“Flower Highway 3” Artist: Connor Dainty
Woodbury alumnus makes a name for himself in the world of collage art.
Art always had a way of pulling Connor Dainty in. Even while attending college to study economics and minoring in music business, it was art that had a way of calling him. Now, the 2012 Woodbury High School (WHS) graduate is an established collage artist. With more than 250,000 followers on Instagram, Dainty has been making quite a name for himself. But that hasn’t always been easy.
When he began attending Augsburg University after graduating from WHS, he couldn’t settle into the business world like he felt he was supposed to. “I started gravitating toward more like-minded art people and felt very nurtured by them,” he says. “I was inspired to pursue more creative endeavors and started noticing collage art.”
The creative spark won. His art doesn’t have a scrapbooky feel; instead, it is minimal and intuitive. “My language within collage is a precise approach to use as few number of pieces possible to make the biggest impact,” Dainty says. “I want to find a four-leaf clover in three pieces of paper.”
“Mirage”
That perfect piece is among the pages of his more than 2,000 books he owns. Since getting into collage art more than a decade ago, Dainty spends time paging through books in thrift and antique stores. He can often recognize the era the book is from based on its spine or publisher stamps, and it is the grainy photos within the pages that really bring him joy.
“I am fueled by how I immerse myself to source material and how my brain responds to what I put in front of it,” he says. It’s part of his reactionary approach. Instead of planning out what he’ll create in advance, Dainty lets the materials speak. “If I try to figure out the puzzle before I sit down, I get frustrated,” he says.
While Dainty is proud of his work and how his pieces turn out, a lot of what he creates remains unglued and in a pile. Sometimes for years.
“Flower Highway 1”
“I’m still very attached to perfect photos,” he says. “Some pieces are too good to finalize right away. Usually, if I do go back, I deconstruct the pieces and make the collage a little differently. With me not gluing the work, they’re not finalized, just like ideas.” He explains that the material he uses is high-quality and hard to come by, thus making it difficult to commit to the permanency.
Looking through his Instagram gallery, there are a lot of recurring images that jump out on a quick scroll. Eclipses, people and butterflies, to name a few. Each piece sparks thought, and although Dainty says he likes viewers to step into his shoes, he also wants viewers to create their own meaning.
“I want people who look at my work to feel present in their life,” he says. “Live your moments, and take it in. I take care of my grandma, who’s pretty deep into her dementia decline. Through that, I’ve learned how much memories matter to me and how important it is to enjoy your life. I would like to, and maybe always have, relayed that in my own art.”
He is grateful for social media and the role it plays in helping to spread his name and what collage art is. Dainty’s dream is for it is to become more mainstream, and digital mediums are helping to make that happen.
Connor Dainty, a 2012 Woodbury High School graduate, is the face behind @phibstuff on Instagram, where he shares his collage creations with more than 250,000 followers. Photo: Connor Dainty
“I knew social media would help my engagement, and I know what Instagram wants out of me—videos and my face,” he says. “It’s been a huge thing for me to show my face and process videos, but being uncomfortable is growth. Pressure makes diamonds.”
When Dainty thinks of advice he has for artists just beginning their journey, he stresses consistency over perfection. “Growth is not linear,” he says. “You have to show up, even when you don’t want to. There’s a lot of solitude, a lot of work. It’s not always fun, but it’s beautiful.”
And that is what he is most proud of. When Dainty thinks of what he has accomplished since embracing his artistic side, he thinks of his parents reading this story and feeling proud of what he has accomplished and what his future holds.
“I’m incredibly lucky to be able to make art for a living,” he says. “It’s not lost on me how difficult or fickle it is to be able to say that. It’s not lost on me how special it is to have even a single human admire my work. I’d consider it the greatest honor if I could grow old as a career artist. Regardless of if I can make that happen, I’ll love life all the same.”
The mindset speaks volumes about Dainty and his art. It’s not just the images he pieces together and the collages he creates, it’s the life he lives and how he inspires others to be the best they can be.
Connor “Phib” Dainty
Instagram: @phibstuff
