Week 11: December 1, 2015

DJ Deej went on the air without DJ S-Goods last night, but she wasn’t alone. She was joined by Jessica Kalman and Melissa Falconer, who are both Laurier students and entrepreneurs. Jessica is a photographer, and Melissa is a painter. The girls collaborated on a project for Movember 2015, which was featured at this past Turret Saturday. This week, the entire project will be making its way on to their website.

K: How long have you guys been collaborating?

J: We just met in September in our Entrepreneurship class. We have a group project in this class. We were sitting near each other, and decided to be in a group. The rest is history.

M: We got to talking about our interests, and we decided that we would want to join our art together outside of class.

K: Jess, tell us about your photography history.

J: I started taking photos when I was really young. I had a point and shoot camera, and I would take photos all the time. When I was 16, my parents bought me my first DSLR camera, and the love for photography just grew from there.

Top: Photo of Jessica’s friend, Raven. taken in Elora, Ontario.

Bottom: Photo of DJ Deej. Taken in Kitchener, Ontario.

K: Melissa, tell us about your painting history.

M: I didn’t start off with painting, I was actually into drawing first. Two years ago, I didn’t know what to give my mom for mother’s day, so I painted her. She showed everyone at church, and it started to grow from there. I applied for a grant this past summer called the Ontario Summer Company. After receiving that, I was able to grow my business even more, and do more and more commissions.

K: What projects are you most proud of?

M: I am friends with recent alumnus, Tobi, who is a rap artist. He asked me to do three paintings of African American greats, such as Muhammad Ali and Michael Jackson. These paintings were featured in his video for his song, “Let’s Be Great.” The song carries with it the message that we should work to be like one of the greats. It was cool to see my art fused together with his art.

“Let’s Be Great” Music Video

J: I did a few weddings this summer. I love the creativity that I am allowed to have with these sorts of shoots, and it’s exciting, being able to tell a story.

K: How did you guys come up w the Movember art concept?

M: Jess and I work well together because we both believe in art with a story, and a purpose. Sharing the same values makes working together so easy. It was the beginning of November, and we asked each other what we could work on right now.

J: I took some photos of people that we know, and others are just people that we pulled off of campus. It was great to do the time lapse because you could really see what goes into the process, especially with Melissa’s painting.

M: Exactly. The process behind the work fosters more of a connection to it for the people who are looking at it. I think that it’s important to share both.

K: What can we expect to see next?

J: Of course, we want to maintain some sort of secrecy, but we are still working at our individual enterprises.

M: Who knows though? We may or may not be dropping monthly projects. You’ll have to wait and see!

Jessica’s Website: http://www.jesskal.com/

Melissa’s Website: http://www.mfalconer.com/

Collective Website:http://www.flcnr.com/

Jessica’s Instagram: @jesskalman

Melissa’s Instagram: @melissafalconer

Collective Instagram: @flcnr.art

This week’s track list is as follows: