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

Ron, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.

Thank you for asking me to be interviewed. I appreciate the opportunity to share my experience with risk taking because risk taking is an important topic for creatives. Risk taking moves a creative out of their comfort zone and into fertile ground for new discoveries. We can define risk taking as a method to revitalize a studio practice or move the conceptual focus of projects to reveal new creative options and promote growth of intent. For example, I have lectured several times in Europe, once even to the Hungarian National Academy of Science in Budapest and, with each invitation, I take a risk with failing to communicate my ideas to an audience whose native culture is different to mine and a language that is not English. Each of these experiences have broadened my perspective on the World and changed my studio practice. I have taken risks by reaching out to other creatives to collaborate. Giving up complete control of a project seems risky, as creative visions can often diverge. This diversion, however, can be seen as an opportunity for growth resulting in the understanding of another’s perspective on a concept or strategy.

Ron, 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?

A new project for 2023 was something I call Little Richard’s Almanac. It is a branch of my studio that deals with new collaborations using sound. Little Richard’s Almanac works with musicians and sound artist by animating their songs. This process involves considering the music and then producing an animation that is a stream of consciousness experience developed into a narrative reflecting on the song. Therefore, neither I nor the musician know what the video will be until finished. This collaboration using animation started by reaching out blindly to Anton Newcombe of The Brian Jonestown Massacre with an animation for his song “The Light is About to Change”. He grabbed my attention with an album cover coloring contest. He invited fans to color the cover and interior design for his upcoming CD. Although I didn’t win that contest, he liked the animation that I made for his song, which led to two more animations, which then lead to a project with German artist Engelbert Lerch and now a series of animations for Collin Hegna’s Western psych band “Federale”, including a Christmas song “What Child is This?” for Jealous Butcher Records. These opportunities would have never happened had I not reached out to collaborate with a fellow conceptual artist who also happened to be a famous musician with a coloring contest. This process of risk taking continues to enhance my studio practice with new procedural and conceptual modalities and collaborative partners.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

I think most artist reflect daily on their reason or mission. Mine has evolved into a mixture of lifetime learning and an interest in measuring that through creating artwork. That activity serves not just as a foundation for self-discovery, but also an effort to serve a community through creative thinking and acting. I have chaired municipal committees dedicated to public art and community revitalization both in Asheville and in my hometown of Granite City, Illinois. These “artist as citizen” actions establish and demonstrate the value of artists in our community.

For my need of lifelong learning, I enjoy residencies that can help push my practice into new territory by using new technologies. My experience at the University of North Carolina Asheville’s STEAM studio allowed me to fabricate a series of new paintings that began as a 2D image and were then carved topographically using their large format CNC router. These 3D low relief paintings lead to another residency at The Center for New Art at William Patterson University. There, using a large computerized robotic arm, I continued carving paintings but also took a risk and carved a 4ft round globe out of Styrofoam. These residency experiences provide the lifelong learning opportunities I desire, and the community engagement efforts are an important personal need to give back. Collaboration also fills this mission of self-discovery by letting go or sharing control of a project which includes adjusting my vision to be inclusive of other’s input and style and searching out and locating a shared successful creative result. This effort keeps my practice nimble and inventive while retaining my personal creative objectives.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

There are many rewards to a creative life. Reflecting on the self and the world serves to make life and an art practice more successful, while connecting to others fulfills a need for community and common ground. I enjoy when others reach out to collaborate or share ideas. For example, a recent invitation offered by curator Camilla Boemio to exhibit a series of large mural scale drawings in Milan Italy at Colla Super has resulted in yet another invitation for a future show of drawings in Rome. It is rewarding to be a part of a community of interested and invested collaborators because in doing so, one experiences personal growth and unexpected opportunities.

Another rewarding aspect of being a creative is an appreciation for the everyday random occurrence. Unpredictable moments provide daily inspiration for the artist’s studio practice, promoting beauty and importance in simple banal things. Whether I am painting, drawing or animating, these banal things tend to find their way into my work and reflect on society in an important way.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.ronlaboray.com/
• Instagram: ron_laboray_studio
• Facebook: Ron Laboray
• Twitter: @TheArtlab1
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLPmvwnBlVwclTryhxRv7VX1GHgcTGVIVM

Image Credits
All pictures by Ron Laboray Studio