Thomas Sayre is a force of nature, an international artist whose work includes large paintings and massive installations made with unconventional, anti-pretentious materials like “tar smoke, gunshots, welding material, dirt, and fire”. He also is a neighbor to the shop and a frequent collaborator.
We’re kindred spirits and have become good friends over the past few years. Our projects never begin with a goal. We create for fun, for energy, for a chance to hang out together….to push us each other in different directions and to have a friend along for the ride. One day we were in his studio after a long day of working on a concrete project, we had a couple beers, and were dreaming….I showed him this jacket...it was one of the first longer coats I had made and he put it on and started dancing and said to me “Fuck Art, Lets Dance”....I was like “WHAT?!?...OK!”
Then told me a story about one of his first projects. A giant public works idea that he was testing on a friend’s farm. A bunch of ballet dancers from NYC had come down to Virginia to help make it and at some point one of the guys asked how long they had to work...it was all volunteer labour, so Thomas said, “as long as you want” and the guy exclaimed “fuck art, lets dance”.
When I got home late that night I showed Sarah the pics of Thomas and told her the story. She went to our home studio and pulled hand stitching threads and started embroidering those words on that jacket.. The next day was Thomas’s birthday. We left it on his porch as an offering.
