We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Adam Reid. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Adam below.

Adam, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

There are a few hardy projects that come to mind initially, but a zine I made in my second graphic design class is really sticking to my brain. Titled, “Waxing Music”, I collaged a plethora of cut-up album covers together to form a manifestation of my music taste leading up to major changes in my life. The zine illustrates the music I would use as an escape when I struggled with suicidal thoughts, leading up to the point where I finally reached out for help. In the year following, my experience was different: I went to therapy, discovered my gender, old friendships were ended, and new ones began. The middle spread is indicative of this change of confidence and thought patterns, until it explodes and everything changes. In the summer between my sophomore and junior year of high school, I started playing the game Fallout 4, an open world game that allows you to explore an apocalyptic world visually inspired by the 1950s. It introduced me to the idea of everything that existed before I was born. I consumed it and it consumed me. The final spread of this zine is adorned with images of 1950s consumerist culture and music figures caressed by my X-ACTO, which is a high honor.

Adam, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I am an amalgamation of creative and strange puzzle pieces, but I choose to go by Adam. As a full-time student, I am majoring in both Graphic Design and Printmaking, while also working towards an art history minor. However, before I came to University of West Georgia, I grew up in Canton, GA to a small, but close southern family. This is where my creativity was fostered, leading me to the outlets I utilize today. It’s these formative years that got me into my preferred crafts.
My foundation for graphic design was built in a series of pathway classes I took in high school. My teacher, Mrs. Mason, was one of the best teachers I’ve ever had. She pushes her students to strive beyond mediocrity, and to never go with your first idea. I carry her teachings with me every day. The projects that pushed me to follow design as a career were the projects that Mrs. Mason encouraged me to push myself on, saying that I could do better. They’re the ones I look back on most fondly and still display in my room and keep in my portfolio.
Whereas, with printmaking, my discovery started with my grandfather. Though not an artist himself, he ran a printing press for income in Holly Springs, Georgia all while my dad was growing up. He stopped printing before I was born, but my kid self always felt magnetized to the behemoth of a press in the corner of his shop. One day I want to fix it and use it for my work. My real discovery of printing didn’t come until I took the introductory class here at UWG. I fell in love with the history, the possibilities, and the processes.
The combination of graphic design, printmaking, narratives, and all of my other interests get steam rolled into my work. I love to use textures, visual noise, and chaos to hide little gems and stories in my compositions. I’ve also had a number of people comment on my ability to create ideas so easily. Not all of these of these ideas will be good, but some will be great. I think that’s what sets me apart.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

I learned a lot from self-taught artists on YouTube in my early years of learning creative skills, starting when I was 12. As I got older though, I realized how much the bunch of us were lacking in critique and instruction. There was no master artist correcting bad habits and answering confusing questions back then. Since then, I’ve had to change a lot of small things like the belief that using references is cheating, or that you should master realism before exaggerating anything, or even just the way I would draw the head connected to the neck. It was a long process, but I’m better for it!

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

I find it so rewarding when meandering patrons glance, then look again, and keep looking at my work. I love it when they start staring, searching, pondering over the piece. This is what I want when people perceive my work. I want them to inhale it, live and breathe it, even just for a moment. I love to hide things in the mess and chaos, that’s why it was so pleasing when people would stop and stare at my piece, Life on the Wall. I was talking with a girl while selling at a festival on campus last year, and she noticed that the figures had no faces. I had a proud parent moment after that.

This reward also presents itself during our critiques, when my classmates must physically get up from their seats to get a closer look at my work. They take in all the little details. However, the best thing is when someone just understands it entirely. In that case, the bridge of communication my piece was made for has been fulfilled, and in my mind the piece has reached a peak of success.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @adamrstudios