I had heard about Ben's work right around the time that I had moved back to SF. A few people had mentioned to me that I would really appreciate his sewn and printed work. Each person made it a point to mention the quilt he had designed and sewn from 35 metal t-shirts. The overall quilted pattern on the blanket? A pentagram, naturally. Obviously I was immediately intrigued! Who wouldn't be?
Born in Charleston, South Carolina and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, Ben's interest lay in marrying traditional handmade crafts, Heavy Metal and his heritage from growing up in the south. He's also the second half of Dee's Nuts. His and Kevin E. Taylor's endeavor to help spread the deep south's delicacy of boiled peanuts. Which I can now attest to the goodness first hand.
What follows are images from my afternoon spent with Ben at his home and studio. It was rad checking out and witnessing how deep his passion runs. I was truly impressed. You can see the whole visit on the blog's flickr page.
More images after the JUMP!
above photo courtesy of Ben Venom.
Ben carefully tells me the significance and meaning of each specially placed metal t-shirt.
Ben was especially inspired by an exhibit he had seen of the women of Gee's Bend, here he shows me a book of the quilts from the collective.
The beginning of one of his many appliqued pillows.
Tins of Ben Venom chewing tobacco...only makes sense.
Modeling his metal mask equipped with a safety pinned mohawk.
We headed over to Ben's studio where most of his screen printed projects and finished work are kept.
Thanks Ben! For more info on Ben and all of his projects stay updated with him on his blog.
