How many are involved in this "art collective"?
As far as our numbers, about a dozen plus guests that stop by our base of operations.
What technique is used with these sticker / stencils.
Our stickers are made with spraypaint and stencils usually onto vinyl sticker. Sometimes paper sticker.
Are there more on campus right now that I haven't seen?
As far as ones you haven't seen on campus, If you havent seen them by now they were probably peeled and on a dorm wall by now. They were pretty big.
What are the main focuses of LZRMTN?
We feel that every surface is just a piece of canvas. Art should be everywhere you look. Not just our art, but everyone's art. We highly encourage anyone and everyone to join us. I personally offer to help anybody to develop their own stencils. Together we network and send our stickers to all corners of the world.
[This one is still on campus *knock on wood*]
How was LZRMTN formed?
We started out one night just talking art and drawing. A couple days later we started passing around a drawing and adding our personal touches to it. Eventually that became our design and our name Lazer Mountain.
How did the name LZRMTN come about, why is it abbreviated, and is there a deeper meaning?
It came about at work when a friend said "just imagine for a second dude, a lazer mountain" it sounds funny now but his presentation made us laugh. It became abbreviated one night when I was putting some art up at a local skatepark and was to tired or lazy or just couldn't spell it whatever the real excuse may be. It just stuck after that.
Do the people behind LZRMTN tag on their own or strictly as a group?
The best way to say it is I network and throw parties. At these parties I have my friends and anyone else I meet draw on sticker paper or regular paper. Then whenever a friend or a band I know is leaving town I send these stickers along with ones I have made personally to be stuck up wherever they go in the world.
Does LZRMTN do other ventures or just urban art?
We do live paintings as well. Last summer we did a live painting at a local concert called Belly Fest. It was a house party with about a dozen local and touring punk bands. Before the show I printed off hundreds of local punk flyers from the last eight or nine years. I then had everyone there pick out a flyer and wheatpaste it to a big piece of wood when the wood was covered we sprayed a large stencil over the top. I ended up giving it to the guy that put the show together. It was a great piece and it was fun to put together. We met so many new people and had fun reminiscing with them about all the shows we'd been at and played together. In fact one of the Roadies for one of the touring bands was so stoked we had a flyer from his old band from when they came through Seattle on another tour. He got to add that one to the collage himself.
I'm working on trying to get our collective a gallery show as well, but that's on the backburner right now as some of us have some rather large projects going on and I'd rather we keep our momentum going if you know what I mean.
Do you do strictly stencils, or are other forms like wheatpaste used as well?
We're not strictly anything, personaly I kinda stick to stencils or hand drawn art. But we got people that do sculpting and Photoshop as well. We're work musically as well. Its mainly a collective drive to be creative.
[An image of the "Lazer Mountain" from their blog.]
What are the ages of people involved?
It varies, my nephew who's six does art with us. As well we have a couple older retirees who travel and help us put our artwork up. Like I said we work with local bands, I tend to set up touring bands I meet with a sticker pack and send them on their way.
Why do you do what you do?
Back when I was in college I took a class called history of art. Same class they have everywhere but this class just clicked with me. It started out with the oldest art we know of. Cave paintings. And out of some of the oldest there are the ones where someone put their hand on a cave wall, chewed up some berries and spit them at the wall. These paintings are stencils. This was some guy in ancient times that just wanted to leave his mark on the world. Flash back to my art class and eventually we got to modern art and my professor introduced me to what he called "the next andy worhol" known to the world as Banksy. It clicked right away, Banks was doing what that man had done with berries thousands of years ago. After trying it for myself I was hooked, and since then I have encouraged anyone and everyone to do the same. Say I put up a sticker on a busy street. In the next hour 100 people walk by and only 20 noticed it. Out of those 20 only 5 people knew or understood the obscure joke or reference we made. Out of those 5, one guy saw that and got a kick out of it. That one guy is why we do this. That one guys day was made using the oldest tradition known in art.
Do you ever get photos from other cities of the stencils your group has created?
Quite often, I've got a world map in what we call our war room. Its just some world map I found at a thrift store. But I started a lifelong project. I want that map covered in pins. But I can't put a pin in until I have a picture to match it. Plus I find our stuff on Flickr when I want to waste time at work.
Can anyone get involved with LZRMTN, or do you have some criteria?
I openly encourage anyone and everyone to join us. Personally I'm all about action. You can't get what you want if all you do is talk about it. You gotta actively seek to better yourself and strive to create. Anyone can bring whatever style/medium to the table that they want to, you just gotta keep trying is all.
[A now-gone stencil-sticker from last year]
Would you support a free art wall on campus, for example the Fairhaven Tunnel?
I personally feel all blank walls ARE free art walls. But yes, fairhaven tunnel is a great spot. That's why some of us have already done art there.
Do you do collaborations with other street artists?
I'll do collaborations with anyone who wants to do it. That's what art is.
Has there even been collaboration with LZRMTN art and getting them printed on shirts, posters, cards, and the like?
We have done shirts, and we are going to produce more in the near future. I just need to learn more about the processes so that way I can put out a proper product I can feel good about putting out there.
How can interested artists contact you for collaboration?
We can be contacted through that wonderful social interaction site called Facebook.
Are you afraid of getting caught?
It comes with the territory, if I said I wasn't I'd be lying. But once you just accept that this type of thing is who you are, it becomes easier to deal with. I put our stuff up in daylight most times, if someone spots me doing it I'll tell them all about us.
Any words of wisdom to give to the younger generation of creatives?
Ask questions and just keep at it; it’s not worth giving up on.
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