APAK! Interview

I interviewed Aaron and Ayumi of
APAK!! and here's the dynamic duo's answers!! Come see them and their awesome art next Friday September 11 from 6-9 at Schmancy!!


S- The story of how you met is super sweet, (see here what made you move from Michigan to Oregon?

APAK- Actually we lived in Oakland, CA and Saitama, Japan for a few years
before we settled in Portland, Oregon. But when we were in College we went
on a little road trip to Portland so maybe it stuck in our hearts since
then. We’ve been here for almost 5 years now and really love it. Portland
has been good to us in many ways.


S- What are your favorite forest creatures?

APAK- Favorites are hard to pick because all animals are all so precious. But we like quails, rabbits, squirrels, bears, deer, sloths, warthogs, snails, and porcupines to name a few.



S- Do you have any crazy habits or superstitious acts that you do before starting a piece of art together?

APAK- We try to avoid habits and go with the flow. We like to look around, go for walks, explore new places. We get a lot of inspiration from nature. We like to experiment and try new things each time. Is looking under rocks superstitious?



S- Only if you look under rocks every few minutes or so I think you are safe! Your show at Schmancy is titled “Tiny Adventures” who is the main character(s) and what was your inspiration for this show?

APAK- Some of our characters are our guides the “Happy Hermits”, they are like little traveling gnomes that live humbly and harmoniously that like to explore fantastic places and show us wonderful things.


S-Do you have any upcoming events/projects you want to tell everyone about?

APAK- We just did a shirt, mug, and wallet with the good people at POKETO, Ayumi has a new set of “Friendship” cards out on our Etsy site, We have a solo show in Portland at GrassHut in December that we are excited about doing a special installation for... Hopefully we will be putting out a childrens book soon! And our house is a never ending project.

S- Sounds like Schmancy is luck to have you in here, can't wait to see your latest work 'Tiny Adventures' on September 11, 2009 from 6-9pm.