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Urban Art Ethos
Shane Pilster combines technical professionalism with a creative edge.

By Leslie Hoffman | Photography by Megan Wylie

We’re sitting at our editorial roundtable in September, discussing the concept for the December cover of WHIRL.
Every year, we collaborate with Dawn Tomczak to create our holiday issue cover. In 2007, we went for lots of glitter and sparkle. In 2008, we felt that soft sweaters and puppy dogs best captured the mood. This year, we want to do something artistic and creative, something different, new, and innovative: Our editor in chief, Christine Tumpson, wants to cover Dawn with graffiti. When we go looking for an artist, the first person I call is my friend Edgar Um Bucholtz, an artist, DJ, and promoter, who I know can put me in touch with the right person. He offers to “give some guys my digits.”

Pilster meets with WHIRL’s Art Director, MacKenzie L. Hoops, Executive Editor, Leslie Hoffman, and Editor in Chief Christine Tumpson.

Almost immediately, I get a call from Shane Pilster, a 27-year-old artist and freelance designer. Talking to him, he seems like he is the perfect mix for us, with his design and entrepreneurial background as well as his knowledge of street art, which would be a boon for this particular project. We meet several times over the course of a few weeks to discuss the development of the art that we will use on Tomczak, as well as how we will make it happen. Pilster creates more than 30 different styles of holiday phrases for us to consider using, and we go back and forth on how we will actually paint our model: We end up going with a mixture of body paint from a costume store and Sharpie markers, layered over the paint to keep them from soaking into her skin. The day of the shoot, the actual body painting takes almost six hours, but it’s worth it. It goes so well that we decide to ask Pilster to create graffiti-like backdrops into the still-life photographs that we produce for the design of our Eighth Annual Last-Minute Holiday Shopping Guide.

Pilster grew up in Silicon Valley and the Bay Area of California, where he was exposed to a perfect storm of street art, graffiti, skateboarding, and the Internet boom. At 13, he was designing Web sites, learning about graphic design and the fundamentals of art. In high school, he moved with his family to Santa Cruz, where he later attended Cabrillo College. In college, he studied graphic design, but was also largely self-taught, applying his skills to freelance jobs that he picked up through networking. “I found a couple of job leads through my college job board and for some flier design on MySpace when it first started and was still beta. I ended up working with multiple small businesses and musicians designing their business cards, Web sites, advertisements, and promotional materials.” He also traveled a lot, all over the country. When he was visiting a friend from high school who was then in Pittsburgh, Pilster decided to move here.

An example of Pilster’s graphic design.

“I came out here and liked it so much. I thought the people were genuine, they were straight-up. It was very real: very sincere people, and very creative. I like a lot of the peoples’ attitudes around here, so I just decided to finish up the semester of college and move, and that’s pretty much what I did. I grabbed a duffel bag for all of my stuff and came out.”

On his arrival here, he went through a transitional period as he established himself. He continued to work with clients that he had worked with while in California, including designing T-shirts for a Montreal client Web sites for clients in New York City, as well as doing design and artwork for small organizations in Pittsburgh. Things started to pick up for him while he was doing volunteer work for the non-profit organization League of Young Voters; the experience gave him another introduction to the city and its social scene.

Through the League of Young Voters, Pilster developed a pivotal relationship with Omar-Abdul Lawrence, a local music producer and entrepreneur, who was, at the time, the director of events and promotions for the non-profit. The two became collaborators, with Pilster creating fliers, web design, and other design materials for Lawrence’s endeavors. “In 18 months, we worked on at least 30 different projects together,” Lawrence says. “I was pretty much an endless fountain of deadlines during that time, and he was able to deal with that.” Lawrence says that he appreciates the way that Pilster can reach a broad demographic through his style while at the same time maintaining a level of professionalism. “He has a multi-faceted skill set. He brings his skills as a Web designer and a graphic designer; he can bring you the style of an artist, and he can bring you insight into how things will look on the Web as he’s bringing you the professionalism of good, technical graphic design.”

Another major step in Pilster’s career came when he landed a job as an interactive designer with Giant Ideas, the Downtown-based full-service advertising agency. Pilster worked as an interactive designer and parlayed his talents in working with small business owners, non-profit organizations, and freelance clients into successful relationships with corporate clients, designing state-of-the-art Web sites incorporating Flash animation, content management systems, and relative marketability. “Giant Ideas’ multi-million dollar client base and international reputation helped me to develop new skills and standards for maintaining a competitive edge in the market,” Pilster says. After being laid off as a result of the effects of the recession on the economy, he continued working freelance.

 

Pilster creating the backdrops for the gift guide.

Two years ago, he bought his house in Polish Hill, where he has converted the front rooms to offices for his design services, which include Web design, print and graphic design, illustration, and mural design services.

“He’s amazing. He’s one of my favorite graphic designers in Pittsburgh,” says Leigh Yock, owner of Näkturnal, an events and promotions company. “His style is very unique and he can do a lot of different things. It’s not just one style. He can give me exactly what I want, and it’s always different. We do everything from fundraising events, to fashion shows, and sometimes something is more corporate, sometimes it’s more artsy, and he can really build on anything we ask.” Pilster will also be working with Näkturnal to revamp their existing Web site.

Professionally, Pilster has a goal of painting on marketing tours for companies like Mountain Dew and Scion, as well as working with small business owners of salons, boutiques, and sneaker shops, helping them to impart an urban edge to their brand.

“I like working with people that are being progressive and doing their own thing, as well, which is awesome. I like seeing entrepreneurs and people start businesses and ideas that they’re really compassionate about.”

Shane Pilster: Web.Print.Murals.Photography, 831.295.2453, shanepilster.com and 82concepts.com.

Pilster paints model Dawn Tomczak.


Behind The Scenes
Model: Dawn Tomczak
This is Tomczak’s eighth cover with WHIRL. To create this cover, she came in to do test shots for WHIRL’s art director, MacKenzie L. Hoops, and our artist, Shane Pilster, to do mock-ups of where we would place the wording in the actual painting. Talent Group, 2820 Smallman St., Strip District. 412.471.8011. talentgroup.com.




Lisa Krszal and Nicolette Blahusch create the hair and makeup for Philip Pelusi.

Hair and Makeup: Philip Pelusi
Lisa Krszal and Nicolette Blahusch did the hair and makeup for the photo shoot, representing Philip Pelusi. Krszal is the creative director of the company, and Blahusch is the product education director. Both have worked with Pelusi to do hair and makeup for runway shows at New York Fashion Week. “The pieces that Lisa integrated to help create the updo on Dawn are actually part of Philip’s private collection of hair extensions that he has accumulated over 40 years,” Blahusch tells us. “Some of these special pieces were made by Philip and his creative team for various fashion shows and photo shoots around the world, while others were imported from Italy and France.” Philip Pelusi, 1700 E. Carson St., South Side. 412.488.8951. philippelusi.com.

 

Amie Guarino Yadouga and Louis Guarino III brought us the jewelry from Louis Anthony Jewelers.


Jewelry: Louis Anthony Jewelers
Louis Anthony Jewelers sent their son-and-daughter team of Amie Guarino Yadouga and Louis Guarino III to bring the edgy yet sophisticated jewelry that we needed for this shoot. We pulled pieces from jewelry designers Stephen Webster, Gurhan, and David Yurman to create a gritty-meets-elegant look. Louis Anthony Jewelers, Norman Center II, 1775 N. Highland Road, Bethel Park. 412.854.0310, louisanthony.com.




Stars: ADS Lighting
Andy Schick brought us these ethereal paper stars the day before the shoot, to complete the set. ADS Lighting, 412.341.3605. adslighting.com.
 

To purchase the rights to reprint this article, please email Jennifer Diamond.