sam clover builds characters that sit at the edge of natural history and imagination - 3D sculpture and fabrication rooted in ecology, psychology, and whatever the city keeps leaving behind on the trail. based in seattle. currently showing at cannonball arts and across IKE displays around the city.
how would you describe your work to someone encountering it for the first time?
Silly, fun, explosive, curious digital sculpture
where are you based, and how does that city influence your work?
I am based in Seattle, WA. When I am not on the computer or working on something, I try to be outside, around wildlife and all of the wonderful plants and mosses here. (There are probably a dozen+ bird species that visit my porch alone.) The tech company culture and smaller art scene make city-based inspiration a bit harder to harness… but yeah, I spend a lot of time outside wherever I live and love to take walks with my partner, Nicole.
Objects and sights from these walks often make it into my work. I definitely have more history in Seattle, and being around places that allow old memories to resurface can impact the creative process in positive and negative ways, too.
I lived in Brooklyn for a few years and found myself making more rats, pigeons, doves, ironwork-inspired designs, and busier work in general.
what are you currently working on?
I’m currently working on an animation for our studio (Raycaster), and a few personal pieces that should be done by the end of the summer! I’m learning about gaussian splats right now, and recently learned how to rig in blender using ARP. I was rigging characters in Maya previously and I’m migrating to blender because the workflow is faster + easier.
Very excited to apply the splats and rigging knowledge to personal work and studio work in the future. :-)
describe a pivotal moment in your creative career.
There have been many times when publications have asked to interview me, or people have asked to collaborate, and I’ve declined because of my anxiety and mania issues. (Vice and The Guardian, to name a couple of the publications.) I think these were really big failures on my part during pivotal moments. I have been doing a lot of work on my mental health, and my anxiety levels are a lot lower these days. My manic episodes are also something I can recognize now, which is a huge win for me.
pro-tip for someone starting out?
Do whatever you want!!! That is the beauty of 3D.
And learn how to build a PC because that will come in handy at some point if you do choose this medium. Computer issues will happen!
is your current medium where you began?
When I was younger I was really into oil painting and ceramics, and only started getting into digital art when I was 18 or so. I was surrounded by tech as a kid, so maybe that influenced the path into the digital that I decided to take.
I think sculpting IRL and painting were great stepping stones for digital sculpture and 3D texturing/rendering.
who is the most influential person for your creative career?
Boiling this down to one person is extremely difficult !!! After much thought I have to go with my Mom, the late musician Sophie, and a handful of my favorite authors.
My mom has supported me from day 1 (literally). She was the master gardener at my elementary school, and also the art docent. She has always supported my obsession with art and I cannot imagine what my life would look like without that.
Regarding Sophie - I know my creative process and work would not be the same if I had never listened to her music. She was unapologetically her. She had a confidence, love, unwavering commitment to exploration and perfection. I aspire to be like her and to always stay on my toes and embrace the new and weird things.
I have a very large print of the Oil of Every Pearl’s Un-Insides album cover hanging by my desk haha.
Authors that have greatly influenced my work:
Vicoria Finlay
Carol Kaesuk Yoon
Sabrina Imbler
Richard Fortey
Lulu Miller
Amorina Kingdon
László Krasznahorkai
do you embrace or reject technology?
It’s super tough to balance embracing the bleeding edge and also holding true to yourself. IMO, embracing the new is always better than shutting it out, and staying up to date on emerging tech, even if you hate it, is super critical.
If we are talking about AI, personally, I haven’t come across a great use for it in my workflow. It has only created more work and confusion for me (especially when used in decks and mood boards omg). This being said, I have been using it to help with application submittals (grammar, chopping word count, etc.) and some coding things using Claude!
Outside of AI, there are tons of tools, machines, and plug-ins that assist my process, but yeah, AI specifically still isn’t lighting any sparks for me creatively.
where do you see the role of creativity in society over the next 10 years?
10 years is such a tiny amount of time, but I imagine in 10 years the tolerance for generated content will have either increased 10x, or there will be some kind of epic AI crash out. If there is no AI crash out, I think real art and history books that are not AI-generated will have a lot of value in 10 years. Especially older ones. The best and most desirable creatives in 10 years will probably be historians that look in all of the places a computer can’t.
anything else you’d like to share?
I’m currently showing two sculptures at Cannonball Arts in Seattle, and showing digital pieces on various interactive IKE displays in Seattle as well.