Eric von Haynes: Trading Ego for Ink

Written By Johnathan Hatherly

Shaping a Creative Path Through Community Care

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There is something profoundly human about the act of creating—about taking what we have within us and bringing it into the world, for others to see, to experience, and to be moved by. 

Art is often perceived as an expression of the self, yet it carries the power to transcend the individual, to serve a community, and to embody something much larger than one's own ego.

Today, our search lands us in conversation with someone whose artistic journey is as much about community as it is about creation. Eric Von Haynes is a printmaker, an artist, and a community builder who has dedicated his work to exploring the intersection between creativity and service. His endeavors span from the tactile craft of ink on paper to the broader strokes of social connection—whether through Flatland Press, the Love Fridge initiative in Chicago, or his role as president of the Chicago Printers Guild.

Eric's work speaks to the beauty of stepping back, of letting the ego dissolve, and allowing something collective to emerge—whether that’s art created collaboratively, a shared moment of care, or a refrigerator full of food for those who need it most.

Today, we’ll explore the journey of an artist who has continually traded ego for ink and found, in the process, something far richer and deeper: a path toward true connection, both with himself and with his community.

Guest

Eric Von Haynes operates under the imprint Flatlands Press and co-founded Love Fridge Chicago, a mutual aid initiative supporting community fridges. In addition, Eric teaches at the UIC School of Design and is president of the Chicago Printers Guild.

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Transcript

[00:00:00] John: There is something profoundly human about the act of creating, about taking what we have within us and bringing it into the world, for others to see, to experience, and to be moved by. Art is often perceived as an expression of the self, yet it carries the power to transcend the individual, to serve a community, and to embody something much larger than one's own ego.

[00:00:33] Today, our search lands us in conversation with someone whose artistic journey is as much about community as it is about creation. Eric Von Haynes is a printmaker, an artist, and a community builder who has dedicated his work to exploring the intersection between creativity and service. His work spans from the tactile craft of ink on paper to the broader strokes of social connection, whether through Flatland Press, the Love Fridge Initiative in Chicago, or his role as president of the Chicago's Printers Guild.

[00:01:04] Eric's work speaks to the beauty of stepping back, of letting the ego dissolve, and allowing something collective to emerge. Whether that's art created collaboratively, a shared moment of care, or a refrigerator full of food for those who need it most. Today, we'll explore the journey of an artist who has continually traded ego for ink, and found, in the process, something far richer and deeper. The path towards true connection, both with himself and with his community.

[00:01:38] Eric, I just wanted to say, thank you for sharing some of this space and time with me today. I'm really excited to dig into some conversation around your work and the interesting ideas around what is an artistic practice in relationship to also being a human being as well. And what does it look like where those two worlds start to intersect and collide?

[00:01:59] In ways that I think for me at least watching and researching the work that you do has really expressed this idea of love in a way that I think is pretty much about community and it's, it's really beautiful thing so I just wanted to say welcome to the show.

[00:02:13] Eric: Thank you for having me. For me it's all the same.

[00:02:17] Art is life is. So, uh, yeah. So over time, I think it's all, they all kind of blend together.

[00:02:24] John: No, when I was doing some research for this episode, I came across a YouTube video that is about 16 years old. It's another version of Eric and you were working on a collaborating on a, I believe it was a mural. But you, in that video, you mentioned you were from San Antonio and I'm originally from Texas.

[00:02:42] And. There's a different culture and different places you travel to. And so I'm curious, when did you start to realize or feel that connection about thinking through creativity? And, you know, when did that artistic practice start for you as a kid? Was there some sort of moment that you realized, Oh, I see the world through.

[00:03:01] Making it and, and interacting with the world like that.

[00:03:05] Eric: Well, first off, for full disclosure, I do, San Antonio would be close to my heart. It's where my father went to the Air Force Academy. So I was down in San Antonio for, for first few years of early implement years of my life. I was born in St. Louis, but my, I travel the, I've lived in Chicago longer than anywhere ever lived.

[00:03:25] So, yeah, at that time, that's funny. At that time I had been, I was still like, I didn't think of myself as a Chicago person. Like, I guess, but I'm at this point, people are like, you've been, I've been here longer than I've been anywhere else in my life. So, I, you know, Pilsen specifically. Uh, for me, when it comes to, uh, come from makers, my parents, We're always very supportive of anything creative I wanted to do.

[00:03:51] I come from draftsman to like my grandfather, I realized this as an adult, as a child, it never occurred to me that this, but there are certain things that are just cultivated in me, because the other individuals around me, like they might have had other careers or professions, but it was something that they also enjoyed so like I've always drawn.

[00:04:11] I've always, always drawn. As long as I can remember. Actually, at some point I want to do a project based on the way I used to draw. I used to take like a piece of notebook paper or whatever, with a, you know, pencil and draw x ray versions of spaceships and boats and things. Yeah. With little stick men and all the floors.

[00:04:33] And then painstakingly sit there and have a drama play out. And so I erased and. Change the rooms and like work a sheet forever. I can, I'm like, I'm like, I should do some, a project like that where it's like based off of something like that. But I can't remember a time, John, when I wasn't making things. I really can't.

[00:04:53] I don't think I've, I don't think I thought of myself as an artist. in the context that I think a lot of people will listen to this show might think we're talking about. And until I moved to Chicago with my partner and decided to go to school for art, you know, I'd been making things forever and had gone down totally different career paths.

[00:05:14] I was like, at the time we moved to Chicago, I've been working in a program called short forest. It's kind of like an outward bound program working with houseless youth and young adults and from boys homes and things like that, and taking them out for leadership programs. And it was like directing the program actually, by the time I left, like, so doing switchback, making bridges and I'm a backpacker and a climber and I have EMT training and OLS training.

[00:05:43] Like it was a point in my life where I really got out of. Man made spaces for a while. So I was at it short force, maybe for like three and a half years, like just living in their building, working on the programs before he moved to Chicago. But in arts always been part of this. I'm always working on things.

[00:06:01] And it was at that point, my partner, I just, she was in school at Athens, Georgia, got her degree in sculpture, decided to move closer to where my family was because it was moving further away and with the pursuit of going to school. So it was then, I think, once I got into that environment, where I started, I don't want to say I ever had imposter syndrome, but for me art is just a cathartic, there's a cathartic aspect to it.

[00:06:28] It's just part of how I live. It was then I started thinking about it as something that was meant to share, where I would be practicing in a sense that I'm creating things to share, not just creating. Because it's something that isn't, it's just part of me. And so for definitively, I'd say probably in my early twenties, I just thought, I was like, this is part of me, whether I'm doing anthropology or social, like whatever, I'm anytime I have some free time, I'm making things, you know, my spare time, I'm drawing comics, inking things like all kinds of stuff.

[00:07:05] So it's like, maybe I should invest in myself a little bit. You know, but you know, I don't know, some of it may be coming from a minority background where being an artist isn't considered a career. Um, even though my family were supportive, it's like always that, right? Is that a career or something you just do, you know?

[00:07:22] John: Yeah. Growing up, it was very much the idea that that was not a career path for me. At least when you were moving into that space and. Taking it, I guess, in more of an intentional way. What was the draw to printmaking specifically? Well,

[00:07:36] Eric: my baseline has always been illustration, like making, mark making. And so once I got into SCIC, took some classes where Christine Tarkowski at the, like, I think it was called radical printmaking, pattern making, uh, which introduced me to like working with that, with substrates and stuff like that.

[00:07:57] Yeah. As an illustrator, you know, comics, graphic novels, things like that were really impactful to me. But going to the Art Institute, I was, I started working at the Artist Book Collection, the Joan Flesch Artist Book Collection, underneath the tutelage of Doral Bohan, and that just opened my world up to all these things that I, that I love intersecting, and this is the space.

[00:08:21] I didn't know that there was a medium known as artist, I'd never been introduced to the medium of artist books. So it's like all of these different things coming together, research based work, social practice work, you know, just personal. And I was like, this is it. Like this is it. This allows me to do, this is the medium I, you know, I'll play with other spaces, but publication space, artist book space, is the closest to my heart.

[00:08:49] If I had the, if you made me pick, that would be it.

[00:08:51] John: Like what was that moment where you were like, yeah, it's always going to be this idea of Within the context. Multiples.

[00:08:57] Eric: I love sharing. I love sharing the idea of like just putting something on the wall and asking people to meet at a specific time to view it.

[00:09:05] It's always seemed a little like, like a little short sighted. So, the, you know, the velocity of the page, the democracy, the idea that I could produce multiples, I could produce something. For I guess to sell if necessary, but also to give all my friends and anyone in trade, which is something we do as publishers and like, you know, it's like.

[00:09:26] And printers, you know, like my partner always says, if you come to my house, like he's going to give you something and it's true if I, if I'm within arm's length, I'm going to give you something. So I think there's that that's the idea of sharing and proliferating space right whatever I want to do I can produce, and then I can put it in space.

[00:09:45] You know, no BTUs after the production, just human centered power, right? So, for me, it's always been based around being able to produce what I want, when I want, where I want, but also sharing it with who I want, when I want, how I want. I think that's what print, like, means to me. It's very human to print.

[00:10:05] It's very, it's like a huge, like, I think everything makes marks, and the idea of printing, making enough, to disseminate so people can interpret on their own without you being present. It's something I'm really into, I guess I'd say.

[00:10:19] John: So you founded Flatlands in 2007, I believe. And I'm curious why you call it a labor of love.

[00:10:26] Eric: Uh, cause there was, I was at the time I had, I went from SCSC, even though I was in SCSC, I was working in advertising pretty much full time. And I just saved money. for this dream project of opening a studio. It was 3,600 square feet off of cmac in Pilsen. Uh, my neighbors were Jose Piot, who's actually still in that, on that floor.

[00:10:49] Carlos was on, or on that floor still, uh, Angel Chavez, Angel Juan Chavez was there with me for the longest time, but for me that creating a space where I could lease equipment or allow people to use it to build and make things. Was a big part of Flatland Studios at that point is what it's become Flatland Press.

[00:11:13] At one point it was Flatland Studios. I had some of my, um, studio artists that were underneath that umbrella were Terrence Bias, otherwise known as Dred, Dred88. We also had Ramon Static Barnes, the legendary Static Barnes, who, uh, the mural you brought up. piece was I was working on that mural with him and Dread, Max Sansing, Hebrew Brantley was on that.

[00:11:39] Slang, there's a ton of Chicago artists. It was a fun summer. But basically I created a space Offset, my first Offset press. Screen print room, dark room, a spray room. We made a spray room inside so we could do like mural work and event planning. We're Oh, Sam Kirk as well was there. Uh, and, um, we had artists that would travel through my friend Oscar Arroya for a while.

[00:12:03] We'd do sticker, secret sticker club. So we'd have. People in there, you know, on the weekends drawing and hanging out together. Uh, Chris Silva, um, rest in peace. Brooks Golden, Dan Lang, like a lot of Thor, good life, folks like that come through and if you needed a space, a big footprint that you can create things and then use a freight elevator.

[00:12:25] To take somewhere else my space was ideal for that. So, so production it's just called it like a fact. It was a factory. These are our factory space. And so, yeah, I spent a lot of time, maybe two years. First two years was just renovating it because it was not up to par for what I had in mind. What was missing?

[00:12:43] Oh, the floor. Oh, when I first moved in the floor, there was this artist in there before us. It was who like masonry work or mosaic work or whatever, but the used cement. If you know anything about this, you notice this is like a flaw in the plan. They put, they use cement grout. To grow their mosaics to the floor in this commercial space.

[00:13:09] So there's a lot of reasons why that's just like, but there was glass and mirror and it was just random. It like, that's something you would do sculpturally outside and it did, you know, but for a floor that's going to have heavy equipment on it and cracking and, but also dust, the creation of dust, which we didn't need because there's Zynga.

[00:13:30] Cement factory is right because like we didn't need any additional dust, but so I had to take up the entire floor reef, like put a whole new floor in, which was important to because I needed enough boundary because we're going to have equipment that could leak oil, things like that. So I wanted to be up to par, up to the code, you know, and make sure the floor was strong enough to hold it.

[00:13:51] that weighs roughly a ton in a certain spot. So things like that, putting all new lighting in, uh, cantilevered floor. So we like maximize the space. It was a loft space because the ceilings were vaulted, putting in plumbing, like getting it so that you print, like most studios in Chicago are not ready to use for printers.

[00:14:10] Painters, you know, you can go in there all you need is a sink maybe, right? But printers, we need access to water for safety reasons, but also if you're doing certain work, you have to, water is the receptacle part of like cleaning and reclaiming elements. So it's not, can't have a little slop sink. So I converted the bathroom that was there.

[00:14:32] into a washout, which took a, which, so I could wash out our old screens and stuff like that. So it took a while. Oh, and I had my first, my first, my daughter was born roughly like, like three months or so before, like, yeah, perfect timing for, so yeah. So the first year I spent in the, during the day, I was with my daughter and I would go in there at night and work at night.

[00:14:55] So, and, you know, that, that knew me the first couple of years in the studio, it was like after 10, be there from 10 to three or whatever, you know, my daughter liked to nap, so it was okay. So labor love. Yeah. To me, and then it's, I didn't do it for, to get paid out. I mean, I was putting, I invested a ton of money in it, but it wasn't in the guise of, I'm going to recoup this.

[00:15:16] Yeah. This is necessary to create a space that's conducive to what I want to do and the people I want to cultivate work with. My friend Pugs, that was with Pugs Adams a couple weeks ago, and he brought it up and he was like, man, I wish we had that now, man. I was like, it's like, I think it was a little too early for that.

[00:15:32] I was like, I think so too. I think there's a lot of work going on, but I don't think, I think, uh, things happen for a reason. I learned a lot of lessons. It's a beautiful time, but having the new, being at the Chicago Art Department and also having my own private studio is a good balance for me now.

[00:15:49] John: What's been the role with the Chicago Art Department?

[00:15:51] You know, what's your residency there?

[00:15:53] Eric: I applied for residency when I became president of the Chicago Purchase Guild because I really, I mean, I love this space, but for me, the work I wanted to do, plant the strategy I want. I had to increase the impact in the role of the guild could play. I believe required it to have a brick and mortar, which it hadn't prior, and Pilsen is home to me, and that.

[00:16:23] community, that space is conducive to, it's an, we're in alignment on so many levels and accessibility and the modular footprint. So I can do so many different things there, including having fellow printers from the guild there that I've worked with for years. Dud Lawson and, uh, Kent Henderson, who are, uh, Depression Press have a studio there, which also increases the amount of equipment we have access to, uh, in the kind of work I can do on site and for, with, with guild members.

[00:16:54] So I applied as a, for, as a residency, as basically with that plan of action is in my mission, like what, why, what I would do on the space, as well as amplify the work I do for the mutual aid group, the Love Fridge Chicago, which So using it for town halls and things like that, which we've done in seasonal we like to do most of our activations for the mutual aid group outside.

[00:17:18] But in the, in the winter and things like that, it's, it's been very conducive to continually sharing space, but also like having a rally point for things if we like have drivers and volunteers can meet there and grab things and keep it moving.

[00:17:33] John: I'm curious to get your viewpoint on this idea of the medium that you practice in, you know, you talk about.

[00:17:40] In the book arts and the publishing part of it, but this idea that there's this real strong relationship to community. How do you approach that idea around what it is you do?

[00:17:48] Eric: My friend, Angela Davis said, yeah, like last summer, you're a brilliant facilitator. And I had never really thought about it like that.

[00:17:57] I enjoy making connections. I enjoy putting people in the same space. If I know you're into something, John, like I will just randomly sing you references. for, to, to, to word dust, you know, that's the way I'm like, Oh, John would enjoy that. I also have learned that as a designer, as a printer, it's community based work.

[00:18:16] That inspires me is community based work that I'm influenced by and I enjoy the space of being outside of myself. I think when I was in my early 20s, I wrote a mantra trade ego for Inc. It's, that's like one of the first, I mean there's others, but that was the first avoid the now. slow down, all of the above have been added, but the first one was trade Eagle for ink.

[00:18:42] I don't print like I don't make art for some like, it's part of me. It's cathartic. It's how I work through things is how I share my point of view is through visual art making for the most point. And so everything I do is an extension of that, I guess, in the way of like of drawing more connections, but also As my friend Cosmos would say, giving people their flowers, right?

[00:19:09] Acknowledging these connections now. I'm not a big fan of this magic. I mean, like, I, not the mad, like the idea that The way things get done isn't through

[00:19:20] John: through the group. Right.

[00:19:22] Eric: And, and, you know, I guess I can openly say I'm an anarchist. So in that context, I believe that community is the only reason why we survive.

[00:19:30] It's not a Darwinist, not doesn't make any sense you really think about it, like wolves a great example wolves right, the strongest wolf isn't in the front to the back of the pack to make sure that the ones that are laboring. Or like supported. I'm grateful to be in good, be around folks that are, that are supportive of what I do and I can support them as well.

[00:19:56] John: What was that process like of just finding people with that same sort of lens on life, right? People who think the world is what you make of it, not.

[00:20:05] Eric: Some of it maybe is luck or like say preparation meets opportunity, right? So being in spaces, but also the way I'm talking to you now, John, is the way I talk normally.

[00:20:15] If people know me, I'm like, Hey, this is going on. This is what's going on. I'm going to tell you what I'm doing. If there's space for you, if you know people, it's consistent. I'm consistent with this energy, but also a friend of mine, Nick Manzola met through, he used to do a thing called pawnworks. He does a lot of curation for music now.

[00:20:35] I think he's doing stuff with Riot Fest, but, um, I did an interview for, with him for annual, I do call it raw fury. That was on.

[00:20:43] John: Oh, it's beautiful. Oh my God. This magazine is so good.

[00:20:46] Eric: So, uh, thank you. So I did an interview with him that never saw the light of day. Cause the computer died. First time I lost anything like that, but I remembered a conversation and something that stuck out to me and I always give him credit for this was fan to peer, the concept of fan to peer.

[00:21:03] And that being. If I enjoy your work or enjoy your process and I will reach out to you, sometimes you can become friends from that, from making those connections. You know, if people are on similar frequencies in art making, most of the artists that I do work with on Flatlands, or I didn't meet, I didn't just, it wasn't a cold call.

[00:21:22] It wasn't like, Oh, you're rad on IG. Right. Let's make some stuff. It's just like, like things happen prior and then eventually we get to that publication space. Like I did a book for Ruben Aguilar called Lexicons. We talked about that at six years ago, working together took that long and sometimes it takes that long.

[00:21:43] You know, like it's also, I'm not in a hurry. You know, I think that part too, like making art and making community shouldn't be, should be at the pace of humanity. Right. Or, uh, it's a Brian Eno's right. Uh, gardening, not architecture is a concept I embrace as well. So like just being present and observing where things are, how things are happening.

[00:22:04] Patience is something I've like really embraced, like being patient with myself and the things around me, my partner would probably chuckle if she heard me say that. But, um, but, uh, multitasking, it helps with patients because you can always focus on something else instead of being hyper focused on something, on paint drying, so to speak.

[00:22:24] So

[00:22:26] John: from the creative standpoint, I love just getting into everything. And then because you're patient, you're just consistent with things. You start to just keep building on top of those things that kind of languish for a minute, but then you come back to it and then you make the relationship like, Oh yeah, this is actually.

[00:22:37] It's connected to this thing over here. These two things are going to come together and become something completely different and honestly reminds me of

[00:22:44] Eric: tetris Uh huh. Yeah. Yeah, especially as a father. It's a lot of tetris as a parent There's a lot of I can fit this in here. I can fit and me and my daughter Ella is at the age now where I have a lot more agent like mental agency I mean it's but there was a point where that was that was my priority as a i'm empowered by Knowing my family and those I love are in are in good place You know, I would say uh, i've been i've been increasing my capacity As my daughter has gotten her more agency and at this point, I'm pretty back to probably better than I was before because I feel like I can utilize the time I've utilized my time even better than I used to.

[00:23:28] And, and also give myself time to not to just not have to be. I can't remember where I finished. Sometimes just being in the studio, it's not always about production, but being in the studio is part of my process, practice too, right? So like, sometimes just going in there and cleaning up, like, and then it's like, oh yeah, and then something hits, but sometimes it's just being in these places too.

[00:23:52] But I had to learn that that was okay to like have a studio space where it wasn't. Producing a body of work every month or whatever, you know, like it's okay for that. So having my family, my daughter specifically, cause my wife and I, we were, we're just go get it. We, you know, that's an ease, that's a partnership.

[00:24:12] You're not, you know, compensate. You know, that's negotiable, but, but my daughter, it's like, I didn't, that was non negotiable. I wanted to be present. She would have been fine if someone else would have been there, but I wanted to be present.

[00:24:53] You talk about

[00:24:53] John: time a lot, you know, just in this conversation where you were talking about slowing down and, um, I'm also looking at your work and that relationships, this idea of just impermanence in general. I love that aesthetic, that this idea that it's not the same pattern. And that it's a non repeating pattern.

[00:25:09] What does that mean to you when you're talking about from an aesthetic standpoint of creating that moment? You know, I was looking at the book that you did waves and each, you know, each spread is this a different, but similar kind of wave photograph. Um, but they're very, very sparse. You know, to me, they remind me a lot of like Kenya Harris where, um, just that real sense of connection to the, to the theme of the image and then also to nature.

[00:25:34] And to moving in a different sort of pace and time, where does that come from?

[00:25:38] Eric: Waves was the, maybe the first time I like really was like, okay, I'm going to. purposely create visual restraints in a project. That's literally 30 seconds, like 300 yards off of Punta Uva in Costa Rica, the entire thing. So those are segments of waves crashing over me as I'm floating about like over 300 yards out.

[00:26:01] How do I say this? Photos from, from 30 seconds of video. They're also extrapolated. four times, they're stretched there. It's like you're, I'm also stretching each, each second, like four times in each, in each image. And it was an exercise in that, like playing with like this idea of, uh, in that moment, I gave myself the challenge of how can I capture this for, for others?

[00:26:26] And that was the mission to try to find a way to capture not only that energy, but that space, that calm, that peace. But also, right then, not come back later, not try to come up with some clever way, but right then, whatever I had, take that, and that be it. And so, I don't know, there's a, I mean, there's some more probably macabre reasons why I'm in the time, is I've gotten older, like most, like my friend, my art, my friendships overlap a tremendous amount, and I've lost people, I, you know, it's like I know that I've lost people, but I still have this work.

[00:27:00] As the world speeds up, I see folks, you know, around me. I see how we interact. How we expect more in less time. And so I, I don't, I sort of point for me, I started really, I think I'm just fascinated by how much you could do in a short amount of time, but is it always necessary? And are we really, are we really programmed that way?

[00:27:23] Do we really receive all of it? Or is it just coming out? We just like, or is it just bombarded with it? I mean, I have my personal opinion. I'm not going to. Get on the soapbox, but I embrace slow media. I embrace the idea of like slow food. I can digest things at a rapid pace, but why,

[00:27:42] John: why,

[00:27:43] Eric: you know? So when it comes to my own personal work, I embrace that aspect, you know, like sometimes I might play with video, but I'm still wanting to discuss this idea of.

[00:27:54] appreciating the moment, you know, I don't want to get on a, on a soapbox. So I'll keep it into that. But I just feel like the world I'm surrounded, the world I'm in, people, it's always what's next? Like what's next? What's, what's next? What's now? Like I said, what's the now? What's the now? It's like you, we didn't even complete the sentence from yesterday.

[00:28:16] We're already, you know, it's the same as yesterday, but it isn't because we keep, it's like every, you know, it's like this weird cycle of not completing the sentence. I'll leave it there. To me, I just feel like we constantly are, you know, in community, right? Like you're, you need to be present. Someone may be different from the day before.

[00:28:36] Just. You know, like you have to be so I don't know. I guess I just want to I think I appreciate time for a lot of reasons Growing up, you know, I was like very busy. I think I just like, I've always had to appreciate the time I had for creativity. And I think too, if I'm being, if I, if I'm pond thinking about this with you, I know how hard it is to make art for folks.

[00:29:02] It's a rough thing. Like things cost more having a studio. Like, I know folks that are like struggling to pay rent. So the idea that I get to make marks for people to sit and to share, I appreciate that and I'm honored to do that. But in my approach, I want to honor it all the way through. So that granular level of that time, I just kind of want to make sure that the viewer is aware of that.

[00:29:32] That it is a shared moment between us.

[00:29:34] John: Yeah, in my life, it's been difficult or was difficult at least I think for a long time, I grew up on a, on the wrong side of the tracks or whatever and the idea of becoming an artist or that was not for me, right. And I would think it's probably only like the past four or five years really maybe since 2020.

[00:29:52] that I have embraced that idea that there can be more life lived in a slower life. Totally. These are my beliefs, whatever. Um, but I do think that there's something to that, that

[00:30:04] Eric: for sure,

[00:30:05] John: we're being asked to move at is not something that benefits me. And maybe going through that process in 2020 was finding that voice for myself.

[00:30:15] When there was quiet because the world had slowed down. And to me, that's like a total gift. That was like the hardest and worst year of my life. I would say that back then, um, because of those things, like the world had slowed down and so it was like, Oh, okay. There's there's space to do something. And then there's idea that it could be even be possible.

[00:30:34] Eric: Yeah, I agree. I was going to say to, um, this is Chris Burden piece where he says, Time kills. Yeah. And that's just always, that's just always stuck with me. It's like, it's not, you know, it can be considered a dark way of it, but it does, like it, it's just, it is. Like, so. Maybe, I think we definitely shared that, John, like, uh, the idea that having the time to slow down, to make something, to be, to create, I feel like is a privilege, and it took a while for me to be comfortable with that, you know, um, there's been, like, I just did a show, It's Tiger Strikes Asteroid, and I didn't print a lot of the work.

[00:31:20] It was printed with, for what a master lithographer, um, gave from Hoofprint Editions, and it was a gift from him. He was like, I want to work with you, I want to print with you, and we took like six months to create this body of work. It's like two days a week, like Mondays and Sundays, it's been like six to eight hours together in the studio.

[00:31:40] One of the other, and all the work was made on site. It was all made literally on site. The work was like they're all monotypes. So they're litho plates that were collaged on site and exposed to light on site. So they're one and done. Once we remove the stuff, everything shifts so they're, they're also that moment, like embracing this idea of being in that moment and.

[00:32:06] It was a fun process because I wouldn't work on it throughout the week. I'd only work, that's the first time I can remember where I would go somewhere to specifically work on something, but I think about it all week. I draw in my head. I think about how I could move the materials. But I didn't do it until I was on site and it was efficient.

[00:32:29] It wasn't like it was very efficient I think to be able to walk away get a with this rhythm come back make but also I can remember all the conversations and All the space in between that game and I have to like taking the time to go eat lunch You know, taking the time that like all that time in between it.

[00:32:48] I appreciate that just as much as the outcomes, you know, I think it gave and Liz as good friends and it was really nice to be able to create a body of work with them that I'll have that store like no one needs to know that part. But I know that part. So when I look at the pieces I can see, I see that to the time that we actually took with each other to just to.

[00:33:09] To get there, you know, it was like it took a summer last summer is when I figured out. This is it. This is the matrix. This is the set. This is the stuff. And so then it was like, Oh, wow. So just patiently like working through it, like, okay, you know, but so it's exciting, but it's also. Being patient with myself and the process and not trying to just rush through it was also really really, uh new You know, it's really new but but a lot of fun

[00:33:37] John: I find something very fascinating in these more hand drawn aesthetics and you know The i'm always inspired by the work of sister creta kent because she had this relationship between community Why something should look a certain way aesthetically?

[00:33:51] It wasn't just because it was beautiful, but it was You There was some sort of, um, relationship, you know, I think to, to culture and to how she wanted to have a voice within that space, within building a culture, right? Thinking about the work that you do with the Chicago Love Fridge, what was that process like of going, okay, this isn't going to be a quote unquote art specific project, but it's going to be kind of the leaning more towards this idea of community care.

[00:34:15] What was that like?

[00:34:16] Eric: I would say all of us, we call ourselves the spokes or co founders. None of us got into it for art making. Like it was like the, the beginning, like the reason why the love fridge Chicago network exists is to give resources to those in need. That's that's the, uh, creating them as place, the place making.

[00:34:37] is because we love the space. It's also community interface, right? So if you love something, you want people to know that you, you care about it, they become these, these sculptural spaces. But I just want to make sure everyone knows, like, the main goal Is just to get resources. So folks, uh, the need is high.

[00:34:55] We're always looking for volunteers and support You don't need to contact us if there's a site near you You can just contribute think of it as a lending library. You want to be clear on that? You can find more out on our ig love free chicago. org But, um, the art, the placemaking aspect of it's really like, if we focus on that part, it's community centered as well.

[00:35:17] Um, reach out to the folks that are hosting at each site because where we operate is we have a host as well. Someone who's a community partner and connected to the space that these sites are put so that there's, it's not a vending machine. We don't want that type of. idea at all, but also we want to make sure that each site is in situ.

[00:35:36] So that means it needs to be someone who's truly connected to that space on a daily basis to help us with the invisibles. Every place has invisibles, you know, if you put a camera on any block or whatever, like the amount of energy that can go in a square space, why it amaze you at what thing can happen in this space, right?

[00:35:55] So you put a fridge up, you put a fridge in a pantry where people need resources. It's a tremendous amount of energy that's going to be conducted there. So one of the things we first do is, uh, I'll reach out to the, the host once we establish the space. If there's an estimate they have artists that they're interested in working with.

[00:36:15] Because we want this space to feel like the community have the community's voice. We ask people to name their fridges, a lot of them will say love fridge in the name but It's not a trade. We're not a mark. We, we, you don't have to. We don't care if it has love in the title at all, you know? And we want the flavor.

[00:36:31] We want the name, the flavor of the space to represent where it's at. And no one's gonna tell us that more than the folks that live there. Right. So the first thing I always try to do is like find artists that are connected to the space through the host. If they're not, if they, if that's an issue or if that's a, you know, that's labor for them in a way, then I'll help curate by like first looking at the outer rings, we have a sign up thing where you can sign up if you're interested.

[00:37:00] And we asked what neighborhood do you live in that's why we asked. So when a site pops up if if if it's valid and I can get put you in connection with them They like the work, you know I mean if the work is like aligns with their what they're thinking and things then i'll put people And we'll put people together and pay for pay the artists to do the work pay for material costs It's just like facilitating right?

[00:37:23] That's just another way of connecting folks So that's where the art making comes in at there's been like design as a designer like i've i've seen I've had the luxury of working with UIC, where I'm teaching now, with different departments. I've done some community based design with a few of my grad students.

[00:37:44] Michelle and Elena, Elena Frank, designed some wayfinding. Elements that like basically we use like acrylic cut fluorescent acrylic and interlaced it into the fencing with black lighting so you can see says come on grotties. So you can see free food, you can see it from two blocks away from the train, the pink line at night.

[00:38:10] Things like like things like like doing the ASM working with after school matters doing mosaics. On spots and stuff like it becomes because it's part of that part's fun, you know So and it also is like gets people connected in the spaces in this way That's not just based on what people need,

[00:38:28] John: right? You know, I look at the there's the fact that people need food Um, we actually have one on I live in california and I remember the first time I walked by when I was like, holy Oh my god, you know, you take a photo of it because you're for me It was not just the connection of people providing food for other people for free But it was the fact that there was a community Where that existed.

[00:38:46] And that was the most mind blowing thing to me. You just, you feel that sense of joy that doesn't come from, for me, at least doesn't come from the, from art that isn't tied to that sort of meaning making.

[00:38:57] Eric: Yeah. I mean, like for, I will say we started at the height of COVID isn't that July. And this one, you know, we didn't know if people were going to melt if they came into contact with each other for too long or what, but what we did know was we put out, you know, a call to action on all the social medias.

[00:39:14] It was a melee at first, there was a ton of people, uh, but then after a while, people congeal within that plan of action and we started making things happen. The first site we put up was one of my dear friends on his property in Little Village. His name is James Worm. And I reached out to him because I knew he was a doer.

[00:39:32] I know he's someone that was already, like, engaged in this community, but also could build and like has an understanding of spatial relationships and, um, And what it would really mean because it's like not just putting things like constructing something's not hard. It's what happens in these spaces.

[00:39:51] Once you create a vessel for the needs of the community. The need is outrageous. I don't know if people realize this, but things are more expensive than they were before COVID and people were struggling before COVID they're really struggling now. I'll get his anecdotal because we purposely do not photograph people.

[00:40:12] We don't other, we're not, we're not saviors. We're not creating. These picturesque moments were feel good moments. It's not about that we're community. We are, we're all the same. We're doing what we would, we believe you should be doing which is supporting your community. And so we act that way and the way we have a community agreement all this stuff is.

[00:40:33] Transparent. Everything you do is transparent. Everything we do. We are a mutual aid group. We are an NFP. We don't have a board of directors that receive any funds. There's no executive director. All the funds that come to the Luffridge go directly to community work. You can see any of this right now. We have our new physical sponsor we would have open collective for years and they were great, but we had to shift due to their internal policy changes to this group, hcb, which is our physical sponsor which basically just allows us to not become a 5013 C, which we don't have to have a board we don't have to pay people we don't have to pay ourselves, which was from missed from day one was really important.

[00:41:18] That in establishing this was that we're not making an NFP. I'm not, that's, I'm not trying to disparage NFPs. I'm also the president of Chicago Printers Guild. I just believe in certain things. I don't think they necessarily need to be. focused on a system of hierarchy and especially getting people food did not believe needed to be underpinned with bureaucracy.

[00:41:42] You just do what you can, when you can, how you can.

[00:41:45] John: You're as the leader of the Printer's Guild. How long have you been doing it? Two years, I think, right?

[00:41:52] Eric: Yeah, this will be my third year as president, but I've been on the board for four years now.

[00:41:59] John: How has that process been for you?

[00:42:00] Eric: My first year was a little like just getting I didn't, I didn't even know if I could do, wanted to do it.

[00:42:06] It took a while. The past president and some of the board were like, would you be interested in this? And I was like, let me think about it. And, uh, now I'm like, it's a, it's been good. It's been nice to be able to connect communities. That was my mission from the beginning, to club, like community not club, gardening not architecture, and, um, I feel like it's been, like, I feel like I can see the fruit of the labor, people, and most importantly, getting artists paid, people having fun, sharing space that's memorable.

[00:42:45] and making something, making CPG, so Chicago Printers Guild, not this isolated group, but a community partner. And so we've been working with Yellow Collie, we work with Chicago Art Department, we work with another group that I, that I do activations through Zin Macado, uh, Englewood Arts Collective, Southside Community Arts Center, just to name a few.

[00:43:12] Now we're doing a, uh, an activation with the Chicago History Museum, sponsored by Terra, with Inglewood Arts Collective this Saturday. I'm really excited about, and it's just more the same, like my flatlands, like some of my friends earlier on were like, you sure this isn't just flatland stuff? And I'm like, well, I'm sure there's some overlap.

[00:43:31] It's my practice. My practice is, you know, But the aesthetic values of things are not mine. They're shared, you know, like it's sharing space and making work with people. Yeah, I'm going to bring that over with me. I'm not going to leave that on the, on the table, but I haven't really enjoyed like the space we've made.

[00:43:47] And we're having our first Publishers Fair at the Chicago Cultural Center, which was one of my goals for the year. And I was really happy to be able to pin that. And so about four weeks from now, we'll be doing that. So I'm pretty excited about that. So overall, like it's a lot of work and I'm exhausted in some ways, but I feel supported.

[00:44:09] I feel like people are enjoying the space that we're making. And that gives me fuel to, to see it through. I'm not that tired. I can be tired from doing absolutely nothing. So I'm happy with it, you know, and I'm hopefully, you know, I think people are happy with what I've helped create with the team, you know, building a team is just as important as right.

[00:44:29] So I get having people around me that are supportive and I understand, like have a vision and a game, a plan of action, but also this stuff, this should be fun. It's volunteer. It's about creating spaces that's conducive to creativity. It shouldn't be, it's not lipor. That's, I can think of way worse things you can do with my free time.

[00:44:52] So I'm having a blast. Yeah. It's, it's social as I'm ever gonna get. It's through all these event planning. Otherwise, I'm a hermit. I'm in the studio. So it also gives me a way of making sure I'm staying, uh, like we said, out our outta your own head more. It's been a lot of fun. Yeah. So I, I'd say it took me a while to, to, to be comfortable.

[00:45:12] When asking others to do things, he's just doing things. And I'm really happy about the trajectory that CPG is headed in.

[00:45:21] John: One of the things I've noticed, kind of the way you seem to move through the world is that you have this real radical transparency, like there's no, there's less of a mask involved and you just show up as you are.

[00:45:30] I just think that's such a beautiful thing. Um, I would imagine it makes it a lot easier to collaborate with people when you're able to be vulnerable like that and not just have the vision, but then not have the ears to listen.

[00:45:41] Eric: Yeah. I mean, like full disclosure, I. I work, I, I won't just plan. I work too.

[00:45:46] I'm one of those, like, I don't just plan like an event. If I, if it's, if I can, I will produce things. I will design things. I will print the things. I don't, it doesn't have to have my name. It doesn't always have to be me designing it. I will print thousands of things for folks to, I think people don't mind my type of leadership because they know I'm just, you know, I'm in the trenches just as much.

[00:46:07] I'm not just, um, what's the term, I'm not dictating. I'm actually doing the labor as well. And if they ever need any help or need any support, I'm there for that. I got you.

[00:46:18] John: Um, for me, I guess what I get down to is this relationship between how you approach your life as art and not a separate practice of art making has been one of the biggest kind of takeaways for me.

[00:46:31] Looking at how you approach you in practice, what is it that keeps you going?

[00:46:35] Eric: Um, my, the folks that are around me, my, my, my beautiful wife, my beautiful daughter, like seeing them happy and productive. My house full of plants, some of which have been in my family for, like, been in my family since we got together.

[00:46:52] There's some that have been. There's a plan I'm looking at right now that's like cutting from my great grandmother's, uh, rubber tree. Like, uh, surrounding myself with those I love and being of service. My friend Pete said, uh, like, I come from military background. My father's side of the family are like five generations of, like, Air Force.

[00:47:11] I say a few Tuskegee airmen. Uh, so I grew up in this like kind of regimental, I guess, in some way. And, uh, so he's like, he always pokes at me. He is like, you're just a, an art soldier. Like, you know, like you're like, I treat these things. It's serious work, having fun. Like it's serious. I take it serious. I take it serious.

[00:47:28] Having, making joy. Like it's it, you have to be engaged. Yeah. I think that's what if, if the audience, if anyone's listening. You can't do anything half assed that you care about. I mean, that's our family motto. If you care about, nothing's worth doing, half assed is worth doing. And so I put everything I have into anything that I'm, that I care about.

[00:47:49] It doesn't, you know, it's not the outcome I care about more so of the practice. Like I do really embrace the practice. of being an artist and a maker so Slowing down just taking it in my partner We've been saying this a lot get the cop out your head You can take that any way you want but even policing yourself, right?

[00:48:10] So what I don't know could fill a universe and and that's okay, you know, there's more empty space In me as a matter object object of matter than there is actually solids right so that so that means that we're constantly in flux and being okay with that, like just being okay with tomorrow may be different than today.

[00:48:32] So embrace what you're doing now for what it is. Those controls are artificial, right? Even the most perfect sphere that's been designed by man still has a flat spot, technically.

[00:48:43] John: Yeah.

[00:48:44] Eric: So, so, you know, perfection and all that is fool's gold to me. So being, like, being there, being, getting it done, so I can learn for the next day, the next thing, is paramount.

[00:48:57] John: Being in the now, acting in the now. And being grateful for the things that are in your life,

[00:49:02] Eric: right? Facts. Yes.

[00:49:05] John: Eric, I appreciate your time. I look forward to continuing the conversation. And, um, if you definitely check out the, um, printers fair, it's in, what is October 12th, I believe.

[00:49:15] Eric: Yes. October 12th from 11 to five at the Chicago cultural center in Preston hall.

[00:49:20] Beautiful space and a bunch of beautiful artists will be showcasing work. We'll have at least 30 plus. Vendors, everything from lithography, to screen, rezo, block printing, a lot of talent, all in one space. Music too, we'll have some, like, you know, most printers are audiophiles, so we'll definitely be, we'll have some, some turntables, we'll definitely be playing music.

[00:49:46] And all, all the events free come support local artists. Um, we, we love y'all and appreciate you, John.

[00:49:54] John: Appreciate you too, man. We look forward to talking soon. Eric Von Haynes operates under the imprint Flatlands Press and co founded Love Fridge Chicago, a mutual aid initiative, supporting community fridges.

[00:50:05] In addition, Eric teaches at the UIC School of Design and is president of the Chicago's Printers Guild. You can learn more about Eric by visiting the Flatland Press website@www.flatlandspress.com. That's www.fflatlandspress.com. We value your thoughts and feedback. Please consider leaving us a review on Spotify or Apple Podcast, or wherever you listen.

[00:50:33] Your feedback not only helps us grow, but also helps others find us. If today's discussion moved you or sparked a thought, please share it with us and with someone you know. You can also join our community on Instagram to continue the conversation and connect with fellow listeners at infinite dot search to delve deeper into this topic and explore additional episodes, visit our website at www.

[00:50:54] theinfinitesearch. com where you'll find extended show notes, further readings, and a full transcript of today's episode, the infinite search is a heart centered production of chamber, a creative studio specializing in purpose driven branding, design, and experiences for clients of every size. For more information, visit www.

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Johnathan Hatherly
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