At one point, artist Lisa Congdon found herself facing an existential crisis, and decided that she needed to quit her day job and be creative for a living. Since this epiphany, Lisa has been directing her mostly self-taught talents and energies towards painting, collecting, and curating from her San Francisco studio and home in the Mission District. A long time friend and Poketo collaborator, we are thrilled to have Lisa on board the Poketo for Target collaboration.

What were you doing before deciding to become a full-time artist?

I was working in education, first as an elementary school teacher, and then for 10 years at an education change organization. I worked with teachers and principals to help them improve their teaching practice. At some point in there, I began simultaneously painting and drawing regularly and by 2007 I was leaving my job to pursue art full time.

You have gained some notoriety for being a collector of curiosities. How do you find these objects? Where are your favorite places, flea markets, and hidden secrets to shop in San Francisco?

I don’t have much “free time” these days because I’m busy working quite a bit. But when I do have free time, I do like to be an explorer for new and interesting additions to my collections. I go to all the usual spots, including flea markets and thrift stores, but I also scavenge at salvage yards and places that give away stuff that no one wants. I think the more challenging the find, the more fun!

Vintage bridge tally cards

Babydoll hands

Could you tell us about your home and studio?

My home and studio are conveniently about 3/4 of a mile apart. It’s a perfect distance for me. Far enough away and yet close enough too. I live in the Mission District of San Francisco in an apartment that I bought 7 years ago. It was built in 1906, right after the big earthquake. It has lovely features and details from that era. My home is a delicate balance of finding and organizing enough space for my partner and I to live comfortably and clutter-free, but also finding and organizing enough space for my art collection and some of the other collections that I display. It’s a hard balance in a small apartment!

Most of my collections are housed at my art studio, which is also in the Mission, in a historic brick building that also houses an art gallery. I have most of them organized in files and manila envelopes (most of what I collect is some form of ephemera or small vintage objects), and they are not on display. This is where I photograph my collections for my Collection A Day 2010 Project. I share my studio with another artist and it’s also a pretty small space. I feel like I am constantly trying to keep the space organized between my art practice (and all the materials and messes that come with that) and my collections storage. I do love my studio so much, though. It’s a really nice light-filled space (half of the ceiling is a sky light!) and most days I listen to music or NPR and just sit and paint or draw. It’s really a wonderful way to spend the day.

What books are you reading/looking through/collecting right now?

I love to look at New American Paintings every year, and right now that is on my bedside. I’ve just started to read United States of Americana by Kurt B. Reighly. I’m fascinated by American culture.

We see your birch trees recur in your work. What’s your relationship to the forest, and nature in general?

I have loved the forest since I was a kid, and the outdoors in general. My parents took my brother and sister and I out into the outdoors constantly as kids. We are all three heavily influenced by it in our work (my brother is a landscape designer and avid outdoors person, and my sister is an artist and photographer). I have always been fascinated by both the order in nature and alternatively, the chaos. I love both the order (fractals, for example) and the chaos (so much in nature is so idiosyncratic). I think I am constantly trying to show the tension between the order and chaos in my work somehow.

(Her beloved birch trees have graced our wallets)

Lisa has several Poketo for Target pieces available, and all of them are awesome! Available exclusively in Target stores nationwide.

Check out lisacongdon.com for more work, and collectionaday2010.blogspot.com, a blog that documents Lisa’s collected treasures.

Poketo collaborator and friend Kate Bingaman Burt kindly took some time out of her hectic schedule to answer some of our burning questions. To introduce Kate very briefly, she has been making art about consumerism since 2002. Her efforts culminated in the 2010 release of Obsessive Consumption: What Did You Buy Today?, a book that meticulously documents all of her purchases through daily drawings. Kate, now quite the busy bee in Portland, is an active member of the DIY community and craftivism movement, teaches at Portland State University, and is of course a prolific art-maker.

What inspired you to begin documenting your purchases? Could you explain to our unfamiliar readers what the Daily Drawing project is?

I have been documenting my consumption in many different ways over many years…photographs, installations, zines and the Daily Drawing Project started in 2006 when I decided to draw something that I had purchased each day. (Readers, click here to watch a movie that shows Kate’s daily drawings)

Could you draw some of your Poketo for Target creations in the spirit of your Daily Drawing Project?

Has drawing your purchases everyday curbed your consumption?

Drawing hasn’t curbed my consumption…photo documenting EVERYTHING that I purchased from 2002-2004 and then drawing all of my credit card statements from 2004-2010 helped me become a bit more aware of what I was purchasing.

Do you have an emotional connection with each drawing?

Not with each drawing…but as a whole, I am connected to the visual journal that has happened over the years. A lot of the time, the drawings remind me of stories, memories and events that happened along side the object that was purchased. These are the things that are important to me.

What does “craftivism” mean to you?

Short answer: Making with meaning.

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How do you envision your Daily Drawing Project evolving?

February 2011 will mark the 5th year of my daily drawings…I am pretty happy with how it evolved. It started small and then grew pretty rapidly over the years. The book with Princeton Architectural Press was a pleasant surprise that I am very thankful for. I will probably continue these daily drawings. I enjoy it. Who knows where it will go?

What the next big project you’re working on?

I just finished curating a show at the Museum of Contemporary Craft with my husband Clifton Burt called Collateral Matters. We have been busy giving talks and scheduling programming to coincide with our show.

Kate’s bright, playful artwork made for some fantastic Poketo for Target accessories! You saw her drawings of her pouch design, and her luggage tag above. The real things below are not to be missed!

You can keep up with her many projects at katebingamanburt.com.

If you still can’t get enough of Kate’s fantastic art, you can purchase a fine, letterpressed edition of Kate’s Chase Credit Card from Poketo!

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We were honored to have the opportunity to visit artist Betsy Walton at her studio and home in Portland, Oregon. You know by now that Betsy has been a long time collaborator with Poketo and it was natural to have her designs in the Poketo for Target collection. Betsy keeps two studios, one for her graphic design and illustration work with partner JD Hooge and Grid/Plane Design. Betsy’s home is her other studio where she paints and creates most of her art.

Visiting her spaces, one easily sees all the wonderful influences that infiltrates her work. Her work studio is modern, clean, and a communal space among various creatives in design, animation, and music. Step inside her home, its wonderfully cozy. Betsy keeps easy going company with her cat, and all the natural flora, and other collected nature in and around her home, it is just perfectly Betsy.

Check out Betsy Walton’s laptop case in the Poketo for Target collection.
More from Betsy at Morningcraft.com.

Poketo for Target artist Mike Perry was born in Kansas City, and attended Minneapolis College of Art and Design. After graduating, Mike landed his first design job at Urban Outfitters in Philadelphia. Fate, or rather, a girl, drew him out to Brooklyn, where his career as an artist took off. Mike has created art for clients worldwide, and has amassed quite an impressive body of work. Let’s find out more about him.

Did you have a “big break” that really put your name out there? How did you get started?

I might say that my big break was the publishing of my book Hand Job – A Catalog of Hand Drawn Type and my moving to Brooklyn, NY. As for how I got started after graduation from college. I got hired by Urban Outfitters as a designer. I moved to Philly and started my life on the East Coast.

You are quite well-known for your hand-drawn type. Could you take us through the process of that?

The best part about hand drawn type is that it is pretty easy going and really every time anyone writes anything with a pen or pencil they are kinda drawing type. So for the process I really just spend time exploring the letter forms that I make and they end up turning into the type that I make. Its kinda like when I was a kid and I practiced writing my name over and over to learn how to write. I also really believe that type and language go hand in hand so I try and include that in my process.

Image from Needles & Pens Gallery

Are you more of a designer or an illustrator? How do the two relate?

No idea. For me they go hand in hand. Lately I have been calling myself a “maker” which allows me the opportunity to make anything.

You are very prolific. What’s a workday like, and how many projects are you juggling right now?

A bit crazy. I usually jump in each day and go until I am exhausted. How many projects…. Maybe 20…

What are three words to describe you and your work?

1. Happy
2. Exploratory
3. Wonder

Take a look at Mike’s Poketo for Target Weekender Bag, along with his other accessories here. Available in Target stores nationwide!

More of Mike’s work can be found at mikeperrystudio.com.