Q&A | A Collaborative Effort Amongst Friends: How Two Friends Are Working To Combine Art and Prose
6:30 AM
In this curiosity, I have to frequently control myself from bombarding other's with questions. There's just something about it--surrounding yourself in art--that makes me want to know everything. Which is why 2019 has been the year of interviewing creatives on Booked J.
Today, I am excited to be briefly interviewing one of my closest--oldest and dearest--friends and her creative partner. Earlier this year, they embarked on the journey of releasing their first collection of poetry and accompanying artwork online. Ever since, I've been itching to discuss with them what it is that made the pieces fall together.
Together, they have a future ahead of them (as individuals and as collaborators) that seems bright and breathtaking. When you read, when you see, what they've accomplished so far, you will feel this. I am so excited to share with you all this brief Q&A on developing and collaborating. I highly recommend looking into their collaboration, which you may find on their social media.
Q&A:
(A1: Paige, A2: T)
Q: Thinking
back to the early stages of your collaboration, and now, what do you
find was the most influential thing that the other offered you?
A1: The ability to take the essence of
an idea and bring it to life. I had some inkling of what I wanted to
accomplish, but she really brought it all together. T was honest and
open to my suggestions.
A2: Paige
has the gift of gab - she can grasp her feelings, her visions, put
them into words and craft them into beautiful poetry. Each of her
poems has its own colours and is filled with copious imageries, which
made it easier for me in the illustrating progress.
Q:
There's so much to be inspired by when it comes to prose and art.
Thinking about contemporary writers and artists, who would you say
has most impacted you artistically? (Or:
When you look back on your formative years, for example, who sparked
the desire to create?)
A1: This is a difficult question that
probably won’t render the greatest answer because there isn’t one
direct source that I can pinpoint. I try to not ingest lots of other
people’s works for fear of trying to duplicate their style or
content. I really want my art to be a pure representation of myself.
I remember back in high school when I was first introduced to Emily
Dickinson’s works. I admire how she took subjects like nature and
death and represented them in such simplistic, yet beautiful ways. As
a queer artist, I hope to continue her legacy in my writings.
A2: I
would say Joanna Newsom.
Q: The
way that you both fused two drastically different forms of art
together is virtually seamless. In this scenario, everything just
fits. Do you plan on
working together further in the future?
A1: Working on an additional version of
the poems in another language. I’m not really sure. I know T is
pretty busy with her life and the time and reasoning would just have
to be right.
A2: We
are planning to have an Arabic version of the collection as well.
Thus we are still working together, and with another collaborator.
Q: Was
it a surprise to you that everything tied together as well as it did?
How did you come about the idea of working together? Was it planned
heavily in advance or more spontaneous?
A1: No, not really. T and I were able
to communicate easily about the theme and the desired effects. That’s
the beauty of social media; it’s allowed us to bring these two
forms of art together. I’ve seen her work before on twitter over
the past 4 years or so. I admire her work and wanted to see if we
could make something happen together. As much of my work is, it was
pretty spontaneous. That’s something I’ve come to realize about
myself as an artist. I have a desire to create only when inspiration
strikes. And this could happen anytime, anywhere.
A2: It
wasn’t really a surprise, as Paige wanted something wispy and
light-toned, and that was the direction I was thinking about for this
project as well. This project was actually pretty spontaneous! A
mutual friend introduced us to each other and we just started working
poem by poem.
Q: What
is it you hoped to achieve with your collaboration effort? Looking
back on where it all started, do you feel that you have?
A1: Getting both of our works out in
the open. It was challenging to mesh the two together because there
is always a mood that I want to illustrate and thankfully T was able
to do that gracefully. I was nervous to release my work and I
honestly have a hard time presenting my work to my closest friends
because I don’t want to come across as shallow. So, this
collaboration allowed both T and I to help each other and I was less
anxious than before because I had a partner on my team this time.
A2: I
wanted to try something that I have never done before. It’s a new
experience for me to read someone else’s poems and make
illustrations that help convey the meanings.
Q: The
age old question: what makes a poem, or a painting/drawing, standout
to you?
A1: I think for me, poetry has to have
an essence of efficiency. That’s basically what poetry is though,
isn’t it? A snapshot, a moment, a feeling, hashed out in a few
brief lines. With paintings, I like to see things in the work that
exhibit a certain level of chance or experimentation. With drawings,
I’m really impressed by the minimalist approach of “less is
more.” Those are a lot like poetry.
A2: When
I relate to it strongly, or in other words, when it’s redolent of
personal feelings and experiences.
Q: What
is your writing, and/or painting, process? Did it take a while for
you guys to settle into working together?
A1: It’s a bit like being
electrocuted and working through it, feeling it all out in brief
spurts. I like to get my work done almost in one setting. T and I
were able to bring things together rather quickly. I had never done a
collaboration with another artist before and didn’t have much
expectation. But it went smoothly.
A2: The
process of creating this collection was that Paige would give me 2-3
poems at a time, and I would do the illustrations poem by poem. There
were some poems that only took me less than an hour to finish, but
some would take days. We didn’t encounter any issues during the
collaboration process, in fact both of us enjoyed working together.
Q: When
all is said and done, how do you feel having released your
collaboration into the wild? Will you ever seek out publication for
it or any future collaborations?
A1: It’s a breath of fresh air.
Generally speaking, I tend to release things half-baked because I’m
just so wily and nervous when it comes to my creations. And I never
want anything I do to come across as pretentious or contrived because
I don’t take myself that seriously in the first place. I’d like
to seek out publication eventually. I’m uncertain of the process,
however. After this collaboration, I would like to work with another
artist or group of artists in the future if I feel like I have
something I could offer them. It has to be a give and take. I like
the word “symbiosis.” You help me, I help you. I think that’s
an art-form, in and of itself.
A2: I
haven’t been drawing in order to focus on pointed pen calligraphy
for quite some time, so creating illustrations and actually letting
the whole world see them is pretty daunting I would say! At the same
time I feel happy that I helped adding some beauty to already
gracefully written poetry. So it’s a concoction of many emotions.
At this point I haven’t thought about publication yet, but future
collaborations is definitely a yes.
Q: Because
expressing ourselves through various art forms is always a bit
daunting, and many are fearful of putting themselves out there even
slightly, was there ever a moment where you almost didn't post your
work? What changed your mind?
A1: In all of us who embark on a
mission, there is at least a flash of doubt about releasing your baby
into the world. I can’t think of a time during this process where I
said, “I’m not doing this.” At this stage in my life, I don’t
care if people like it, ignore it, or rip it to shreds. This is all a
part of the process. Art is subjective and that doesn’t scare me
one bit.
A2: When
I was a teenager I posted a lot of cartoon doodles onto my Twitter
account, and around that time I started to pick up calligraphy as
well, so I also posted a lot of calligraphy artworks. Soon after I
felt really embarrassed because of these posts because they were so
poorly drawn and the handwriting looked horrible, and this
embarrassment caused me to stop posting artworks for a really long
time. Then a few months ago some of my “mutuals” on Twitter told
me that they remembered my doodles, and they loved my posts because
they’re cute. This made me realise that I need to appreciate my
work more, and appreciate the progress that I’ve made.
Q: If
you could give any piece of advice to young creatives—what would it
be?
A1: Be confident in what you are doing.
Try to not emulate other people, as much as possible. It’s hard in
this day and age with all forms of media being thrown at us from
every angle. But, find who you are and find what makes you tick in
the stillness of it all. This will bring you fulfillment and you will
grow with the right tools.
A2: Be
confident and don’t be scared to show the world your work.
About the Author + Artist
(and where to find them!)
Paige grew up in several states across the US. In her formative years, she developed a keen interest in writing. As an adult, she doesn't claim to be a professional. She does, however, love writing, and hopes that readers will enjoy part of her journey so far. Paige currently resides in Austin, TX, and you can also find her on Instagram and Twitter.
Tien has been fascinated by pointed nib calligraphy since she was fifteen. She is now broadening her repertoire to broad nib calligraphy and illustration. She is a Vietnamese student in Singapore. Usually, she's pushing last-minute deadlines. Somehow, she still finds time for Twitter.
You can read their collaboration for free here.
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