Art as salve
A lil' conversation with local collage artist Matt Clark

This was really hard to write. There is a lot going on, and our nation is figuratively on fire, and I think we’re all holding our breath for when it might actually catch on fire. Our hearts are breaking – at least mine is – and it’s hard to think about anything besides the failure of our government and the soul-crushing injustices caused by our own country. It’s especially hard to think about art.

Art isn’t exactly on my mind, and writing about it while people are getting murdered and kidnapped felt truly difficult. However, unbeknownst to me, between the anxious reading of the news and walking my dog for a chance to escape, chatting with local collage print artist Matt Clark, aka Lil’ Bud, about art was the momentary salve I needed. 

Clark

Matt and I spoke more than a week ago, so our nation’s hellscape hadn’t escalated quite yet. It was a cheery conversation, because Matt is a cheery person. He is a gem, and learning more about his art and Lil’ Bud Designs, was a reminder of how important art is for humanity; how it helps us connect and have balance. And talking to Matt was a reminder to invest in community, friends and neighbors. We never know when we’re going to need them, and what we’d do without them. 

Matt’s art is currently hanging at Durango Winery, and he will have an opening reception Fri., Feb. 6, at the Subterrain, 900 Main Ave., during the First Friday Art Walk downtown.

JD: We’d love to hear a bit about your background and how you got started.

MC: I’ve been a special education teacher for 12 years, and I used to do significant needs and life skills. I’d make fun PowerPoints for my students where we’d go back in time, for history, and we’d go to places like the Viking era. I’d create slideshows of art and make it feel interactive over a time machine. So, there was always a creative aspect, and I also did art just for fun.

Then I started hosting trivia nights (first at Chainless Brewing, then ultimately at Zia Cantina) and started messing with graphic illustration for the slideshow. It was fun because you could do funny slides and trivia rounds that were kind of unique.

JD: I went to that trivia a few times. It was really fun! Tell us a little more about what you did there.

MC: I remember doing a “Killer Cereal” trivia round (like the breakfast food), and it was about serial killers or questions about cereal. So I did the graphics for each different one, like different old characters from cereal boxes that were doing murderous things.

Then COVID hit, and we couldn’t really do trivia anymore, so then my big art push was at home, and I started decorating my own house.

JD: What did that look like, how would you describe your aesthetic?

MC: I’ve always been really into vintage aesthetic and old pin-ups. My first tattoo was a pin-up – I’ve always been drawn to that era. I couldn’t find anything good that I liked online, or pins; they’re all the same and very generic. So I made my first ever piece called “Return to Sender,” where a guy on skis is getting abducted by an alien with a retro feel.

People really liked it, and I was like, ‘Oh, like maybe I got something going.’ So I just really pushed my two passions, which were skiing and art. Soon art became my second big thing, and it eventually took over my skiing.

So that was kind of where I got into it. And then I did my first showing at the Animas City Night Bazaar. The organizers really encouraged me to set up a booth, and I sold my art there for the first time. Then at 11th Street Station, I had a little pop-up during COVID, and I just slowly started to have little shows and people started to really show interest in it. Then it just kind of expanded from there.

JD: When was the first time you were like, ‘This is something I want to do professionally?’ 

MC: I had a piece – I think it was the one where I collaged every 14er into a mountain scape. There’s a couple from an old Switzerland ad looking up at the mountains – and I remember a lady looking at it and almost, not crying, but you could tell it really spoke to her. And I had never seen art in that way. Where it can actually, sort of, heal people or speak to them, which was a new experience for me. 

Then I started being more thoughtful and started thinking about how I really wanted to be represented. I wanted to have a style that people knew, but also, I think my art speaks to a lot of people, at least in our area. We all love the mountains and Colorado things. So, it was cool to actually see someone really take a step back and appreciate it.

People are excited to see my art; that makes me excited, too.

JD: When did it go from like, fun pastime hobby to like, ‘OK, I’m going to lean into this?’ 

MC: I think when I got into the (DAC) Autumn Arts Festival – which is more along the lines of a fine art gallery, since you have to be selected by the jury – and when I started seeing that my art can actually be jury-selected and people want me to be there … and saw that I can actually make some money off of it, that’s kind of when I saw it more as a profession. 

More recently, though, with all the big gigs I’m starting to get, I think I finally am going to try to move from doing pop-ups and festivals, to curating festivals. I actually just got approved to do a lounge for Winter Wondergrass.

JD: Cool. Wow. Congrats!

MC: That’s kind of my direction; to curate and make art more fun for people at big events and immersive installations like Meow Wolf. 

JD: That’s awesome. You’ve been busy! Seems like you have a lot going on.

MC: I’ve been teaching this whole time too, I’m a special education teacher for a middle school in Durango. I’m really looking at maybe making that full time transition to be able to be an artist.

You gotta be on it, though. I also have a 3- and 5-year-old, so I’m teaching middle schoolers and then going home and trying to do the art thing. It’s a lot, but I’m going for it.

I’m passionate about teaching, but I’m more passionate about my art. So if I could just focus on art and my family, that would be less of a stressor.

JD: What is your ideal world?

MC: I would actually like to work for an entertainment company that puts on the festivals. So then I could get paid through the companies.

And also, I’ve done a few album covers, and I’d push for that more. And then creating posters for bands, you know, doing big festival posters. That would be ideal and would be really fun.

JD: Can you talk about your current show at Durango Winery?

MC: It’s kind of my newer work. I did more of an animal presence. There’s a more spiritual connection with animals in this show, and a lot more of my mountain-specific art.

I have some really big pieces in there that are really cool. They’re 40-by-30, I usually don’t go that big. 

And I had some of my first hanging art ever there, so it’s kind of cool to come full circle back there.

JD: And it’s mostly collage work?

MC: I kind of do a combination. I have stacks of old vintage pulp magazines and old travel magazines from the ’70s or older. So I either take things from those and create an idea … I think, ‘What could I do with this?’

I also keep a notebook of my ideas and I’ll look for things in magazines or old vintage art that I can use to portray those. Then I rephotograph and upload them digitally. I have a stylus pen, and I draw out pieces that I want. I’ll draw things I want to add, and then it’s usually a combination of multiple different mixed-media that I combine.

JD: Is this self taught?

MC: Yeah. I never realized I was doing collage art, and when I was making the slides for teaching, for years I just saw it as taking things and making things. So it kind of all grew naturally.

My family has a history – my uncle’s a Disney artist, so I think it’s in my blood.

JD: If you had any advice to someone thinking about becoming an artist, what would it be?

MC: Just to put yourself out there. I have a lot of friends who are very talented artists, but they’re afraid of rejection, and they’re afraid of what people are going to think.

Andy Warhol once said, ‘Don’t think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it’s good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art.’ Don’t worry about anyone else … artists are a rare thing now. So, the world needs art, especially now.

My other advice would be, the worst anyone could say to you is ‘no.’ So you might as well just ask. A lot of the gigs I’ve gotten and a lot of the cool things I’ve been able to be part of are because all I did was put myself out there and ask.

To check out or buy Matt Clark’s work, hit him up on Instagram @lilbuddesigns or go to: www.lilbuddesigns.com. ■