We’re psyched about the Good Wood Give Back show/party/auction coming up this Saturday, for the obvious reasons (huge party, great cause, films by Josh Stewart, vinyl by Brion ISAACS, etc.) but lets not forget about the amazing art work. There are some sick decks on show by everyone from Leo Espinosa and Chuck Anderson to international talent Jakob Printzlau (aka “Plastic Kid”), many of whom aren’t skateboarders themselves making their contribution a contrast to those artists who are renowned in the skate community. We’re smitten. So we wanted to catch up with the Detroit artist/curator and head of Aww Sweet, Andrew Davis to learn a little more about the man behind the show.

ADB: I know how challenging running a company can be, especially one with many creative endeavors. Can you tell us a little bit about your background including Aww Sweet and Good Wood.

Andrew: I was studying illustration at the College for Creative Studies in Detroit and around the end of my sophomore year I started getting anxious after viewing the Beautiful Losers Exhibit in SF. A friend of mine at a neighboring art school started a studio called 280 and they were putting together events and fashion shows. I competed in an Art Battle they had in Grand Rapids, MI and it was the most exciting thing I had ever been apart of artistically. Aww Sweet began as an idea for a design studio that never went into action that I later dubbed as an alias for the curating and event planning I do.

ADB: What motivated you to create this event and utilize a functional item such as the skateboard as a canvas for creation?

Andrew: I started doing small parties at a local sneaker shop with my friends and we were painting custom sneakers and selling them. I was selling my t-shirts from my company Simplified that I co-founded in 2003. Skateboarding culture and the art that existed alongside it always inspired me and had an effect on my decision to study art. In 2007 I decided to put together a deck show and bring some attention to the skateboarding happening in Detroit. A friend of mine opened his own shop so I had access to cheap blank decks and a bunch of skaters. I realized I was building a good network of artists and other creative minds and people in the skateboarding scene so I utilize all those resources to my advantage. It’s been happening for a long time and I’m pretty late in the game to be considered innovative for curating a skate deck show, but I think the aesthetics of my show are very different from the work you normally see on a deck.

ADB: Nowadays artist collaborations are becoming more and more prevalent. Talk a little bit about the artists involved and the process of gathering all the support for the event- artistic and behind the scenes.

Andrew: Attending the College for Creative Studies allowed me to have a good base network among artists.I love working with other artists and putting together people for shows. When I started the plans for the original Good Wood show I was shooting out a million emails and contacting artists I respected and liked and a lot of them were responding to the show. Once you have a few good names and a good idea you just need to sell it to a gallery and hope someone bites on the show. Good communication skills and network building has been crucial for all the events. A lot of other things seem to fall into place for this latest show. All Day Buffet and Stoked fit perfectly into the Good Wood show and bring a whole new cause to the show. They have brought a lot more attention and publication to the event.

ADB: What are some things that drive and inspire you to do what you do i.e. what are your influences?

Andrew: Barbecues and enjoying myself with my friends and family is the thing that inspires me to create an event. Artists and people making good moves and putting an idea into motion is very inspiring. There are
particular artists that are great influences to me as an artist with my own work. I love the work of Evan Hecox, Matt Gordon, David Choe and of course the Beautiful Losers Margaret Kilgallen, Shepard Fairey, and Barry McGee. I also try to seek out inspiration from artists that work in a completely different medium from what I do.

ADB: If you could give others some words of wisdom on how to do what you do, what would be your advice/warnings?

Andrew: If you have a good idea then you should move on it. Especially when you’re young and you have room to make mistakes. Hopefully you have supportive parents that would bail you out on something financially if you needed it. I am lucky enough to have that. Don’t be afraid to take chances and be naive. Contact the people that are doing what you want to be doing. Most artists and creative people love to hear someone appreciates their craft and they usually have great words of wisdom.

Check out the decks here or on flickr and come out to Good Wood Give Back this Saturday at 3rd Ward. (You can bookmark it on Facebook, Flavorpill or Going.)