In conversation with .. 4!

Cute Brute
New York City, USA
@thecutebrute
It’s been almost 2 months since selfisolation
has been enforced worldwide,
how are you feeling?
I’m doing alright — adapting, I guess?
The world feels so day-to-day, but
I’m both healthy and employed at the
moment so I feel very grateful for that.
What have you been doing to pass your
time in quarantine?
I’m a bit of a workaholic by nature,
so this self-isolation hasn’t disrupted
me too much. If anything the lack of
socializing has forced me to revisit some
old projects, which excites me. But
overall, I try to stay productive and that’s
my coping mechanism. Drawing. Lots of
cooking. Working out (just kidding! not at
all). At the beginning of this, I told myself
I would use this time to finally watch all
of the high-brow cinematic masterpieces
I’ve neglected over the years, but I
still default to the comforting garbage
television. There was also a hot moment
when I got into diamond painting kits we
had been gifted. One was a scary portrait
of Santa and I quickly became obsessed.
How has the situation affected your
work?
In addition to the Cute Brute, I have
a full-time gig as an art director/toy
designer and I’m balancing a couple
of other side projects. Creatively, it’s a
bit exhausting — especially when I’m
stationed at the same workspace for 12+
hours a day. In order to not burn out,
I have to be more judicious with my
creative practices. Weekdays are devoted
to my job, evenings are for miscellaneous
projects, and weekends / any other free
moments are all about Cute Brute. That
work is still my passion.
Do you have a day-to-day lockdown
routine?
I usually wake up around 7 am, at which
point I make coffee and my boyfriend
and I spend quality time together before
throwing ourselves into our workdays (he’s camped out in the living
room, I have the bedroom office). If I can swing it, I’ll take a quick
walk around the neighbourhood in the late evening to get a little fresh
air and trick myself mentally into commuting. Showering is super
important. In the early days of isolation, I was all about pyjamas, a
decent T-Shirt and a quick run of my fingers through greasy hair. But
now I need my daily cleansing rituals to keep me energized. That and
pants without elastic waistbands.
From about 10 am to 6 pm I’m in full work mode. It’s a constant
stream of video conferencing, reviewing the toy samples that are
mailed daily to my apartment, and various designing/emailing.
Most days I skip lunch, but I’m trying to get better about setting
boundaries.
Once the workday ends, I’ll try to make another errand to get out
of the apartment. Like running to the corner store to pick up more
cheese or vermouth. Or, if I’m too lazy for that, I’ll just start the
cocktail hour. Because the days feel so draining, I need my nights to
be super restorative, which translates to lots of cooking, bathing and
bad TV. I also look forward to video hangouts with friends and family
on those days when I haven’t had too many meetings. Around 11:30 pm
or midnight, I’ll take an edible, courtesy of one of my best friends who
makes outstanding weed candies. (SUPPORT SMALL BUSINESSES,
FOLKS!) I read about 20 minutes of a trashy horror paperback and
then fall into a deep, blissful sleep. Wake up. Repeat. However, this
weekend my boyfriend and I are finally leaving the city. We’re driving
10 hours to a secluded (and responsible) cabin getaway in which I plan
on cutting off my hair, filling up my sketchbook and getting a tan.
Have any unexpected benefits come out of this situation for you?
Well, for one, I haven’t had a cigarette in 2 months (and counting)
which is a personal record. In a broader sense, I think this pandemic
has absolutely redefined working culture. My hope, once we reach the
other side of this, is that some of these practices may continue and
will allow for a more flexible work/life balance.
What do you wish for the future?
One of the things I personally miss most right now is travelling and as
soon as it’s safe again to do so, I look forward to hopping on a plane
and spending some significant time away from New York. We’ll get
there. We just have to be safe about it.
Where can we buy your art?
When I’m not exhibiting, I routinely sell prints through Instagram (at
the moment I’ve pulled that information from my bio as my printer
has temporarily ceased his operations, though this should be back up
and running by midsummer). I keep meaning to set up a more official
online shop, but I get a steady enough stream of purchases now and it
feels easier to manage. Just DM me and I’ll make it happen.
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