A Decade of Art & Marriage: Why AK Llamas Works
AK Llamas walking Deaderick Street in Nashville – Photography by Kerry Woo
Art & Marriage…Why AK Llamas Works?
Let’s be honest, sometimes we don’t. Putting two creatives together isn’t just compatible, it’s also combustible. Our relationship began in 2001 when I stormed into Alfonso’s band practice to curse the group for firing my sister as their lead singer… so needless to say, we are the first to admit that this was always going to be a firey duo. The fact is that creatives are usually very passionate about their ideas, beliefs, and work. This passion can work in our favor or against us (on an hourly basis)!
Just like any precious stone, it takes a lot of intense heat and pressure to make something purely beautiful and unique. Our relationship has always during long late-night discussions, parallel pasts, and a love for all things beautiful and unique. However, when it comes to projects, the two of us develop ideas very differently…
Alfonso is calculative and approaches ideas from a place of what is practical, logical and thoroughly researched. I am driven by dreams and impulse and love a challenge. It is because of those wild visions that large projects begin, but only due to Alfonso’s logic does anything come to fruition.
YEARS of WORK….Works!
In 2002, our very first collaboration began before our vows were even spoken. Long conversations and a year of friendship paved the way for a short engagement and immediate artistic collaboration. It was in dating that Alfonso and I began developing The Nomadic Project. In fact, we even purchased a 2003 Honda Element in anticipation of the conceptual art project that would take us on a 13th month journey to all Fifty states. That car (which we still refuse to ever part with) took them first to take them to our icy North Carolina wedding and then on our honeymoon! After only a year of marriage, the Nomadic Project began and the we celebrated our second anniversary on the road. We have continued our creative collaborations ever since.
The FUTURE:
Despite a life of collaborations in both art and family, Alfonso and I continue to maintain our individual creative identities and a respect for each other’s work. Everything from parenting to painting delivery is a collaboration, but certain projects focus more on one or the other’s strengths which can be seen in our past and continued work.
With our passion for art and each other, this combustable collaboration continues…
