This is Jaz and as her name states, she clearly made this. Made what exactly? Well, the art of course. What pulled me into Jaz's artwork was the colors at first and the way they popped. Finally, it was just the creativity put into each canvas. Today's weekly feature is Jazmine Adams, @jazmadethis.
Jazmine Adams shares a bit of her quarantine past times "during quarantine I have been diving back into my obsessions: Anime haha! A lot of my focus has also been on my two new puppies and college, woo class of 2022!" Recently I've been rewatching Cowboy Bepop and Space Dandy which are some of my personal favorites.
She also shares her favorite local artists being "@Glutenisfree and @au_fait_arts, Mariana and Claire are both beautifully talented women in the valley!" I agree they are both very talented. I'm glad to own artwork from both of them.
Getting interested in what you enjoy doing comes in many ways and especially your drive towards your passion to continue doing it and Jaz shares how it all came to be "I think a lot of artists can relate when I say I always loved art because of cartoons from my childhood like Adventure Time and Steven Universe. I used to dream of being an animator and working with Rebecca Sugar (creator of Steven Universe). She had a big impact on my work in middle school, but as I started to grow up my motivation started to spark more and more due to my art teachers. I am more than blessed to have had such amazing men and women to lead me down my high school career in art. I actually received a small sketchbook with a heartfelt message from the kindest art teacher I have come to know thus far, as my graduation parting gift. Thanks to them I am confident my life will be filled with art forever regardless if it’s meant to be in my life career-wise or just as a simple hobby. They started this drive and I will continue down this road for a very long time!" My thoughts on art classes are very mixed due to the different elements that are brought to an art class such as grades and probably the competition some students may face with each other. Although this is a case where the teacher has been more than just a "teacher." More by bringing up their students and encouraging them to pursue what they enjoy. I'm glad Jaz has had this experience which allowed her to continue her pursuits.
From the moment she started to where she is now how has she changed or grown her style to which she says "alas I don’t have my very first doodles from elementary, but my first canvas painting was actually on a canvas I made by hand! I had worked on it for a month for VASE (visual art scholastic event) I remember thinking this is as good as it gets for me, regardless of the fact I hadn’t even discovered my theme or style yet, happy to inform I got a gold medal but my growth in fact did not stop there! I think my most recent compared to my first canvas would shock a lot of people, at least it does for me. My style was so vague before and now I feel like I finally have an art identity, I don’t feel lost when it comes to looking for direction in my pieces anymore and for that, I am happy I never stopped practicing. I went from a confused freshman in high school to a freshman in college who understands that I just want to make cute giant doodles." She mentions "this is as good as it gets", but that's never the case. There is always so much more because there is always a discovery to be made as stated "I hadn't discovered my theme or style yet" which is perfectly fine. Having the ability to experiment or implement things you witness into your artwork allows for one to grow and gain experience for sure. In the end, at least she knows what she wants to do, but as an artist, she will never stop growing alongside her work.
Does she currently have a favorite piece she has created? She says "so far I think my favorite canvas is the 12x16 of my dog Gus! It’s just a funny canvas I did on a whim of him in ice cream armour, who knew it would be one of my favorites! But I think when it comes to pieces in general, the ones that take the cake in my heart is all my wall art, Especially my flying dog chasing a hotdog! He lives in my heart rent-free." The ice cream armour piece of Gus is actually nice and the more that I think about the ice cream wearing dog the more I find it silly in a charming way. It is undoubtedly a piece of Jaz's work that I enjoy.
Jaz mentioned earlier "I went from a confused freshman in high school to a freshman in college who understands that I just want to make cute giant doodles" as she grows how exactly would she like to grow with her art as time goes on "I want to master felt, I have never settled with one medium. I don’t think I ever will settle with a single medium, my sister who I intensely look up to always told me to “practice and try new things” So I am constantly just trying new things like clay, paper maché, felt and embroidery..I hope to continue with an endless list of mediums under my belt. But in all honesty, I want to grow with my art in a way where I never see it as work, I want my relationship with art to be filled with love again, I want to solely to be fun. College is diminishing my motivation for art but I’ll never let it snuff it out." It's good that she mentions "I have never settled with one medium" because that leaves more ways to engage with your art to create something new. If any artists/creative individual ever feel worn out or feels like their motivation just isn't there just know that it is okay to step back and recollect yourself. There is no need to force yourself to create and it's okay to take a breather. Overall I do believe Jaz has the ability to grow especially if she is constantly trying new things as well.
Talking about her style earlier and how it pops she explains the reasoning behind it "I think the biggest thing I go for is a 'doodle' like aesthetic, I want it to look happy and I want to create something so cute it makes ME smile. I understand my style isn’t perfect..yet and it simply isn’t everyone's favorite. Which is beyond fine, I just want my art to make me happy because at the end of the day I make art for me and my satisfaction. I center myself around colors that are loud like orange and pink because it compliments the thick black lines I center my work around. Overall I go for an art style you could see in a children’s cartoon." The idea of believing your style isn't perfect is okay. There wouldn't be growth or experimentation with art if you just felt like it was as good as it is already. She mentions "a children's cartoon" and it brings me back to the Gus piece on that could actually be a character in a cartoon now that she mentions it. It certainly does bring a smile that's for sure.
Is there anything else that she would like to work on? She brings up "real-life elements, in an example: If I paint a dress, I would want to start using fabric instead of strictly paint so it gives my art a whole new dimension to the piece. I also am heavily instead in the idea of food art, like sugar cookies with icing art on it or cupcakes!" That actually sounds really interesting! Food art sounds great too! I say she goes for it. Better to try it and see how it comes out than just thinking how it would have gone.
Jaz shares her thoughts on the local scene,
"I think..It’s one of the best things the valley has to offer, the talent and beauty all of these creators have is genuinely insane. I look up to so many of these people and they probably don’t even know. The idea of buying from someone who lives down the street and supports their work is so amazing. The art scene is the heart of the valley in my eyes."
Along with some extra thoughts,
"I hope anyone who’s slowly inching into art and isn’t very confident in their craft yet knows it’s okay to suck. Things you love take time and effort, and in the words of my sister 'practice and try new things' never stop growing :)"
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