Since our inception, ALL WE REMEMBER has been driven by the intersection of ethics and aesthetics, which includes a commitment to natural, botanical materials and to design over branding. We also know that thoughtful creation takes time, which is why we’ve waited over four years to release our first ever screen-printed products.
And, we couldn’t think of anyone better to design these items than our friend, artist Cody Hudson, a prolific maker who, like us, often draws inspiration from nature and its forms. Born in Kenosha, WI and based in Chicago, Cody’s work focuses on shapes and colors. He makes paintings, sculptures, posters, album covers, textile patterns, murals, and a variety of other design-related work.
Even before reaching out to him, we knew Cody was the perfect collaborator—someone who could translate our “future | nature | forms” ethos into a print that feels more like a motif than a traditional screen-printed graphic. Inspired by the cycles of the natural world, each t-shirt and bandana is cut and sewn in the USA from 100% organic cotton, screen-printed in Philadelphia using plant-derived organic indigo ink, and features a special collaborative organic cotton tag. In addition, we’ve hand-dyed a select number of t-shirts and bandanas in-house using a naturally fermented indigo vat.
The ALL WE REMEMBER x Cody Hudson limited-edition Summer Solstice Collection releases in person at 6pm on Friday, June 20th at Longman & Eagle Off Site Bar (2657 N Kedzie Ave, Chicago, IL 60647) and online at 10am on Saturday, June 21st at allweremember.com.
Read the interview below to learn more about Cody, his process, and our upcoming collaboration.
ALL WE REMEMBER: As an artist who has collaborated with a range of people and companies in a variety of realms, what do you enjoy most about collaboration? What specifically drew you to collaborating with us on this particular project?
Cody Hudson: What gets me most excited about a collaboration is a chance to work with materials or an object I haven’t worked with before. When we first started talking about this project you mentioned screen-printing with natural indigo inks. This isn’t something I’ve done with my work, so I was excited to see how that would look.
AWR: This collaboration celebrates the summer solstice. What do you love most about summer in general and, specifically, in Chicago? And, how do the seasons influence your creative process?
CH: Summer is great. My kids are not in school, so my schedule is less structured. I can spend more time on my bike or going for walks. I can spend more time in the woods in Wisconsin as well. Summer is a good time to get refocused. I try not to schedule many art shows during the summer, so my schedule can be a little looser and less deadline driven leaving more time to experiment.
AWR: We know nature is a recurring theme in your art and that environmentalism is important to you personally, as demonstrated by some of your past collaborations, including one with the Ecology Center in Southern California a few years back. Would you talk about the role nature plays in your work in general and, specifically, through the recurring theme of plants (for example, in both this collaboration and in your exhibition Peace Pot Plant)?
CH: Doesn’t sound that deep really but I just enjoy nature. I try to be in it as much as I can. I like being outside. My studio is filled with plants, so I try to bring it indoors as well. There is an endless amount of inspiration I get from the shapes and patterns and colors found in nature on this earth.
The Peace Pot Plant series started during the pandemic when we spent a year at our Wisconsin studio. I would make those loose, plant-inspired drawings nightly right before I went to bed as an alternative to doom scrolling the news on my phone. The drawings were very loose and would change a lot each night with the only constant being that they would remain loosely based on a potted plant with a peace sign on the pot.
AWR: As a multidisciplinary visual artist, what role does materiality play in your process?
CH: I like that I can go from making a painting on linen to building a sculpture out of steel, and they can still speak the same visual language. A clean screen-print on paper feels different from a quick ink drawing, and I enjoy exploring those shifts in texture and tone.
AWR: What interested you most about the materials for this collaboration? We’re thinking, in particular, about your work being screen-printed in organic indigo ink.
CH: My wife, Lori Seidemann is a weaver and uses natural dyes in her work. So, there are parts of the year where we usually have a vat of indigo dye around the house. I’ve always been interested in the color of it, but haven’t had a way to use it in my work. When you mentioned you found a screen-printer who could print using indigo ink, it seemed like the perfect reason to collaborate.
AWR: How do you approach making art for display on clothing/bodies versus for display within an exhibition?
CH: To be honest, I don’t know that I do. With each project, there are certain constraints though and certain types of work will function better in certain ways but I like to not think about that as much when I start. I like to keep things very open ended and let that exploration help figure out where to go. At some point in the project I’ll need to get focused and start thinking about if it's a t-shirt or a painting, but in the initial phases I like to just explore.
AWR: Much of your process still happens IRL. Why does making things by hand matter to you and why should it matter to all of us?
CH: I started doing graphic design before computers were used, so when I started working I had to use my hands. Once computers came in, I of course started using them and now everything ends up on the computer by the end. But I usually prefer to start by hand. I could draw a similar shape on the computer, but it feels more honest to me if I just cut it out of paper instead.
AWR: In the past, you’ve talked about not necessarily having a set outcome when creating a design or a piece of art. Would you talk about the relationship between process and product in your work and in your life in general? Would you describe what your process was like for this collaboration?
CH: I enjoy the process more than the outcome at times. So, when I’m having the most fun is when I’m just making stuff with no real end product in mind. The creativity feels the freest. I can then go back in and start to fine tune and make things lean a certain way. Some studies I’ll make with no deadline in mind could turn into a painting or could instead turn into a poster or a t-shirt graphic. Or some studies will never see the light of day and that’s fine as well, as I’ve already been fulfilled by the process when I was making them. For this project, I had been making a series of plant based forms made out of repeating shapes that started on a residency with The Jaunt in Korea earlier in the year. I continued to make some similar pieces after I got back home, and when I was invited to work on this project, it just made sense to use one of those based on the process that was going to be used to print these, as well as some of the general philosophies of the brand.
