Artist Interview: Mariko Jesse

Mariko is an illustrator and printmaker. She’s been part of Art Byte Collective for a year. In this interview she talks about color, artists and her studio practice.

Do you have a favourite color or color palette?
I tend to use organic colours in my work, like browns, greens and reds, but I like adding little details of bright pink and yellow.

Do you have a favourite artist?
I love artists whose work is unlike mine, but make me think in a new way, or surprise me and inspire me conceptually, eg. Howard Hodgkin, Cornelia Parker, Richard Wentworth, and James Turrell. I’m also inspired by illustrators, such as Tove Jansson, Quentin Blake and Laura Carlin.

Explain your work in up to 40 words.
I’m an illustrator and printmaker, working in etching and mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock), and my prints are generally small and delicate. Being Eurasian, my work explores ideas about sense of place, belonging and mixed heritage. 

Do you pursue any themes? If so, what?
My work often features ceramics, specifically chinaware concerning tea. Tea, and its visual history, is endlessly fascinating to me. I’m inspired by ordinary things, like the teacups we use every day.

Describe your studio practice? Do you have any habits or rituals when producing art?
I can only start making prints when the studio or place I’m working is completely clean and tidy. It quickly becomes chaotic, but it has to start tidy!

Where is your favorite place to do work? Do you have a dedicated workspace or routine?
Working in the print studio is one of my favourite things. It’s a separate environment from my daily life, and I’m then able to shift my mind into a creative mode. I do my illustration work in a design studio, but love making prints in a space where I can make a mess!

Do you do any research and what kind if you do?
I always do research before starting any project or artwork. Usually it’s visual research, in the form of sketches from museum or library visits. I sketch all the time, and my many sketchbooks become my inspiration and source of information.

How long have you been working in the medium used for your work for In The Details?
I made my first print at around 4 years old; a monoprint made at kindergarden, but formally learned etching at art college. I studied mokuhanga in 2004 in Japan.

What do you like about this medium and what are its challenges?
There’s something special about printmaking, an element of chance, that I absolutely love. Sometimes it doesn’t work out, but just as often it can be perfect! I’m concentrating on mokuhanga at the moment, and looking forward to experimenting more.

What would you like people to know about your work.
My works are prints, which means they are part of an edition of a certain number, but as I usually work into my prints individually afterwards, in a variety of ways, they then become unique pieces, and not part of an edition. That’s why they are usually marked 1/1. 

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Artist Interview: Patty Hudak

Patty Hudak in her Tokyo studio

Patty Hudak is an American painter currently studying mokuhanga. She has recently returned to the United States after living in Asia for over a decade. She describes her work as “concerned with expressing the space between my human anxiety and the wisdom I am trying to uncover from the natural forms around me.” Find more about Patty Hudak and her response to the theme “in the details” on her bio page.

Do you have a favourite color or color palette? 
Pure, dark black—the way shadow shapes create structural skeletons across a surface.

Do you have a favourite artist?
Some of my favorite artists are in this exhibition. I love the simple, yet powerful drips in Mia O’s work. I’m inspired by Arthur Huang‘s persistence as recorded in the conviction of his line. Yuko Kamei’s expansion of her dance practice into visual symbols reminds me that connection into the visual world can come through other forms of perception.

Explain your work in up to 40 words.
My work is trying to make sense between influences from the East and West; where does calligraphy meet abstract expressionism? How do natural forms and phenomena influence structures in art? Can we create images whose pattern becomes disordered, in a way, create the beauty and power of the natural world, without directly imitating it?

Describe your studio practice? Do you have any habits or rituals when producing art?
My best studio days include 30 minutes of observational drawing, formatting the drawings, clearing my mind, then painting from a place of emptiness. 

Could you talk about your creative process for responding to the theme of In The Details? Did your idea come to you right away? Did you have to experiment a lot? After spending twelve years in 3 of Asia’s largest cities, I am now living in a small rural community in the northern USA. For the past year, I have been communicating through illogical or non intellectual means as I immerse myself in the forest around me. I try to feel and sense my reaction, without words, what my body is emoting from being in these spaces. Sometimes, I stand and feel the sensations, without trying to capture it in any way. The shapes and colors in my work are directly derived from these somatic experiences.

Sometimes inspiration strikes and everything comes together just as imagined and other times inspiration is just a starting place. How close is your finished piece to what you first imagined?
Imagination works perfectly; with art, it’s not always that way. Materials create limitations. What I create is a collaboration between my intentions and how the materials respond. This is the most exciting part of the process— the dance between my mind and the materials that I am working on. 

Artist Interview: Michelle Zacharias

Michelle is a Canadian painter and printmaker. In this interview Michelle talks about her quest to make handmade, natural pigments from dust. Be sure to read to the end where Michelle makes requests for more dust!

How long have you been working in the medium used for
your work for In The Details?
A little more than a year in my spare time while I also
work in other media, such as coloured pencil.

What do you like about this medium and what are its
challenges?
What do I like about dust? Or should I say, what do I
like about working with natural pigments? Since it is an
easily obtained natural pigment, it is free. The other
things I need to work with it are also affordable. I also
like that each sample is different. Every location has
variations in the factors that affect the colour, and that is
intriguing.

The processing and the concept are not necessarily
something I like. Why not? I started using filtered dust
as a natural pigment because of my personal
connection to it. I seem to have a sensitivity, a kind of
allergy for an easily understood comparison, to aeolian
dust from China and fine particulate matter (PM 2.5) in
our polluted air. And, yes, working with loose dust is
probably not good for my health.

Other challenges? I make something that looks like
paint, but it does not act like paint or ink. It does not
dissolve or flow like you think it should. Particles are not
always the same size, and tiny wool or acrylic fibres are
almost impossible to filter out. It clumps. Layers?
Possible but also likely to erase the underlying layers
despite extra sizing on the paper. The colour is pale
and delicate, and that frustrates my love of bold line
and colour. It is tricky. On top of that, it might be free but
getting it from other locations can be difficult. Some
people are disgusted by the idea; some are intrigued.

• 

• 

• 

You never know which group a person will fall in. I have
learned that the housekeeping department at a hotel
can be an asset.

Could you talk about your creative process for responding to
the theme of In The Details? Did your idea come to you
right away? Did you have to experiment a lot?
Since I was a printmaker, I tend to do detailed work
regardless of a show’s theme. I have been working on
these studies or experiments for a while. I wanted to
show the wind flows all over the world and indicate how
the aeolian (yellow) dust from China arrives in Japan. In
some seasons, the winds that deliver the dust are much
stronger and larger, resembling a monster in shape and
in character. I have been doing lots of experiments with
medium and with design. I still am.

Sometimes inspiration strikes and everything comes
together just as imagined and other times inspiration is just
a starting place. How close is your finished piece to what
you first imagined?
Usually quite different. An idea is exactly that. It is an
idea for where I can start. After that, each piece
organically moves in its own direction. If I try too hard to
stick with my original idea, I end up forcing it and the
result will be stiff, drained of energy.

What would you like people to know about your work?
* A common, organic energy is in all my work regardless of the medium I use be it etching, coloured pencil, pastel, or powdered pigments (natural or artificial) and regardless of the genre. This should hopefully identify the work as being made by Michelle Zacharias.
* Yes, it really is dust. I filtered out the hair, fibres, popcorn, staples, and so on. I probably lose lots to the environment since I do not work in a lab but I still get quite a lot. After that, I zap it in the microwave to kill any germs and so on.
* I do not usually work on such small pieces of art!
* I am still exploring. I have ideas for both abstract and figurative work.
Yes, I accept bags of dust. I would prefer if it came with a snapshot of the donor(s) wearing surgical masks for a project I have started in which I want to do portraits of people with paint made from the dust or natural pigments from their house. No, I do not want lint from your dryer. That is not dust!
* I am hoping to do a solo show of anti-pollution work in various styles and media in the future. If anyone know the owner of Duskin, let me know. Maybe we can arrange a sponsorship. If anyone knows of someone who works in a lab where they analyze air or dirt for pollutants, please let me know.

 

Artist Interview: Mia O

Mia O is a Korean mokuhanga artist and painter based in Tokyo. You can read more about her on her bio page.

Is there a book or a film that influenced you?
Two books that have recently impacted me are Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond and Sapiens by Yuval Harari. These books have expanded my vision, inspiring my growing interest in history, philosophy, and anthropology.

Do you have a favourite artist? I have many favourite artists, which are constantly changing, according to what I am working on. The artists who are always at the top of my list are Jakuchu, Ufan Lee, Cy Twombly, Andy Goldsworthy and James Turrell. 

Do you have any habits or rituals when producing art?
When I arrive at my studio, I write a note detailing the very least that I should do on that day. Most of time, when I am finished in the studio, I complete what I have written.

Where is your favorite place to do work? Do you have a dedicated workspace.
I used to work at home, which was sometimes distracting for me. Last year, I found a small space in my neighborhood. Since then, even if I spend only a small amount of time there, I am able to focus my mind entirely on my work.

How long have you been working in the medium used for your work for In The Details?
For In The Details, I am exhibiting my acrylic paintings on paper. Although many people know me for my work in Mokuhanga, I have been painting in acrylics for over 20 years, and acrylic painting has been the inspiration for my work in Mokuhanga. 
Currently, I am adding a lot of water to the acrylic paint, so that it acts more like watercolor. I want to capture of drooling of the paint on the smooth paper surface. 

Could you talk about your creative process for responding to the theme of In The Details? Did your idea come to you right away? Did you have to experiment a lot?
When I work, I usually don’t think about a theme. For over 10 years, my practice has been driven by concepts of landscape, so my work naturally fit the theme of this exhibition. As with most artists, I constantly seek new imagery. These paintings represent approximately 8-9 months of physically expressing my conceptual ideas. I never know how long a painting will take me to finish.

Sometimes inspiration strikes and everything comes together just as imagined and other times inspiration is just a starting place. How close is your finished piece to what you first imagined?
For me, making art is like an experience where you don’t know what will come out at the end. If you know the results ahead of time, the experience is not as exciting. Sometimes, even what may seem like mistakes are driven to nice directions; the painting becomes a journey. I’m very satisfied with my paintings in this exhibition.

 

Artist Interview: Misako Oba

Misako Oba creates encaustic collages. Encaustic is created by adding pigments hot beeswax. Find out more about Misako on her bio page. In this interview, Misako talks about her theme and hidden text in her work.

Do you have a favourite color or color palette?
My signature color is blue and blue shade (and brown). However, I almost used green colors for the first time as the dominant color in the work that you will see at the exhibition. Yet, you may still see the trace of blue.

Is there a book or a film that influenced you?
For this particular works and the series, yes. The series title and pieces “L.I.P.Y. – L‘essentiel est Invisible pour les Yeux” (=what is essential is invisible to the eye) were inspired by the book The Little Prince (by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry). The verses in the Bible also provided a vision (for example, The Book of 2 Corinthians 4:18 and others). For other series, current events and social issues sometimes influence my work.

However, the biggest influence regarding imagery has been my personal experience and deep thoughts in life.

Explain your work in up to 40 words.
The body of my work reflects my interest in human life as a journey. It examines our soul and explores universal experiences, such as emotions. It also depicts its transient nature, sadness, hope, and perspective. 

Do you pursue any themes? If so what?
I have been developing and working on the series related to stars, desert, and our lives for quite some time. Although scientists and professionals continually research the details, patterns and more, there is still something beyond human knowledge or understanding. I have been exploring the mystery with a conceptual and psychological approach.      

Describe your studio practice? Do you have any habits or rituals when producing art?
I remind myself of the following “7 Creative Affirmations”* that are on the wall in my studio and pray to God. I then draw for five minutes (circle, oval, straight lines) to relax my muscles before starting each session.

◆ As I create and listen, I will be lead.
◆ Creativity is the Creator’s Will for me.
◆ I am willing to be of service through my creativity.
◆ My creativity heals others.
◆ There is a divine plan of goodness for my work.
◆ Through the use of my creativities, I serve God.
◆ My creativity leads me to truth and love.

(* I selected seven of the original 20 sentences from the Creative Affirmations in The Artist’s Way, and a couple are customized for myself.)

Do you do any research and what kind if you do?
I do a tremendous amount of research and preparation, which ultimately translates to the physical artwork. Or it becomes reference material with no use. For this series, I researched stars, constellations, maps, and charts. My art includes layers of memories, thoughts, dreams, paths, imaginations, illusions, and disillusions. I recollect my thoughts and sometimes past photographs and ponder the concepts to create my vision.

I also research words, Bible verses, other materials, and modern computer-programming languages (codes: Python, C-language). With the help of an assistant who is a software engineer, I finally found the available codes that are astronomical calculation algorithms, which correlate with the stars, universe/planets for this series. I try not to illustrate my findings in a literal sense. I probably use more of my emotions or right brain than left brain once I start creating. Subsequently, you can see the results of my research in an abstract way in my artwork.

What do you like about this medium and what are its challenges?
It is challenging to apply this medium (encaustic) during the hot summer and cold winter months while using a heating palette, heat gun and torch with ventilation. Therefore, the working location matters. Temperature control is critical with encaustic. When using pigment ink transfer technique onto encaustic, I try not to melt or blow away the image.

Another challenge is that encaustic and its overall value are not yet well known unlike oil paint or watercolor, especially in Japan.

Did your idea come to you right away? Did you have to experiment a lot?
Yes. I get so many ideas flowing, but organizing, combining and executing those ideas is a different story. 🙂  

Could you talk about your creative process for responding to the theme of In The Details?
Yes. I am describing in the artist page here. Stars in the sky: Some stars are possible to see and others cannot be seen by our eyes…..(continue reading)

What would you like people to know about your work?
There is a solid concept behind the series, which you (audience) can discover by visiting my blog Behind the Scene. However, when visiting the gallery and viewing the works, I recommend viewing without logic or theory. It’s okay if you don’t “understand” the work. Focus on them with your heart, go closer to the work, or take one step back. You can just stand and feel it with your heart instead of your head.If you look closely, in art and life, the details and patterns may emerge.  However, sometimes, “L‘essentiel est Invisible pour les Yeux” (= What is essential is invisible to the eye).

My work is ‘semi-abstract.’ In the last eight years, I have used encaustic as a primary medium to create mixed-media work…often by incorporating text. I also do image transfer onto encaustic work because I feel applying real contemporary elements from our time provides meaning.

(Encaustic is made of beeswax, damar resin, and pigment. I started to make my own medium since 2013. The work you see is encaustic mixed media using oil, water color, Japanese paper, gold and pure silver flecks simultaneously.)