Alex Draven, also known as the EXCB, has been a LocalGood artist for many years. He specializes in handmade jewelry creations, including two new watches that he just released, the Mason and the Journeyman. They are the first concrete watches he has created and he is currently working on creating new concrete art. The Mason Watch took him over 7 years to design because he knew he wanted a rectangular shape with an offset dial. He worked with different shapes until he figured out the exact design he wanted. Alex ended up making a round version of the concrete watch, which he calls the Journeyman. When asked how he comes up with new art designs, he states “Doodles, just doodles. It comes with a lot of scribbles and refining it until I come up with the final design.”
The EXCB was scared to attend art school. He wanted to be a metalsmith, but felt different since he wasn’t aspiring to be a sculpture artist or painter. It wasn’t until he took an art history class where he learned about capital A artists. He then decided he wanted to learn how to do everything in order to build his creativity.
Alex faced some challenges after quitting his full-time job as a processor. Some of his loved ones didn’t believe that he could make it as a full-time artist because it is so challenging that Alex responds, “Everything about being an artist is a challenge.” But Alex makes The EXCB stand out from other jewelers because he draws inspiration from other objects, not just other pieces of jewelry. Alex states that he gets inspiration by looking at architectural design, and customized motorcycles or cars. Another way he stands out from other artists is that he creates everything by hand in sheet metal. Most jewelers get their metal to be casted but Alex does it himself. In fact, Alex even designs his own packaging. At all times he avoids creating jewelry designs that have already been created.
Alex has many new projects and shows coming up in Rochester, Toledo, and Pittsburgh. He does at least one show a month and wants to continue focusing on a smaller number of shows. When I asked “Do you have any advice for an aspiring artist?” he states, “Ignore everything people say. Just do it. Keep pushing through that brick wall.” His biggest accomplishment in his career was proving people wrong that he could make it as a full-time artist stating, “Proving myself and others wrong that i can actually do it, I’m not the starving artist.”