Collaborator n. 5 : Cara LP
CaraLP practicing carving wood at Sunset Paperworks in 2019.
What is your name? Where are you based? Cara LP. Sonoma County, CA.
What roles do Art and Music play in your life? I’m a graphic designer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Thankfully I’m in a creative collaboration in my personal life as well, so art & music manifest in most everything we do. Art and music are life.
What are your current projects? MOGGS is my longstanding music and art collaboration with my husband, Justin. We also have a sub-project under MOGGS called Miss Minor that’s still collaborative, but I wrote the songs on piano and played the instruments. And my other project is playing drums in Night School.
MOGGS in 2002
What are you working on now? I’ve been writing and recording drums remotely with my Night School friends for a new release sometime this year. I’m fortunate to have a full recording studio and Justin’s engineering to make this work so seamlessly. We’ve also been writing and doing collaborations with various people. I’ve designed some logos for friends’ projects I’m really excited are coming out this year, too.
When does the CaraLP album come out? The Miss Minor album finally comes out sometime in the first half of this year! It’s been in various stages for a very long time, but we’ve finally had time to focus and get all the supporting pieces together. Just finished printing a full-color lyric booklet for the insert, which was an entire art project on it’s own. *UPDATE* Album release date April 20, 2021 and is available for preorder now at Moggs.com
New Miss Minor record “Dreamland" album cover
I know a bit about your music life, but not much about your visual Art life. What is your history with Art making? What is it like to work on an Art vs Music? I definitely always gravitated towards visual art, but I had such a DIY mentality towards it, I never even took a single art class until halfway through college. Then I switched majors and got a Fine Arts degree at an art school. My focus was Interdisciplinary Art, so I made a wide range of hands-on art: archaic photography, lithography, silkscreening, film-making, sculpture, jewelry making, painting, etc. Then on my first job, I happened to fall into graphic design where there was a need and I taught myself. I’ve been a graphic designer ever since.
Luckily art and music have always been so intertwined for me. Even in a literal sense, my first graphic design job was for a musical supply company. The appeal of Interdisciplinary Art was getting to explore a concept in various mediums. The core is creativity, and music and art are just different mediums to express it. I’m grateful I accidentally specialized in graphic design because I don’t think I could fully bring all my musical ideas to life without it.
Miss Minor Lyric Booklet sneak peak for “Grey Gardens” song page
What are some things you are really into right now? (Shows, books, ideas, rituals, places, foods, a thing that is getting you through? ) Downsizing, exercise, creative hour, giant easel pads, our wonderfully weird dog Rose, frozen chocolate & peanut covered bananas, gemmed natural makeup, crystal drinking glasses, hiking sparsely populated spaces, off-leash beaches, flower arrangements, staying at home with Justin, tv shows set in the past, music & art collabs, elderberry gummies, silk lined masks, motor-free quiet, yogurt with berries & honey, wellness, tree sap drinks, incredible friends, dreaming up our next adventure.
Anything else you would like our readers to know? Just that we have a special connection and history to your printmaking. We were just rediscovering the silk screened covers you made for MOGGS’ super limited 2005 test pressings, and years earlier you made a special limited edition print of us in silhouette playing live in San Francisco. We’ve always been such huge fans of your artwork, and it’s so fun to be a part of this new print project with you. It has been my pleasure to participate in any of your musical projects! And this collaboration project functions partly as a way to spend more time with friends like you, I am so glad you are here. Thank you!
Learn more about Cara LP's work here. Learn more about "Lupine Aligned, Reverse the Curse" here. Purchase the print here.
