Gretchen King
Lead Singer - Phantods
Former CCAD Student
Columbus Resident
Hometown: Massillon, Ohio
Hear Gretchen and the Phantods at phantods.com
Gretchen King - The CCAD Student
I enrolled at CCAD with the intention to become a 3-D Illustrator and one day work for the Jim Henson company. My how things change! One thing that I have learned as an artist is that your work will constantly evolve and morph into a different direction than you had once expected. Within 4 years at CCAD I had transformed from the practicing illustrator into a natural photographer and then shortly thereafter, into a lead singer for a band. Art so often does not stay within the boundaries that lie in front of us.
My journey at CCAD and after has been about following my gut instinct and revealing the most authentic version of myself that I can. This version, at the present time, does not have me working as an illustrator OR as a full-time photographer. Instead you can find me working part-time at a library, doing the occasional photo gig and picking up extra hours at a catering company so that I can find time for the medium that is now most important to me: music.
Gretchen King - The Singer
The summer before I started at CCAD, I had gone to a concert and met Daniel Hagquist through a mutual friend. That night we worked on our first song together for the band that would later be called Phantods. Over the next 4 years, as I was growing as an artist, I was growing as a musician. I was figuring out a way to bring what I was learning at school into what we were creating with Phantods. A singer who was unable to play any instrument well, I had to verbally get my ideas across and often this meant creating an artistic image of what I was hearing. Many classes of critiquing artwork helped me find those words. 
The hard work that I put into my education gave me more confidence in what I was doing with the band. I had finally proven to myself that I can follow what makes me happy and that I should. There was a part of me that could finally stop resisting that I was an artist, that this was not just a hobby or a phase or unworthy of putting time towards, because I had finally proven to myself that I was an artist true and true.
Gretchen King - On Columbus
Columbus is filled with immense talent. There is a web within our community of amazing artists. As you meet more artists in the community you discover that this not only plays a hand in gaining friendships, but also in allowing your own craft to evolve. When you are around people who are doing great work, it challenges you to grow within your own work. As local artists and musicians raise the bar of our expectations, this will cause others to work harder to match or exceed those expectations.
The Phantods
In regards to the Phantod’s, we knew that we wanted to create an identity for our band, but did not have the resources within the band to achieve the level of professionalism that we wanted. This is where the community came in. My friend from CCAD, Shawn Tegtmeier, was just the artist that could help us find that visual identity. With his artistic talent we now had t-shirt designs, a logo, a music video, album artwork and were now able to have a more cohesive look. The local film community has also been an amazing help in getting us exposure. As we work with more artists, we are together reaching more people and giving them exposure to what we each offer. The more involvement within the artist community that you have, the more support, excitement, drive and resources. My journey with Phantods continues to shape me and give me growth as an artist.
The Abigail will not only supply the sense of community artists thrive in, but will also serve as a nice roof over your head as you make your journey into whatever artist you become.
