DUDEBOXSHOP

David Stegmann works under the pseudonym “Dust”. Be it with a spray can or his resin cast hand made art toys, he gains his inspiration from colours, shapes and compositions found in nature. His belief is that everything is connected and strives for cohesion. He previously released his own RAS model and The Teddies who came with the motto “Angst vorm Sterben?” (Afraid to Die?). Now he is the engineer of our Ted platform, an evolution of his original character.

What made you become an artist?

I was raised by my father who was an artist and sculptor. I’ve been drawing for as long as I can remember because I was always fascinated by art. At the age of 4 I went on my first watercolour course - when I was 13 I had a growing interest for graffiti and as I grew up I started to individualise my art. At the age of 19 I moved on to a more illustrative style...more based on streetart. After that I went more and more in the abstract direction until I became absolutely infected by the surreal way. During that time I got a lot of feedback for my paintings and sculptures and more and more galleries asked me to take part in their exhibition.

So you originally started off as a street artist, how did you become involved in sculpture & toy design?

My first idea for a designer toy was my RAS but I didn't think of making a designer toy series. I just wanted to bring my drawn RAS characters to life. After I finished my first RAS prototype, I decided to make more, and so I produced my first Designer toy series.



What are you working on at the moment?
New sculptures, some new prototypes and a lot of new paintings.

 Previously, my work has been exhibited New York, Basel, Miami, Washington, London, Düsseldorf, Cologne, Paris,
 Chile, Zürich, Basel, Vienna, and many other places.

 But I don’t have any one favourite piece of work, they are all my favourites.





What's the best thing about being an artist?

Bringing your thoughts into a form so that others can see this whole world you created with your imagination, and can maybe feel your thought process.

Any words of advice for aspiring artists?

Draw... draw... draw and draw!



Who is your favourite artist?

My main influence consciously came from my father, the Art Nouveau, probably Escher, Moebius, Magritte, Brom, Koller and Giger. Those people set new limits in art and definitely gave me my primary impulses but I think the main stimulation in art is generally your own fantasy. Many artists from different generations influence the arts and the study of the arts. It is a play with perfection and the artist is trying to master it.





Tell us about your 1st toy collection?

My first designer toy was a "Square“ from Ashley Wood. Over the years my collection grew and grew - it's still growing to this day!



You recently customised a car “Teddy Ninja Car” How did this come about?

It was not my first customised car - I really like to design and spray cars and many of my customers know that. One day a girl asked me to "beautify“ her old car. The colours and the teddy ninja design was her decision but part of the arrangement was that I had the freedom to add my own twist to the outcome.



If you could be a superhero, what would you want your superpowers to be?

Reading minds because the mind is stronger than the sword. And of course time-traveling. because I want to collect more parts for my knight's armor collection!





Where do you live and what do you love about your home town?

I live in the Faust-City Staufen. It's a beautiful city built in the middle ages, full of ancient stories and buildings. You are close to the black forest and the beauty of nature which is perfect for Summer barbecues. 

www.dirtydust.de