Topics: Handmade, Profiles, Random

There's truth in stereotypes, and if you live in Seattle you probably feed your addiction at a coffee shop where they serve delicious caffeinated beverages, and if you're lucky, sometimes host great art shows.

The MD pack – myself, business partner Mike, designer Shogo, our interns and dogs – love our independent neighborhood gem, Makeda, not only for the delicious, addictive coffee they consistently whip up, but also for their monthly art shows. That's where I first saw Tim Manthey's collage art in the Spring of 2010. I liked his work so much that I ended up buying one of his pieces.

Seattle native Tim Manthey —an addicted journaler and a trained glass artist among other trades—finds his true voice in collage. He enjoys recontextualizing what already exits and presenting it in new ways. Drawing influence from "musicians who were willing to step out of their comfort zones," Tim creates whimsical and surreal compositions using nothing more than scissors, glue, and a stack of old magazines.

During the course of this interview, Tim and I struck up a conversation about the Beach Boys Pet Sounds album, which by all accounts, was not what was expected of them: an album released in 1966, that appears on many critic's top 10 lists, but is rarely understood by anyone under 30…or not a musician.

Tim says it was the Beach Boys trying to shed their skin. This source of inspiration makes perfect sense when viewing Tim's work. You have to come back to it several times before you can begin to understand it. And each time you do so, you leave with a different impression. For me, I think his titles play a big part in their interpretation.

Thanks to the internet, Tim has been able to create an online following and fan base around his art. Tim's work is known outside of Seattle (he's been commissioned to do work in Italy, Spain and Belgium), but I like to think "I found him first" up close and personal, while sipping a double cappuccino.

Left: ALIENABLE RITES, January 2012 | Right: HEAVENS TO BETSY September 2010

PHEROMONAL SORCERY, May 2012

STAY CALM, NO SUDDEN MOVEMENTS, November 2009

Left: FLOW MOTION, July 2012 | Right: HELIUM HEARTS OF OUR ANCESTORS, August 2011

MITT RAW MONEY AND THE ROOFTOP DOGGIES, May 2012

SNOWBLIND, June 2012

Left: VESUVIUS, July 2012 | Right: BOARDS OF CANADA, June 2012

HOW SHE ROLLS, January 2012

All images © Tim Manthey

{"http:\/\/www.rockpaperink.com\/content\/column.php?id=370":{"comments":{"data":[{"id":"10152001326690608_34536067","from":{"name":"Robynne Raye","id":"632293067"},"message":"My profile on collage artist Tim Manthey:","can_remove":false,"created_time":"2012-08-09T14:56:25+0000","like_count":5,"user_likes":false,"comments":{"data":[{"id":"10152002528130608","from":{"name":"Ginny Banks","id":"567856589"},"message":"These are awesome!","created_time":"2012-08-09T15:23:42+0000"}],"count":1}},{"id":"10152001326690608_34540296","from":{"name":"Shogo Ota","id":"613142056"},"message":"I really like his collages. Awesome Tim Manthey!","message_tags":[{"id":"1322384245","name":"Tim Manthey","type":"user","offset":36,"length":11}],"can_remove":false,"created_time":"2012-08-09T18:40:17+0000","like_count":1,"user_likes":false},{"id":"10152001326690608_34546078","from":{"name":"Brunt Mastich","id":"731017215"},"message":"Tim Manthey is magic. He drinks sunlight with his eyes and carves meaning out of nothingness.","can_remove":false,"created_time":"2012-08-09T23:51:46+0000","like_count":1,"user_likes":false,"comments":{"data":[{"id":"10152003848490608","from":{"name":"Brian Thurston","id":"786245252"},"message":"It's true!","created_time":"2012-08-09T23:58:14+0000"}],"count":1}},{"id":"10152001326690608_34560540","from":{"name":"Tim Manthey","id":"1322384245"},"message":"Aw schucks! I'm melting under all this adulation. Thanks peoples. Those scissors just won't quit choppin'. May as well direct them to something bizzare ;).","can_remove":false,"created_time":"2012-08-10T17:53:09+0000","like_count":3,"user_likes":false},{"id":"10152001326690608_34563500","from":{"name":"Sophath Chou Colwell","id":"706292676"},"message":"Great article and great job Tim!","can_remove":false,"created_time":"2012-08-10T20:22:06+0000","like_count":0,"user_likes":false},{"id":"10152001326690608_34713396","from":{"name":"Curt Bartkowski","id":"1346702238"},"message":"The Master of Flow- true Flowmaster:  Tim Manthey!  yes-","can_remove":false,"created_time":"2012-08-17T22:28:05+0000","like_count":0,"user_likes":false}],"paging":{"next":"https:\/\/graph.facebook.com\/10152001326690608\/comments?limit=25&offset=25&__after_id=10152001326690608_34713396"}}}}