Guide to get me around town. I had been obsessed with this little red book and its invaluable local knowledge the entire time (and leading up to) my visit to the city. The thought of even meeting its curator was nothing short of exciting. We didn't have long together, Taylor and I. He was busy with the market stall and I was on the final leg of a three week long cross country road trip, ready to get home. Although short, our meeting was still very full - we spoke of San Francisco, my obsession with his Field Guides and the German sausage that he had just bought from one of the the food trucks outside. He was also very keen to share the story of the next in line (now published) field guide, Detroit. The fourth addition to the first three city's - Austin, San Fran and Nashville. Full of local suggestions and recommended haunts, interviews, essays and hand-drawn maps, these unique little books are a true travelers gem. If you've already found the Wildsam Field Guides, you know exactly what I mean. If you haven't, get on it. These guides are gold.

What projects are you currently working on?

We just finished a print piece for BILLY REID and their annual shindig weekend in Florence, Alabama. It was a blast to collaborate on stories from their hometown. Also WC Handy's birthplace. I loved reading his autobiography. Now we're full-speed ahead on finishing our next city field guide, New Orleans. There may be no American city more perfect for us.

Where do you draw your creative inspiration from?

Everywhere. Great writing to start. I love longform magazine writing. I love great short stories. I also find myself really kicking into creative gear when I'm at a tiny neighborhood cafe. Some place that's one of a kind and tucked away. Give me a window seat and a few hours and I'm in heaven.

Why field guides?

Because the world is wild, even cities. They have layers and layers of heritage and stories. And just passing along a list of stuff to do doesn't get deep into place.

Do you listen to music while you work? If so, would you be so kind to share some of your favourite artists?

I love a band out of Austin called Balmorhea. Somehow they capture the Texas sound. They even record cicadas and natural elements and lace it into their songs. "All is Silent, All is Wild" is my favorite record.

Do you have a morning ritual?

I make a Chem-Ex of dark coffee, sit in a black Acapulco chair on my porch with my wife and watch our dog, Coop, sniff the yard.

What's your idea of a perfect Friday night?

A bourbon-ginger at home, then meeting a friends for a big dinner at Contigo, our favorite restaurant in Austin. Then go driving around the outskirts of the hill country with my windows down.

If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?

I've been craving Italy lately. Give me the keys to an old convertible and one month with no plans.

Best piece of advice you've ever given or been given?

Love your neighbor.

What's for dinner?

Shashito peppers on the grill. Breaded chicken over Parmesan pasta with squash. Scribe vino. (At least that was last night. So good.)

The best part about being a creative?

There's always something new and exciting down the road.

The worst part?

Sometimes finishing those things is pretty hard.

Day or night? Morning. Old or new? A little of both. City or Country? City. Unless you're talking desert southwest, then that. Coffee or Tea? Coffee.

What do you enjoy most about living in Austin?

Lots of shared swimming holes. And the queso.

Thoughts for the future:

Hopeful.

Fresh Fig and Orange Blossom Crostata

Nothing beats friends. Especially friends who have friends who have a fig tree.

I spent my Tuesday noon travelling to a part of Jacksonville that I hadn't been to before. My mission was to to go and pick fresh figs. I am a sucker for foraging for pickable produce and when I heard that a new friend of mine had a friend who had a bearing tree, it wasn't long before I landed myself in a strangers yard to pick the remainder of her lovely, ripe fruit.  I arrived feeling awkward -  I hate asking for favours, especially from strangers - but before long I had a basket filled with newly picked fruit, an entire other bag full of previously picked fruit (it was a generous year for the fig tree) and most importantly, this stranger was no longer that, I had made a new fig friend.

The previous weekend, my friends and I had put together a Middle Eastern feast at my house. I had been dreaming of dishes from the pages of Jerusalem (it's no secret that I am a colossal Ottolenghi fan). I had tabouleh, felafel, pomegranate and rice pudding on the brain. And figs. All I wanted were fresh figs. The season is so short you see, and who knows when they will pop up in the supermarket and how fresh they will be. We got by with a punnet of black mission figs and delicious as they were, the fresh figs that were to follow very quickly took the cake. Or Crostata as it turned out. Although much smaller in size - often a natural home grown back yard reality - they were still delicious and even more so, knowing that they had come from a happy, autonomous place. So with Middle Eastern flavours still flowing through my mind, I decided to pair them with one of my favourites - orange blossom water.

While trying to decide on the recipe for this post, I was chatting to one of my best friends from back home.  I had been missing her dearly and at the time of our chat, she was one day overdue to have her second baby. We were throwing up ideas for the figs. Jam became a favourite, but eventually after a quick lesson on free form tarts, the idea of a crostata came about. A tart so easy to manipulate with seasonal fresh fruit without compromising the fruits shape and flavour. It took me a day to get my hands dirty in the kitchen, and as it turns out, as I was knee deep in making the whole wheat flour and olive oil crust, my dear friend was knee deep in, well, labour. So - as tribute to new fig friends, old best friends, and brand new babies, this crostata and those freshly picked figs have become the ultimate analogy for my current feelings towards both little baby Thomas and in general, good friends - fresh, generous, full of goodness and deliciously good for your heart. Oh dear. I've gone all mushy. But that's what best friends who have brand new babies will momentarily do to you. 

Fresh Fig and Orange Blossom Crostata

For the Crust

prep time: 25 minutes
cook time: 35 minutes 
total time: 1 hour
yields: 6 servings

250 grams / 2 cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
2 tbs brown sugar
1 free range egg
60ml / 1/4 cup olive oil 
60ml / 1/4 cup) cold water

For the Filling

500g fresh figs
125g 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
40g butter
1tsp orange blossom water

Preheat the oven to 200° (400°F)

Begin by making the crust. Combine the flour, salt and sugar in a medium bowl. Lightly whisk the egg and add it, the oil and the water to to dry ingredients. Mix (I use my hands, but a spoon could work too) until all of the ingredients come together. Feel free to add more flour or water if needed. Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface and lightly need to ensure the mixture is combined. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough into a rough circle approximatley 40cm/60inch in diameter and 3/4cm thick. Transfer the dough to a baking tray lined with grease-proof/parchment paper.

Chop the fresh figs into small pieces – for larger figs, quarter, for smaller figs, halve.Place the sugar and water into a medium saucepan on medium high heat until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture has turned to a nice caramel colour. Add the butter and turn the heat down to a simmer. Allow the caramel too cook for around 5 minutes. Add the figs and toss gently to coat in the caramel. Cook for a further 5 minutes or until the caramel begins to thicken.

Spoon the figs into the center of the dough. Keep the majority of the caramel in the pan – you will want to trickle this over once you have folded the dough over the fruit. Roughly trim the edges of the dough to form an circle with a gap of around 8-10cm (3-4 inches) between the fruit and the edge of the dough. Fold the dough over by creasing/pleating to form a rim. Pour over the remainder caramel (keep it inside the rim) and sprinkle the dough with some extra sugar. Bake the crostata in the oven for 20-25 minutes. Serve warm with fresh cream or ice cream. Yum.

Creative Humans - Nathan Hayden

I have to be honest. Meeting Nathan Hayden was a complete and utter surprise. A very nice surprise, but not at all a planned one. When I turned up to his home in Santa Barbara, I arrived to meet and photograph his lovely fiancee and fellow artist, Hannah Vainstein. However, it really didn't take me all that long before I was also drawn into Nathan's work and talent. He quickly became one of the most interesting fellows I have ever had the pleasure of meeting (his fabulous answers below attest to that). I just had to photograph him as well. First it was a chat on the porch over a cup of tea, then it was into the studio where Nathan introduced me to his tiny hand drawn and poetry filled cards - the starting point and inspiration for his larger art works. It was then that I became completely and positively dazed by the massive piece of felt that Nathan was currently working on. Never had I seen such a meticulous and perfect hand drawn creation. I watched as Nathan took off his shoes, dipped his paintbrush into the ink and then begin working on the felt. So much detail, so much precision. The music was on and in between brush strokes, Nathan would burst into a moment of improvised dance, moving freely and smiling cheekily. I could have easily been transported back to the 70's - the psychedelic art and free momentary dance was a little piece of studio heaven. This is what I live for. To meet people and moments like this.

What projects are you currently working on?

I work in multiple mediums but for me it’s all part of one ongoing project.  I dance for an hour a day to induce visions and from those visions I make pictures, objects and installations. I have an ongoing series of large-scale wall drawings. I just finished a 23 x 18 foot ink drawing on the back wall of CB1 Gallery in Los Angeles called, How the Medicine Sees and another that covers all the walls of the entrance at UCSB’s AD & A Museum called Shaman of the North, Shaman of the South.  These large pieces pull viewers into a space and give them an atmospheric jolt.

I’m also contributing some very small drawings to the show at CB 1 from an ongoing series I call the cards.  As an installation artist, scale shift is important to me when I think about the construction of a space.  I often think of my very large and very small-scale drawings as gestures of infinity.

The other drawings that I am currently working on are made by applying ink to industrial felt.  These pieces add another texture to the work and possess a certain haptic quality that I associate with the handmade.  In addition I have also started a clay project for which I am making objects that I look like a combination of geometric shapes found in ancient currency, alphabets and architecture combined with organic forms found in nature.  I am not sure what I will do with these yet.  Right now I am just playing.

Where do you draw your creative inspiration from?

A: My surroundings and daily activities, especially music and dancing, but gardening, hiking, sex, reading and napping are some of my other favorite ways to induce visions.

Why a visual artist?

I’ve had a very strong drive to make images/objects since I was very young. Spending the first eight years of my life living with my family in log cabin built by my father in rural West Virginia, I began early explorations of drawing and woodcarving and developed interests in the naturally occurring forms and patterns I encountered while playing in the woods.  These early influences and childhood experiences played a huge part in shaping me into the maker I have become.

Do you listen to music while you work? If so, would you be so kind to share some of your favorite artists? 

Yes.  As I mentioned above music is a major fuel for the dancing and the work.  I don’t think what I would make would exist without music and my favorite artists would be a long list.  I’m all over the map. Lately I’ve been listening to Swans and Death Grips for late night intensity, Parquet Courts, War on Drugs, Thee Oh Sees and Future Islands for irresistible indie pop/rock, William Onyeabor and Todd Terje for uncontrollable dancing and couple of compilations, one of Haitian big band music called Haitii Direct and another of 60’s Tropicalia called Bossa Nova for summertime-porchtime dancing and chilling.

Do you have a morning ritual?

Black tea with lots of milk in my favorite mug.

What's your idea of a perfect Friday night?

On the porch with friends.

If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?

I’ve been really curious about Mexico City, Tokyo (and rural Japan).  We have a friend in Rio that we really want to visit, and I last time I was in Berlin we had a really good time, I’d love to go back.

Best piece of advice you've ever given or been given?

That’s a tossup.  Here is a list that comes to mind:

If you can’t do someone a good turn, don’t do them a bad one… Similar to the golden rule, seems like a good way to live.

Surround yourself in light and be careful what energy you follow are two pieces advice that are quite abstract, but I think of them as basic ways of protecting yourself energetically.

Buddha brain that shit!  Supposedly it’s human nature to be more likely remember bad things that have happened than good things.  Supposedly it’s also more likely for positive things to happen in the future/present if you have more positive memories.  Apparently Buddha became conscious of this and every time he found himself recalling something negative about a relationship he would try switch to memories about the good times.  So, if your friends are bugging the shit out of you and it’s causing you to remember all the ills they have ever unleashed upon you, try thinking about all the good times you’ve had together and see if you can’t turn the day around.  Basically, think positive…Did I just write an intro to a self help book?

What's for dinner?

Chips and home made guacamole. The avocados are a powerful reason to live in California.

The best part about being a creative?

When the visions come through me.  It’s a privilege to receive visions and be able to bring them into this reality as images/objects and I’m grateful to have the chance to do it.

The worst part?

The magic moments make it all worthwhile, but it’s an immense amount of work and can be terribly physically and mentally fatiguing.

Day or night? Night.

Old or new? New to me.

City or Country? I’ve seen beauty and desolation in both, but I from deep in the country.

Coffee or Tea? Tea

What do you enjoy most about living in Santa Barbara?

As I mentioned before, I dance one hour each day to induce visions from which I make my work. The surrounding landscape has always been very influential to the visions I conjure, so that is what drew me here.  It’s nestled between the ocean and the mountains so the lay of the land changes quite quickly, providing me with a lot of visual information to synthesize and make images/objects from.

Thoughts for the future:

Onward and upward. I’m remembering all of the good times I’ve had with high hopes that there are more to come.

Sky Lights

Oh 4th of July. You are bright, patriotic, wasteful, brilliant, explosive and grand. The sky celebrates. We celebrated with you. This year, it went for two days and involved coconuts, camping, grilled corn and late night drinks at Louie's Backyard. And sparklers. Plus a late night run to the park to illegally/legally let off some firecrackers. I will miss that next year. United States of America, happy birthday to you.