Astrid Chastka: Prop Stylist
#CreativeToWatch
Astrid Chastka is a prop stylist based in NY and Hudson Valley.
What do you do?
I am a set designer and prop stylist based in NYC and the Hudson Valley. I love designing and building all kinds of things.
Where do you find inspiration?
My favorite type of inspiration is the kind that comes from ugly objects that have something interesting about them. When I designed jewelry with my friend Victoria of Metalepsis Projects, one of my favorite pieces was a necklace inspired by folding a gum wrapper while on set. I also have found inspiration in things like trash cans and architectural ruins. And of course travel and other artists I admire.
Favorite project you’ve worked on?
What are your favorite prop houses or shops to source from? Some of my favorite shops right now are Porter James in Greenpoint, Lost and Found in LA, Lichen, and Nalata Nalata. I find a lot of treasures on Etsy and Ebay also. Whenever I see something really cool that just sold to someone else on an Instagram-only store, I search for similar items in those places and sometimes can find them. My favorite antiques store is Maple Lawn 1843 in Stone Ridge - I never leave empty handed.
What’s on your summer playlist?
Honestly, its Cocomelon Calm Lullabies because I had a baby in December and this is the only thing that will put her to sleep when she's fussy. Therefore it is also my favorite music. Sometimes she has been asleep for a long time and I realize it is still on loop. It is very calming.
How do you break out of a creative funk?
Start any kind of project, even if I don't have a clear idea of what it should be. I had a printmaking professor who used to say, "Process rescues us from the poverty of our intentions." I think he meant that through the process of making something and working with your hands you can stumble into ideas on what it should be or how it should look more so than if it is just an abstract object in your head.
Favorite form of self care?
Dessert.
What’s some creative advice you live by?
Work hard and show up with a good attitude. So often little things can go wrong while sourcing and designing for a photoshoot and it helps me so much to remember the things that make me feel lucky: that I get paid to do something that I love! And when I get stressed out I try to remember that I am only making sets for photography, I am not saving the world so how stressed should I let myself get over it? Things always flow better without stress anyway.
Who would your dream creative collaboration include?
I'd love to work on a lighting design project with someone who was a master with a ton of experience, like Ingo Maurer or Isamu Noguchi. I am going to the Noguchi Museum today actually, and very excited about it.
What is your favorite creative outlet for personal enjoyment?
I can't get enough of home improvement projects! I'm laying stones in gravel to make a garden path now and I live for the instant gratification that comes with embedding each stone.
An artist or creative that is really inspiring you right now?
I have been seeing beautiful images of Emily Mullin's ceramics and installations on display at Rockefeller Center and I'm hoping to go and see them while they are on display. I love her use of color. She is also a set designer and I find her work so inspiring in both realms, art and set design.
Is your home perfectly styled or are you a hoarder of beautiful things?
I'm a hoarder. Also at home I have many things that are useful or inspiring to me but they don't all fit into the same visual style, so it is definitely not perfectly styled. And right now it looks like a Toys R Us barfed all over the floor. Turns out babies like gaudy bright toys and not the type of toys I would choose to have in my home based on how they look.
What is something you are excited about in 2022?
Travel! We are going to spend September in Italy visiting my husband's family. I'm planning to visit La Rochetta Mattei and hopefully go back to my favorite museum in Milan, Museo Poldi Pezzoli.
Where can people see your work?
Sometimes on wheatpaste billboards or the subway car cards or platform posters. Also on my instagram @astrid_chastka or my agency website- Hello Artists.
