PHIL SMITH
I was born once, about 40 years ago. I went to school and studied many things various and sundry, but mostly I doodled and built stuff and found that I prefered having my head in the clouds. Still, I managed to find employment, and now I work in the space industry as a 'spolicy' wonk.
But like Batman and his alter ego Bruce Wayne (or is it the other way around?), I lead a double life. By day I work at a desk and at all other times I, well, work at a different kind of desk - one that is fancy and special because it's my porthole to other places and times.
I draw and paint and build things on this desk, which allows me to vicariously live different lives, to contemplate new adventures, and generally have a kind of fun only artists can understand.
The apparently tedious nature of craftsmanship, the long hours of planning while appearing to be in a stupor, and the occasional absence of REM sleep are actually ingredients of fun. It is, after all, about capturing the essence of a thing; to embrace the aesthetic but also the meaning behind an object...
...to become one with the work.
