If you were at the most happening party in Denver Saturday night then you were probably at the Power Of Free festival at Casselman’s. It goes without saying, Ink Monstr knows how to throw parties and with over a thousand people in attendance they clearly know how to promote them as well. From 2pm – 3am people were receiving free PBR at the door, non stop sounds from hip hop artist, bands, and DJ’s alike and the occasional burlesque show. Some of the stand out performances were from Bus Driver, WhyGee, Bukue One and The Dendrites who had the entire crowd moving with their high energy reggae & ska beats.

As one of the many sponsors, The Produce was given perfect venue to release two of it’s newest artist series shirts as 30 local Denver artists exhibited their newest work. Aj McCormick and Tom Bond were The Produce’s latest artists, both extremely talented masters of composition. Among the rest of the madness, Old Larimer Tattoo was laying ink on a few lucky individuals and MIMA was spreading the word about the power of music and building communities.

Here are a few shots from the event.

Brandon working hard

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We couldn’t be happier with the outcome of the event and look forward to the next. Come visit us at Hooked On Colfax on the second Saturday of September to see the release of three new artist series shirts and new work from Chris Adams, Angelo Martinez, Brandon Johanns, Tom Bond and AJ McCormick.

Through the sponsorship of the “Power of Free” festival I have been introduced to a handful of great local artists, many of them are very well established in the Denver art world and others who are up and coming. One of the artists who I was introduced to was Tom Bond, a Colorado native who’s constant lure to the outdoors, culture and snowboarding is expressed in so many of his pieces. I was drawn to Tom’s use of hard line, organic textures and his custom shoe designs. Tom was kind enough to do a quick interview with me to give us more insight into his work and aspirations as an artist.

-So what are your biggest influences? Most of my art is really about trying to make sense of myself and my own existence, so a lot of it just comes from personal feelings/emotions, thoughts, and an ongoing internal dialogue.  I am definitely influenced by a lot of external elements and amazing people too though, and the things I look at, listen to, do, or read, obviously have a lot to do with shaping the things that I think about.  These are far too many to list I’m sure, but here are a few of those along with some of the artists who have influenced my work: Dr. Seuss, Sartre, Mom & Dad, Ralph Steadman, Basquiat, travel, Barry McGee, all of my friends, Don Yanacito, Tom Waits, Jack Kerouac, travel, animals, whiskey, trees, riding bikes, travel, M.C. Escher, Scot LeFavor, Alvin Gregorio, art school, Shel Silverstein, snow, Carlo Crivelli, city lights, exploration, adventure, conversation, and… travel.

Aspirations - Tom Bond

- How did you get into the fine arts? Art, I guess, was always something I kind of enjoyed.  I liked drawing as a kid.  My Grandma was also an abstract painter when she was younger, so I remember always being around art, especially at my grandparent’s house.  I didn’t take art at all seriously or even think of it as something more than a way to kill some time until college I think.  I started college as a film major, and then learned about a lot of experimental film-makers that were also accomplished painters or sculptors.  At the same time, I was getting interested in a lot of street artists.  I decided to get back into painting a bit, and really just fell in love.  I think I just sort of prefer the individual creative expression that painting allows, as opposed to the necessity of involving a crew (not to mention a budget) in order to accomplish certain things in film-making. – Favorite medium? Right now, I’m using mostly acrylic paint and spray paint, with a few other things thrown in here or there. – What’s the story with those slip on shoes you designed? Ah yes, people seem to like the shoes…  There’s really no story.  A friend of mine who knew my art already just asked me one day if I’d paint a pair of vans for her.  I did, and she loved them, and apparently so did a lot of other people.  I got a lot of attention and feedback from those and I ended up doing another pair later for another friend, and they got a good response too.  I think it’s just something about wearable art that people seem to respond to.  Maybe it’s just more relatable to some people. – Where can you pick up a pair? Well they’re just one-off hand painted canvas shoes.  Honestly they’re not my favorite things to do, but it can be a nice change once in a while to work on something that’s not just a flat surface.  You won’t find them for sale anywhere, but if anyone wants to commission a pair, I’m always up for projects like that.  Just get in contact with me and we can work something out. – Are you a Colorado native? If not, how did you end up here? Technically I’m not, I was born in LA, but I’ve lived in Colorado since I was about two, and both of my parents are Colorado natives.  I grew up in Denver, and went to college at CU Boulder. – Outside of art, what are your other activities, passions, ambitions, etc. Well growing up in Colorado, I’m of course a big fan of outdoor activities, especially snowboarding.  My parents had me skiing by three years old.  I switched to snowboarding at about nine, and have been doing it ever since.  Probably my biggest passion though, and what I wish I could do constantly, is traveling.  I was fortunate enough to spend a semester of college living and studying art in London, England.  I met a ton of great people and also got the chance to travel around Europe a bit.  Ever since that experience, I’ve been hooked.  I really enjoy adjusting to life in different social and cultural environments and just realizing how much is out there to see.  I don’t think there’s any way to learn as much about the world, and yourself, as you can by visiting and living in really different places from what you’re used to.

Thanks Tom, we’re excited to have you be a part of The Produce!

Tom’s first shirt will be released this Saturday during the Power of Free festival at Casselman’s Bar and Venue. Click here for more details.

The Produce has it’s first gallery show at the Power Of Free event next Saturday the 21st at Casselman’s in Denver. We will be introducing at least two new artist t-shirts at the show and we couldn’t be more excited about it. Bring your girlfriends, boyfriends, wifes and mistresses, the best part is that whole event is Free!! Free Beer, Free Music and more!

Power of Free @ Casselmans

Ink Monstr Presents Power of Free

Here are some more details on the event:

Ink Monstr Custom Graphics Presents:
“The Power of Free” Art and Music Festival. Saturday August 21st 2pm-4am. This is a Free event.

SNOWBOARD MAG Volume 7 Issue 1 Release Party

Casselman’s Bar and Venue
2620 Walnut Street
Denver, CO 80205
(720) 242-8923

Artists – Special thanks to Melissa Belongea. Your KILLING IT!!
Sara Ford
Tom Bond
Axel Geittmann
Patrick Hansen
Scot Lefavor
Emily Ayers
Joe Triscari
Amanda Baker
Mike Graves
Ryan Parker
Matt Scobey
Mike Ortiz
Bridget Mahoney
Chad Everhart
David Jones
Atsu Saisho
Andrew Hoffman
Whittney Wells
Angel Lujan
Seth Lockard
Mike Hubert
Jared King
Jon-Paul Belongea
Sandra Fettingis
Pat Milbery
Andrew Heard
Jonathan Lamb
Jon Strieby
AJ McCormick
Henry Daniel Bell
Sarah Adams
Jimmy
Kelly Monico
Pedro Barrios
Libby Wann
Patrick Duffy
….AND MORE!!

Burlesque
OOH LA LA! Will be providing the sexiest burlesque dancers around.

Live Models Body Painting
Thats right, the whole body!!

Live Paint by Local Artists

Drinks – Special thanks to Red Bull and PBR
Free PBR
Free Red Bull Finlandia Vodka
Free Red Bull Cola Whisky(Jack Daniels) and Rum

Vendors (Able to sell Product) (The “event” takes 10% of sales or $200 up front, this is to help cover costs of free event)
Deluxe Burger, Denver, CO
Crema Coffee, Denver, CO
Hot Dog Cart – Denver, CO

Ink Monstr, Denver CO
Samadhi Moon Society
Universal Herbs, Denver CO
PBR Denver, CO
Red Bull Denver, CO
Snowboard Magazine, Boulder CO – First Issue, Mag Release….Word up guys!!
So Gnar, Denver CO
Isvera – Aspen, CO
Old Larimer Tatto, Denver CO – giving away a gift certificates (2) Doing a LIVE tattoo demo
The Produce, Denver CO
Mile High Auto Sports, Denver CO – Giving away gift certificates (2)
Spacecraft Clothing – Seattle, WA Giving away product
Libtech Snowboards – Sequim, WA Giving away product
Zumies – Everett, WA Giving away gift certificates
Smith Optics – Denver, CO Giving away product
Six Eleven Productions – Denver, CO

Over the past 3 years I’ve gotten to know Brandon pretty well and i’ve also grown to appreciate his creativity in all aspects of life. As a snowboarder, mountainboarder, BMX bandit, psychologist, music fiend and photographer he appears to be transient in nature yet he’s very dedicated and has love for so many things. When I first told Brandon about The Produce and what we were looking to achieve he was extremely excited about the idea, and from then on he was throwing his own ideas at me. A month or so back I humored him and heard out one of his ideas, as he suggested I take a look at some of his black and white photos, to my surprise I found myself falling in love with a lot of the subjects and overall concepts. Now we’d like to share Brandon Johanns photos with you. Enjoy.

Did you know Toyota was a manufacturer of looms before they got into the automotive industry in the early 1900′s?? Crazy. Well Toyota mastered textile production, car manufacturing and now they are releasing a free font, designed by one of their cars.

I am actually a pretty big fan of the font.

Download it here for free.

http://nl.toyota.be/cars/new_cars/iq/iq_font.aspx

Step aside, Orchard is moving in. For the longest time The Underground(AKA Ski Market) had a really sick indoor mini ramp in store, one of the only in Boston. So last year when the Underground closed and the ramp was torn down many tears fell on Boston’s dirty streets. I had some of my first great mini ramp session on that ramp while in college and though I was living in Denver by the time it had been taken down I still was sadden by the news. But this post isn’t supposed to be sad or dramatic as I just saw that Boston’s best skate shop Orchard moved from the dregs of Mission Hill to the heart of hippster and bro land, Allston. The best part about this move is they now have tons of space, including room for an art gallery and a new MINI!!! I can’t wait to get back east to skate it! Who knows maybe The Produce will have an Artist Series show in the Orchard gallery sometime in the future.

I ripped a few shots from the Orchard site.

For more on Orchard’s move check the link below.

http://www.orchardshop.com/archives/did_we_mention_that_we_moved