All original work © Jason W. Wong. Please ask for permission to reproduce any work.

All original work © Jason W. Wong. Please ask for permission to reproduce any work.

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

I Got Friends In Tall Places...

Okay, I took a week off to get my house back in order now that the construction is finally over. We made piles of stuff to donate, sell, or throw out. And then I finally got down to some arts 'n' crafts and framed some old artwork.


These are just four of 12 pieces that couldn't all fit above my mantel--these stream of consciousness word scrolls were originally the templates for screenprinted panels that accompanied the painted details they describe. I guess even back in college (nearly 15 years ago) I was obsessed with architectural details!

The best part about the screenprinted panels was that they were jagged, ragged, and had some of the words obscured, smudged, or faintly printed. It's a great story how these templates got so yellowed and waxy. I was so broke back then I couldn't afford to print this text onto clear acetate--so I tried soaking my free black and white printouts in linseed oil so the UV rays of the exposer unit could penetrate and do their job on the screens. While I was painting, I used a sanded-down plastic knife from the canteen (cafeteria) as a palette knife and mixed my colors with glossy white housepaint from Woolworths, since it was all I could afford!

Well, it worked--the panels and paintings were a success. Why didn't I hang up the final series, then, you may ask. They were stolen after I put them up in an empty hallway! Luckily it happened after I was graded, but I was upset for a while. I saved these templates hoping I'd someday be able to reproduce the series. But now, I think I prefer giving them a second life this way instead. I just wish I had enough space to frame and display all of them. What a great way to remember the friends and experiences that inspired these words.

This all goes back to my philosophy about art: Make it personal, give it a story, and make it BIG. Each one describes part of a dear friend's house and some of the adventures we had while growing up. Framed, each one is just over 20.5" x 20.5".

 

Even though only one of the houses is still around (owned by that friend's parents, of course), I blurred out the street names here on the blog.

This whole new look in my Living Room reminds of somethign I recently read in this giant coffee table biography of David Hicks. I was surprised to see how the King of Maximalism was transformed and inspired by an early trip to California--he stripped down the main room of his house, painted it all white, bleached the floors, and pared down his artwork to a few key pieces.

Seems like I'm just getting back to my roots ;^)

Monday, February 6, 2012

The last "p"...stands for "property"

So while my own home is a total construction zone, I'm getting close to wrapping up three Retrograde projects and showing you all some photos. I'm always interested in how people find me and how we end up working together.

I always give a prospective client a "freebie"--one tip or piece of advice they can take or leave. It gives them a sense of my aesthetic and how I envision their place. A good rule of thumb for anyone looking to work with a designer (whether it's a friend or total stranger) is to be honest about whether you'll work well together. You have to trust this designer (whether or not s/he is a friend or a friend of a friend) with your home. So if you're a French Country kinda gal and this designer is pushing hardcore modernism on you, it probably isn't going to be a good match.

Of course, any good designer will work with you and help you develop and hone your own style based on what you like. But they'll show you things you might not have considered yourself.

So if you like traditional French styles like this Louis XVI chair:


Then they might encourage you to try a contemporary version like the Louis Ghost Chair by Kartell:


OR they might try to split the difference with some modern upholstery like this:


Either way, they should be respectful of your opinion. Like I always say, "at the end of the day, you have to live there. Not me." It's your home and your property, so take pride in that.

Speaking of property, this song has been stuck in my head for weeks thanks to satellite radio!


Naughty By Nature discusses and performs "O.P.P."