We met with painter and furniture artist Jamie Smith at her studio on West 5th (our first time visiting a studio outside of the artist’s home!) Trained as a high school art teacher, Jamie taught abroad in the Middle East where she became an art tutor to a member of the (large) Royal Family. Inspired by this experience, Jamie began to think about why she hadn’t pursued her own art and upon returning to Vancouver took the plunge into putting her work out into the world. Drawing on her extensive travel adventures to develop her style, Jamie’s mixed media pieces are layered with vivid colors, text, images, patterns and texture. She is currently working on paintings for her first solo show, Confessions, which will feature pieces inspired by anonymous confessions left through her website (and an actual physical booth she had specially made that was in action at the Beaumont Studios street party this past weekend!) Although she is currently focused on developing her artistic practice, Jamie intends to always teach in some form and has recently been accepted into the ArtStarts directory. She also plans to begin a Master's in Painting in the near future.
You can see more of Jamie's work on her website and on Facebook and submit your own confession here. Don't forget to stop by her Confessions show at the Beaumont Sept. 27th at 7PM to see the finished paintings and some of her furniture!
Our Q&A with Jamie:
JS: I am very inspired by public art and social practice. I love TED talks and through them have discovered artists like JR and Candy Chang, whose work is community based. I love trying to get people involved with art, and am motivated by the idea of getting the viewer to “step closer”, whether it is physically or mentally, to something I’ve made.
PG: Do you remember the first time you created something?
JS: My mother taught children’s craft classes out of our home when I was growing up. I helped her do a lot of prep work, assembly line style, while watching movies and eating pizza! I started to want to make things myself and was able to put some of my work into the craft shows she would have for her students. It really helped me learn about the artistic process and all the steps involved in creating a piece. In particular I find it helpful with the furniture I am now doing as I was able to learn about different types of wood and how paint moves.
PG: What is your creative process?
JS: I have a hard time just standing in front of a blank canvas and coming up with something so I tend to like themes or guidelines, as well as doing custom work for someone. I love art that says something so I often include words into the background of my paintings. I try to take certain elements and make them work together, so it’s kind of like figuring out a puzzle. For my Confessions project the words themselves help me come up with the color schemes and the other details. I also really love collaborating with designers.
For my actual painting process, I usually do a first layer in plaster of varying thickness to etch the words into. I then do a layer of really watered down paints that I let sit overnight – I love watercolor but don’t like working with it as a medium so watering down acrylic allows me to achieve some of that transparency and luminosity. I will then add in more paint to bring out certain details, image transfers, chalk pastels and whatever other mediums I am interested in using. I just kind of go for it!
For my furniture I am using Cottage Living chalk paint at the moment which is really great because it can be used over any type of varnish and the compatibility of the color spectrum is well designed. I know that if I pick a teal shade, for example, and then a purple, they will complement each other. I then do image transfers, stenciling and [sometimes] hand stitched details. I pretty much try to do what I do on a canvas on furniture, which is a challenge! I also like coming up with ways to re-purpose furniture – my uncle is a carpenter so I am able to work with him on projects. For example, we are turning several chairs into a bench for my upcoming show.
PG: Do you think about the relationship between artist and viewer when creating?
JS: I think about it a lot, because “stepping close” is so important to me. I think this is influenced by my own experiences traveling and feeling like an outsider. When I am doing a custom piece I take a picture at every stage and post them to my Facebook page, which clients have told me they enjoy because they can see my whole process. I also think about composition and balance in order to draw the eye, which probably comes from teaching!
PG: What does community mean to you as an artist?
JS: I’m still trying to build my community, and learn about what opportunities are available. I share my studio space with Jenna and Chandler Herbut, who run MakeIt!, and they are so great and supportive. I will be selling some of my work at the show in November. The Beaumont Studios has also been really good for me, and I’m hoping that Confessions allows me to step forward into the art community here.
PG: How are you supported as an artist in Vancouver? Are there changes or improvements you would like to see?
JS: My family is really amazing and supportive – my mom has 9 brothers and sisters and most of them are creative in some way. The teaching community, especially through ArtStarts, has also been incredibly supportive. All art teachers are artists but some are doing more of their own art than others so I think when they hear that I am pursuing my art they get excited. I’ve also been answering calls for artists through Arts Alliance because my focus has been just been to get my work out there. I was actually recently accepted to have my work exhibited for a month at the Firehall Art Centre next year (April-May).
I have looked into doing is a mentor program with Women’s Enterprise which is for entrepreneurs and I would love to start something like that specifically for young female artists in order to help each other learn about the business of being an artist.
PG: What interests you about Papergirl?
JS: When I heard about Papergirl it really connected to what some of the artists I’m inspired by are also doing. We tend to live in a very work-centric, isolated and sometimes negative way and I think that the possibility of someone making a connection with you through handing you a piece of art from a bike has the potential to change a lot for some people. It totally aligns with my outlook about art and community.
PG: At Papergirl, we are all about the art of giving art. What is the greatest gift you have ever received?
JS: Home. My mother worked really hard to give me a strong sense of home. When she was growing up her dad moved them around every year so she was really adamant about giving my brother and me a solid sense of place and home. I really appreciate that I was able to come back from traveling and be supported in pursuing my art.
PG: To finish, a fun question: what kind of bike would you be?
JS: A pink wood bicycle with a basket and a white leather seat! Maybe with some patterns and flowers stenciled on as well!