San Francisco artist Eddie Colla returns as part of this year’s POW! WOW! alumni releases with his latest laser etched metal editions Ambition available in Silver and Gold variants. Calling back to Colla’s signature 2012 POW! WOW! mural these new editions are limited to editions of 100 and 15 respectively so be sure to snag yours while you still can. Read on to get the story behind Colla’s signature image and grab Ambition as part of the POW! WOW! x 1xRUN Print Suite now…
1xRUN: Tell us a little bit about this piece, anything immediate you would like us to highlight?
Eddie Colla: It’s just about controlling your own fate. If you make your success contingent upon the approval of others, you’re kinda following the formula for failure. There are few great achievements in the history of the world that were not, at first, met with doubt or fear or both. For every person who achieved something great, there were 100 who told them it couldn’t or shouldn’t be done.
1x: What materials were used to create this piece?
Eddie Colla: The original pieces were aerosol and stencil, I did a larger version of this piece in Honolulu for POW! WOW! Hawaii 2012. The edition that is being released is a chemical etching process that has been done on both Stainless Steel and Brass.
1x: When was the piece originally created and how long did it take to complete?
Eddie Colla: The first one was done in 2010, but the 15ft one I did in Honolulu probably took about 2 days to cut the stencils and a day to paint.
1x: Tell us a little bit about your process and how the idea and execution came about?
Eddie Colla: I never planned on making a piece with those words. I actually just wrote them on a napkin that was sitting on my desk, forgotten. One day I was talking to my good friend Moy Castillo about ideas for new pieces. He picked up the napkin and said “what’s this, you should write this on a piece”. The lesson being, it’s important to have to have good friends.
Ambition by Eddie Colla – Click To Purchase
1x: What do you feel is unique about this piece compared to your other work?
Eddie Colla: The message seems to have reached a bigger audience. Not necessarily an art audience, or people who follow my work. It’s sort of taken on a life of it’s own. I’ve seen it pirated on everything from coffee cups, to mouse pads, to shower curtains on sites like amazon.
1x: Describe this piece with one gut reaction word.
Eddie Colla: Tenacious.
1x: What have your past experiences been with POW!WOW! Hawaii?
Eddie Colla: I was part of Pow Wow in 2012. It was smaller then and most of the artist were staying in the same house. There was a lot of diversity and that was what made it special. It was the conversation that took place that week that I remember the most, just getting to hear other artist’s perspectives and goals and seeing everyone’s process. At the end of the week the scale of what had been done was inspirational. That’s where I first met Suitman and anytime spent with Suitman is a good time.
1x: What’s your schedule looking like for 2016? Any big shows or events coming up that you’d like to share?
Eddie Colla: I have a show coming up in Paris mid year and another in San Francisco. I’d like to focus as much time as possible though on traveling this year and doing street stuff.
1xRUN: Where else can people find you?
Eddie Colla: Website – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook
-1xRUN