Buddy Monday - Beartrap

Funny thing about this week's buddy, Nick...I've never met him! However, he is the boyfriend of one of my BFF's, Bobbi and I'll be meeting him when I go back to Maine in about a month. I'm really happy that he was able to do the questions for a couple reasons - I think his work is awesome and fits perfectly in my goal to use Buddy Monday as a way to highlight all different kinds of art. So enjoy Beartrap because it's full of good stories, links, artwork and even a recipe! I couldn't have asked for more of a soon to be buddy!

1. Tell us about yourself?

I am Beartrap, A 24 year old tattooist and mascot.  I live and work currently in Portland Maine at BLNDSGHT Tattoo with Watson Atkinson and Shannon Doah.  I also play music; formerly, I played bass in the New Hampshire based band Backstabbers incorporated and I currently play in the band Waranimal. I can usually be found riding my bike or shooting fireworks at stuff and trying to skateboard. If I get lucky I might graduate someday from the University of Southern Maine, where I have been studying printmaking since 2004.

2. What do you make? 

 Jokes [  http://www.youtube.com/user/xieatbagelsx#p/u - check out my hightime for a jokes ] Flyers. Stone teeth. 2-d and 3-d prints. Logos. Lots of drawings . Loud noises. Dinner. The bed. Plans to party. Fun.  I once made a my sister pass chicken noodle soup through her nose at the dinner table, I think we were being loud and my mom had yelled at us to be quiet or stop laughing or something. I looked at my sister and pretended to silently stifle a laugh as she was eating some soup and she could not hold it. It was awesome ( it might have been orange soda  actually, or milk, I don't remember which one that time was )

I also make pizza and once made this  Pb&J pizza for dessert at a pizza party I had - its awesome.

3 cups of Bisquick Heart smart mix
1 cup of Soymilk
peanut butter
Jelly
Chrushed Graham Crackers
Shredded coconut

follow the directions on the bisquick heart smart box to make a double batch of biscuit dough and roll it out/stretch it out so its really thin and instead of cutting it to make biscuits   just leave it whole and bake it like you would normally.
Once it has come out of the oven let cool a little and then spread peanut butter and jelly to taste over your giant biscuit.
Sprinkle Graham crackers and coconut to taste as well atop and enjoy.

you could also put banana and honey or fluff on top if you wished. I bet that would be good and if you eat meat you could  omit the jelly and add banana and bacon for Elvis Pizza, or just use veggie bacon if you wanted, that also sounds awesome.

3. How did you come up with your shop/business/blog name? 

Beartrap is a childhood nickname I was given after trapping a young blackbear in a walk-in cooler at a campground/restort that my family once ran in northern Maine. Til Death Do us Party  comes from a tattoo I have on my leg of a heart shaped pizza with wings and a banner that reads " Til Death Do us Party, Rest in Pizzas" I could not decide if I wanted "rest in pizzas" or "pizza my heart" I got the idea from my friend Jeremy Myers and I have not asked him but I think he may have gotten it from the Groovie Ghoulies song "Til Death Do Us Party" which I had not heard at the time of his suggestion. Til Death Do us Party is also an army I am starting of people who party hard, there are some stipulations which can be revealed at the time of recruitment if one should wish to enlist but it basically entails getting some sort of ridiculous tattoo that  somewhere says " Til Death Do us Party"

4. Influences?
 The outlaw print makers - Dennis Mcnett, Sean Starwars,  And Tom Huck. I am largely inspired by people who in addition to their work/music/ whatever they are producing have created  an alter ego/pseudonym that they adopt and stubbornly refuse to break character. This is something that has always intrigued me and I am starting to notice it around me with some of my friends and people I see and interact with on a daily basis and it is really awesome. And as far as my tattooing goes my mentor, Watson Atkinson, has been incredbily influential but I am also really drawn to the work of Thomas Hooper , Daniel Dimattia, Yann Black, Guy Aitchison and in large by the sort of spirit and play on words / humor of a lot of Americana tattooing.

5. Who would you like to party with? 

Tom Green, Manowar,  Jim Henson and all the muppets, Robert E. Howard,  R2D2,  Mike Judge and/or Beavis and Butthead, Emo Phillips, Yogi Bear, David Lee Roth, and Shakira.

6. 7 songs you like to work to?

Blind Guardian - " The Soulforged "
Manowar - " Sons of Odin "
Basil Poledouris's " Anvil of Crom" from the Conan the Barbarian Score
Tragedy - " Conflicting Idea"
Van Halen - "Jump"
Polyphonic Spree - " Light and Day"
Jeff Walker and Die Fluffers covering "You're still on my mind" by the Byrds

Listen here!


To learn more about Nick & Beartrap check out his blog, BLNDSGHT, his jokes or click on any images in this post.