So Spencer, your a man of many trades, so before we get into the photography business, what else you have on the go?
I enjoy using whatever medium will best bring my ideas to life. Recently I have been carving a large maple sasquatch with my friend and making a stop animation of the process. I’m also carving the wax masters for Blamo Toys an art toy line, which is my handcrafted response to vinyl toys. I avoid plastic and instead incorporate woods, leather, brass, and found objects like discarded bottle caps and light bulbs.The other project I’m focused on is Heathen, a clothing line I design with Shayne Maratea , Heather Hansen, and Cortlan Roberston. We design leather jackets, hats, and other clothing, and jewelry. Heathen has so many facets and feeds my interest in different media from drawing designs and making patterns to fashion shoots.
What’s the story with these bunny suits i see all over the place?
My first year of college, my mom and I made a bunny suit for halloween that I wore to threads. There is something freeing about putting on a creature suit. . I’ve also created a Blamo toy rabbit character named Billy so I think its funny for people to go from collecting a toy to becoming the toy themselves. We released the rabbit suits for a toy art show in Los Angeles, at Toy Art Gallery
I love the recent photo shoot you did with Jan Hilmer and Monica Wallway, what can you tell me about that shoot?
I think because Jan, Monica, and I share a similar interest in expressing through clothing design, and Monica is an inspired Art Director and designer, everything just sort of fell into place for the shoot. The design cues in their lines lend themselves to a more theatrical or heightened presentation and the models went for it. We wanted to do something dark but beautiful and I think that everyone’s hard work paid off with some iconic images.
In 2004 you made the move to San Fransisco, a move that I’m making this Fall. What was it about The bay that made you want to move.
I came to the bay to attend San Francisco Art Institute. I’m biased but I think its a special place. My teachers taught me to believe in what I make and to not be scared to follow through with a vision however weird – good or bad. While attending school I fell in love with San Francisco and the people that live here. A few years after my move from Idaho to California I met Phoebe and Leighton of the Yard Dogs Road show and shortly after moved in with them in West Oakland. They are part of an inspiring world filled with musicians, travelers, artists, and fashion designers. Our house has a constant flow of people. I travel much of the year but this feels like home now.
I’m interested in the fact that you were raised as a Mormon. Does this still play a part in your life today? How has this fact shaped you into the person you are today?
I would say that much of my work is a reaction to being taught that people are literally God’s children, but coming to realize that we are products of something more instinctual and primal. Being raised in a sort of alternate reality like that and then breaking away from it affords a certain objectivity, sometimes cynicism, towards belief systems in general.And at the same time I’m thankful for my small town Idaho upbringing. My family is pretty conservative but I have to give them credit, especially my seven siblings, for inspiration and support.
What do you hope people get out of your work?
Honestly, I just want a reaction. I don’t care if my work inspires love or hate, just so long as its not indifference. Photography is a passion – and I want to push the boundaries and possibilities of the medium. I’ve had a camera in my hands from the age of eight, but I never bore or tire of taking photos. In fact, I think that at this point in my life I’m more inspired to shoot than ever.
What are your creative habits?
I keep drawing books/journals and look back through them to get inspired. Working with lots of different mediums allows me to express and explore different sides of myself, and the problem-solving and hands on side of physical creation is very satisfying. I feed my creativity with physical activity when I start to feel burnt out. Snowboarding especially leaves me replenished. I gain inspiration everywhere I look-there is so much beauty out there in lots of unlikely places.
How do you have time to do it all?
High metabolism.
