Jasper Marino

I was born and raised in Santa Cruz CA. I have been raised in what you could call an alternative setting. Growing up with no T.V. and having art supplies take the place of plastic toys made for the ideal breeding ground for a creative mind. Growing up in my fathers studio and being encouraged to paint and draw I was early to develop the technical skills used in graphic art, which I took to clothing by teaching myself to screen print. I can’t ever remember not being involved or interested in art. During my time at Santa Cruz High I took several art classes from Katie Harper and in my last semester I took a ceramics class from Mark Levy. This ceramic class was the introduction in to what would become my favorite and most explored art form. I have taken four consecutive years of ceramics at Cabrillo College as I work on completing an associate of art degree. I am also currently apprenticing under Joel Meagan of Santa Cruz Pottery. Ceramics is my passion, I love the whole process. I love that it is so ancient and can be so functional. I love that I create immortal art. I live for ceramics.

I also am part of the MFC or Made Fresh Collective.  The MFC Artist Collective is a group of young artists of all kinds. I have been working with a group focusing on taking their graphic art to the clothing in a combination of collaborative screen printing and sewing. Our mission is to bring the people an affordable alternative to main stream clothing and branding. All our clothing items are one of a kind art pieces in a creative learning process. There are more motives to the MFC than just turning our art in to a functional commodity. Our hope is to bring fun and inspiring creative energy to the youth. The idea is to show them something that looks like it was made in a factory and designed by some big shot and then tell them that it is the only one like it and that a bunch of kids in there twenties made it by hand in a barn. Once they see what is possible and are interested you can distract them from there T.V.s  and Xboxes and lure them into a creative environment where they get hooked on being creative and expressing themselves, rather than wasting their lives away in an over stimulated virtual reality of ones and zeros. The MFC believes that it is healthy and extremely important to express one’s creativity.  This belief comes from our first hand experience of how uplifting and empowering it is to be able to freely express your views, feeling, and thoughts through music, dance, visual, or performing arts. In the even larger schema of things getting in touch with your creative side and gaining confidence in one’s self is one of our only hopes to changing our current system. We need the youth to CREATE the future. Create, don’t hate…Made Fresh Collective.

jaspermarino@gmail.com