Bedlam
Hey I’m Johnny, I’m new here at the Oasis Skateboard Factory. The brand I created is called Bedlam. My brand statement is: ‘Bedlam exists to turn turmoil and distress into art you can ride’. By my brand statement I’m trying describe my creative process, which is taking a messed up situation I’ve been in and making a caricature of what it feels like to be in one of those situations.
For my personal board here, I wanted it to follow the death of my friend a couple of years ago. In a Toronto festival my friend was mob rushed and stabbed to death. I made this board while thinking about how much one life is worth and the carelessness of mob mentality. The large baby represents an innocent person’s soul and the bodies in the upper background represent a careless mob, fueling the fire that burns the soul.
The board is made up of seven maple veneers pressed in a ROARROCKIT compression bag. I used tape stencils and spray paint for the larger bulk of the color. I chose contrasting hots and colds for my palette because I feel like it helps define the conflict between the calm and hectic elements. The composition was inspired by tattoo style of fitting forms into existing shapes. I used paint markers to take care of the line work and this was all sealed up with a gloss coat.
I plan to make my brand continue to follow things like mob mentality and balance between chaos and innocence.
The biggest lessons that I learned from making this board is that planning ten steps ahead and staying patient will help a board look more professional.
