Interview Written by: Ryan Urcia (State PR on behalf of MOFT)
What happens when art meets functionality? For Shantell Martin, it’s a journey of reclaiming lost moments and reconnecting with the tangible. On the occasion of her collaboration with portable technology brand, MOFT, springing from her work with B&B Italia, North Face and more, the New-York based artist and philosopher delves into her creative process, inviting us to pause and rediscover the tactile joy of putting pen to paper in a world often dominated by screens.
Her work, All the Time, created for the Snap Flow , reflects on the power of lines as storytelling tools, the role of environments in shaping creativity, and the importance of accessibility in art. Dive into this inspiring conversation where art and technology converge, and discover how Martin reclaims the time in between to turn everyday moments into art.
Ryan Urcia for MOFT: Artists often draw inspiration from the world around them, but you’ve shared a different perspective. How does looking inward shape your creative process?
Shantell Martin: I think, as an artist, you get asked a lot about where you find your inspiration. For myself, it’s about going in versus going out. There’s a wealth of inspiration inside of us, and so by trying to live a happier, healthier life and eating better and drinking better, putting yourself in better situations, I think you get to inspire yourself from the inside out.
MOFT: Lines are at the core of your artistic identity. How do they transcend being just marks to become a universal storytelling tool?
Shantell Martin: The foundation of my work is built up of lines. And I think that’s true with many different crafts and cultures. Everything starts with a line, and the line is so powerful. It’s something that we all do as children. We make marks, we make lines. There’s something really special about being an artist that works primarily with lines, something that anyone or everyone on the planet can do, no matter how bodily able they are. But if you can make a mark or a line that looks like you, that feels like you, that is recognizably you, I think within that is a profoundness you know, within that is the sense that you’ve practiced and you’ve worked hard and you’ve trusted yourself to be yourself so that now it is recognizably you. That is a beautiful tool. I think even when you work with words that are made up of lines. I love that simplicity of doing something that everyone can but do it in a way that becomes yours.
MOFT: The concept of flow is central to MOFT’s ethos and also resonates deeply with your artistic practice. How do you find and maintain your state of flow?
Shantell Martin: So as someone that draws a lot, I love this idea of flow and stream of consciousness, and I use it in different ways within my work. It could be a spoken word performance, it could be a live drawing, it could be something else.
I think there’s something nice about being highly present and aware about what you’re doing, but at the same time, you’re taking a back seat. You’re allowing that flow to drive you, you’re allowing that pen to take you where it wants to. What you’re doing is you’re trusting in yourself. You’re trusting in the movement. You’re trusting in the flow. You’re not pushing it, you’re not forcing it. You’re not trying to make it be something else that it doesn’t want to be. And so I think ultimately that flow is an equilibrium. It’s a balance that allows an artist to just really open up, be honest with themselves, and then be happy with the results of what they create.
MOFT: You’ve lived in vibrant places like New York, Japan, and London. How have these environments influenced your art and perspective?
Shantell Martin: So as an artist, I’m someone that’s had different chapters in my life, from living in Japan, from living in London, New York, LA, and I think within that, there’s a consistency, there’s a core of you that carries along to these different environments or cities or continents that you might live in, but I think within that, there’s also the ability to evolve, to change, and I think the environment that you’re in can affect the way that you work.
When I lived in New York, my work got bigger and the scale got bigger, and I think that was the influence of a city like New York. When I was in Japan, my work was very delicate and intricate and almost very diaristic. And I think that was the environment of being in a place that lent itself for reflection. And then in London, that was a whole different type of chapter. But I think within that, there is a consistency that is within you, but the environment does play a role, and it does have an effect on the work.
MOFT: How do you adjust your creative process when you’re outside of your typical creative environment? What role do portable and functional tools play in this adaptation?
Shantell Martin: So as an artist, I’m someone that’s always strived not to have a typical kind of medium or industry or space to work in. I always love to challenge myself, and I’m a big believer in as an artist, we have the biggest freedom of creation. You know, people like to put us in boxes, but it’s our job to take those walls down and say, “Hey, we can make whatever we want, wherever we want, however we want.“
And to do that, we use tools. You know, we we can use the tools if it’s people in dance, or if it’s pen and it’s drawing, or if it’s lines and it’s code, and, you know, we’re bringing these different technologies in to aid that idea of freedom, of creation, of using art to take us to new places, to different places, but pulling our own self behind that. And I think that’s also the power of being an artist. You get to put your core behind what you’re doing. So whatever you do, using those tools will help you create something that looks like you, feels like you, moves like you, regardless of the medium or the industry.
MOFT: The symbol O in MOFT’s logo represents freedom, mobility, and the dynamic interaction between individuals, their environments, and their stories. How are these concepts referenced in the narrative of All the Time and the function of the Snap Flow?
Shantell Martin: A lot of my work is just thinking. I think about things, about freedom, time, how we interact together, individually and with others. As I mentioned earlier, I’m always taking notes in lots of different ways and in lots of different forms.
Selfishly, I wanted something for myself where it would be quick to take notes, where I can have everything in one place. There’s such a benefit to that, and I think it helps others as well. There’s a real power in art and design when it’s both practical and enjoyable. There’s something really nice about that balance. MOFT’s structure and design reflect that—they’ve created something that’s high-quality, practical, and enjoyable. This combination of All the Time, the work, and the art coming together feels like it just works—it’s practical, it looks good, it feels good, and I think people will enjoy it.
Explore how the Snap Flow Notepad and Stand can transform fleeting inspiration into lasting ideas. The blurb has been edited for clarity, and readers can obtain the full excerpt of the verbatim interview, by writing to State PR, which has allowed the exclusive publication of the Interview with Shantell Martin, as a copyrighted, original news article via Popspoken.
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