Mike Borja

Name:  Mike Borja    
Website:  facebook.com/theartsocket

                www.Michaelborja.com

What do you do?

Right now, this very moment, I am watching a lot of Dexter and Work of Art: The Next Great Artist. The T.V. shows are connecting for some odd reason because there’s a girl named Kathryn, on The Next Great Artist who creates art that looks like blood splattered organs laying on top of white sheets of plastic. Dexter is a serial killer who kills serial killers and has a creative process doing it. Work of Art is interesting to watch because each artist has a very different art background and style. For example: graffiti, video, pop, installation, performance, and serial killers. Just kidding.

I actually get this nostalgic feeling watching the Work of Art, because it reminds me of school and being creative and experimental in a classroom with a bunch of crazy brilliant artist.

I just love being creative no matter what and where the situation is. But my goal right now is to try and push my creativity into new levels.

Where can we find your work?

You can find my work at the Kaleid Gallery in San Jose, CA.

 I’m also currently painting on an electric box on 7th & Santa Clara by City Restaurant in San Jose. Look out for a Dog House & Aquarium if you’re around the area.

What inspires you to create and how do you keep motivated when things get tough?

What inspires me the most is other artist. I love seeing other people’s creativity whether it be art, music, performance, and poetry; and it inspires me to be creative. The best reference for creativity is in life and nature.

What do you think is more important content/finished product or technique/process?

I think they all go hand in hand, but I do enjoy technique and process.
  

Who are some people who influence and/or inspire you?

Right now I’m extremely inspired by Little Dragon, Case In Theory(SJ), BadBadNotGood, my girlfriend Cha, commondense.tumblr.com, David Icke, Michael Tsarion, Klaus Dona, J-Squared(SJ), Mars-1, cleanwhiteshirt.com, music, the flea market, mom, dad, astronomicalkid, and those are some of the things off the top of my noggin .

Oh, also Jiddu Krishnamurti who is a super far out thinker. I believe the character, Yoda from Star Wars is somewhat based on Krishnamurti. If you listen to his audio lectures they sound very alike. Also, I found out recently that George Lucas created a little documentary on Krishnamurti and put his actual character in, “The Young Indian Jones” series. Look him up.

This is my art inspiration website. Check it out. https://gimmebar.com/user/mikeborja/collection/art-inspiration

If you could be any fictional character who would you be?

Spiderman

When do you get your best ideas?

I wait for an AHA! EUREKA! moment from deep in the collective subconscious.  

What materials/tools do you use most to create your work?

Right now I’ve been collecting a bunch of tools, but I’ve been spending more time on the computer!?

Are you self taught or formally educated? How do you think that has influenced or affected your work?

I was self taught as a kid. I used to go to libraries and grab all the how to draw books and have drawing sessions with my cousins. Mario paint was the best! And then I went to school at AAU San Francisco and did New Media for a couple years and then decided to get into Fine Arts.

What would your creative work taste like?

More like what it would smell like…Mr. sketch markers, sharpies, scratch and sniff stickers,

When you are not creating what do you like to do?

Eat! There is eating in creating haha.

How did you learn to access your creative talents and gain the confidence to put it out there for everyone to experience?

I always loved visually expressing myself be it through the body, on paper, through music, and video. my mom always loved my stuff, which gave me confidence to put it out there.

What advice would you give others just beginning their creative adventures?  

If you have a creative thought or an idea, start creating it right away or else that excitement will make you feel like you already did it and you’ll end up not doing it. If you have had thoughts (like I once did) that say, it’s too hard, you can’t do it, I’m not good enough, there are others way better than me… don’t listen to them and just watch them pass on by.

Those are creative inhibitor thoughts that like to keep you busy and distracted in your mind. Just start creating something with any tools in front of you and keep doing what you’re doing! You can use your imagination to be creative in the craziest ways. Also, do you research on other artist to inspire you. Create and represent your vision!

Forget thinking about what you’re going and have to be in the future. I mean there’s nothing wrong with having a little thought of the future, but now is the time of all possibilities which creates your past and your future at the same time.

Lacey Bryant

Name: Lacey Bryant
Website: www.laceybryant.com

What do you do?
I'm mainly an oil painter. I've experimented in a variety of media such as polymer clay sculpture, knitting, installation, watercolors, block printing, chalk on sidewalks, etc. I always come back to oils, though!

Where can we find your work?
I show at a few galleries on a regular basis. I'm a part of group shows at Cactus Gallery in L.A., Studio Gallery and Modern Eden Gallery in SF, Tasty Gallery in Seattle, Psycho Donuts in Campbell as well as a few shows at other venues here and there. I also have an ongoing display at KALEID Gallery in Downtown San Jose, where I also keep my studio. I will be having a solo show at Modern Eden Gallery opening on January 21st in 2012 as well. I also try to put pictures online from time to time, my website has links to the places I post as well as information about current shows.

What inspires you to create and how do you keep motivated when things get
tough?
I'm inspired by a lot of things. Often something I read will bring pictures to my mind, other times just watching or talking to people or going for a hike in the woods will inspire me. I develop a lot of my ideas in my sketchbook, when I don't know what to do I will just start with a face and the rest will usually come from there. My work is mostly about giving form to intangible things like emotions so I often think about how I might give form to a particular thought or feeling that I'm interested in when I'm doing other tasks. My mind is constantly wandering. I love to look at art books, seeing work that really amazes me makes me itch to try to make something of my own. I don't feel so much like I need to be motivated most of the time, the desire to paint is sort of a compulsion for me. I couldn't stop even if I wanted to. If I'm feeling a bit blocked, sometimes I will play with a different medium for a bit. When I'm feeling stressed or tired I try to keep in touch with the excitement I feel for all of the fun things I get to do!

What do you think is more important content/finished product or technique/process?
I don't think I can separate the two, they are equally important in my eyes. I think you have to love every moment of the process in order for that love to come out in the finished product. There has the be a willingness to do what it takes to make the best picture you can make even if it takes lots of time and patience. Technique is important as it is the tool that you use to convey the meaning of your work. On the other hand, what is form without substance? The content of the work is the ultimate point, isn't it!

Who are some people who influence and/or inspire you?
There are so many! I love the work of Henri Magritte, Jenny Saville, Henri Matisse, Dorthea Tanning, Alice Neel, Gustav Klimpt, Egon Schiele, Zak Smith, Henrich Klay, Henri Toulouse-Lautrec, Henry Darger, Arther Rackham, Jim Henson, Kurt Vonnegut, Vladamir Nabokov, Niel Gaiman, Shel Silverstein, I could go on. I subscribe to Hi-Fructose Magazine, so it seems like every time it comes in the mail I have several new favorite artists of the moment, too. I love Victorian death photography, children's picture books, science fiction books & b-movies and the passionate artists that show at the gallery where I work.

If you could be any fictional character who would you be?
Perhaps Door from Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere or Alice in Wonderland.

When do you get your best ideas?
I think about things I want to paint while I'm stuck in traffic or working at other jobs or while I'm laying in bed trying to sleep, so pretty much all of the time. A lot of my ideas occur while I'm messing about in my sketchbook.

What materials/tools do you use most to create your work?
I use oil paints on my handmade cradled panels a lot. I also love painting on found wood, especially cabinet doors and cigar boxes. I like flat brushes and a glass palette. When I work with clay, I'm especially fond of Puppen Fimo polymer clay. I also like to build installations with cardboard and found objects. I love to play with different mediums so I've got a pretty eclectic collection of art supplies!

Are you self taught or formally educated? How do you think that has influenced or affected your work?
I have an Associates Degree in Fine Art with an emphasis on painting but I didn't get really serious about making art until a year or two after I'd graduated. I think it took a little life experience for me to develop my voice through my art. I spent a long time developing techniques and learning about color and such before I really figured out what I wanted to say with my art. Much of my learning has always been on my own, if I'm
interested in something I read about it and experiment.

What would your creative work taste like?
Bittersweet chocolate or beets. Sometimes tart cherries. (But it would smell like fall leaves burning.)

When you are not creating what do you like to do?
I like hiking, gardening, baking, reading, watching old movies, playing video games, spending time with my friends and family and snuggling with my black cat Hecubus.

How did you learn to access your creative talents and gain the confidence to put it out there for everyone to experience?
My mother was great about giving us access to all kinds of art supplies when I was a kid (not to mention some things which I saw as art supplies that maybe weren't). I loved to decorate our house for Halloween and volunteer to paint sets for the children's theatres I was involved with. My little brother, Jeff was my partner in crime, always egging me on. His delight in my silly creations made it so much fun to try and come up with things to
entertain him. I was very shy about showing my work publicly at first until my friend Lara Sophia and I started showing together and even making art together. We were able to give each other the moral support that it took for us to start putting our work out there. The work we're each making now is very different from each others, but it has all been built upon those early experiences and I don't think our work would have developed quite the same without that collaboration.

What advice would you give others just beginning their creative adventures?
You have to be willing to work very hard to accomplish things you never thought possible! Make a lot of work and make it good work, don't slack off (and you know when you're slacking). Be willing to experiment, you never know when you might find your new favorite medium. Come out of your cave once in awhile and talk to other artists. Your community is one of your greatest assets-it is a source of inspiration and encouragement. Set goals for yourself and stick to them. It really helps to have a project. Don't quit! If you're serious about making art, then stick with it past the ugly duckling phase and give yourself a chance to grow. Don't compare yourself to other artists and think that you will never measure up. You are the only you there is, find your own voice and don't try to fit in or be anyone else.

Night Taste By Lacey Bryant