WELCOME TO CHILLY WILLY’S IGLOO!
For Episode 21, TRP613 and Urban Ninja sit down with CHILLY WILLY, the sticker artist behind one of the coolest characters in the street sticker scene — a little skateboarding penguin who has been getting around the world one slap at a time.
Chilly Willy’s love for the classic penguin character goes way back. The original Chilly Willy cartoon character was created in 1953, and the artist adopted the penguin as his own artistic identity because “Chilly Willy” had also been a nickname of his throughout his life. His studio is appropriately called Chilly Willy’s Igloo.
But there’s WAY more to Chilly Willy than just making stickers.
He is a serious sticker trader. Chilly Willy says he puts stickers up daily and trades artwork with artists around the world. He even catalogs and photographs the stickers he receives — turning his collection into a kind of living record of the international sticker community.
🎬 He helped create STICKER MOVIE.
Chilly Willy teamed up with filmmaker Agent5Smith after the two connected through a sticker trade. That conversation eventually became the starting point for Sticker Movie, a documentary about the worldwide sticker-art community. The film brings together sticker artists, collectors and “slap taggers” from around the world and looks at the culture behind the art.
His toolbox is basically EVERYTHING.
Stencils. Stamps. Spray paint. Glitter pens. Sharpies. Markers. Watercolours. Crayons.
Chilly Willy describes his approach as experimenting with whatever materials he can get his hands on and embracing those unexpected “happy accidents.”
Collaboration is a huge part of his world.
He has worked with artists from outside the United States and describes those international collaborations as an important part of his artistic growth. He also enjoys jumping into collaborative sticker projects and incorporating elements and techniques from other artists into his own penguin character.
And then there’s the message behind that little penguin…
Chilly Willy sees his character as a way of bringing humour, positivity and a little bit of fun into the concrete jungle. Instead of adding more negativity to the streets, he wants people to see a goofy penguin and hopefully crack a smile.
Visual Noise: Walls Talk has always been about the people behind the stickers, the wheatpaste and the walls — and Chilly Willy has spent years helping connect
THE WALLS ARE TALKING. ARE YOU LISTENING?
Music credit:
“Funk Groove Music” by Alex Gus via Pixabay
