It’s already December, which kind of boggles the mind…or at least my mind. How on earth did this year fly by so quickly? It’s the first Friday of December, so here is my second installment of Fridays & Friends, with the lovely Jamie Gaul – my Gemini wolf twin.
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Roselina Hung: How did we first meet?
Jamie Gaul: We first met on the taxi ride to Saugatuck, Michigan on our way to the Artist-in-Residence program at Ox-Bow. I admired your economical packing abilities and I believe you were inwardly laughing at my awkward conversation with our cab driver. Okay, maybe you were laughing audibly.
RH: Tell me a bit about yourself…
JG: I am currently fascinated by Florence Griffith-Joyner or “Flo-Jo”, the former U.S. Olympian with the incredible fingernails. (Google her!) I am assuming this is not what you meant… I live and work in Brooklyn, NY and I received my BFA from Syracuse University in 2004. I am in the process of applying to graduate programs and continuing with some new work in my studio all of which is making me feel like a crazy person, in a good way.
RH: Tell me about your work…
JG: I predominantly use clay in my work. I am always trying to push the medium as far as I can, both aesthetically and technically. Through my work I address the common preconception that clay is solely a craft material. For a while, I avoided working in ceramic because I felt that it wouldn’t be taken seriously as ‘fine art’ – whatever that means. Eventually I realized I was being ridiculous. I love clay and was doing myself a disservice by avoiding it. Much of my current work is focused on highlighting the beauty and strangeness of the everyday through common materials and shared experience.
RH: What are you currently working on?
JG: I have been collecting snippets of conversation from television programming that are spoken in an “off-the-cuff” manner. Silly, strange and poorly conceived filler-fodder from news broadcasts, reality television and gameshows are isolated and made permanent through transcription onto clay sheets.
This is a great question! I think it is really important that artists not be too precious about what we are making. I know that my next idea most certainly will not be my last. I try not to get to attached to any one project and I know I benefit from sharing my thoughts and work with others.
RH: Where can people find your work?
JG: Until I get my act together and finish my website, you can see work at: jamiegaul.tumblr.com
RH: Tell me one fun fact about yourself.
JG: I once met funk superstar George Clinton. He wore a long yellow cow-hide trench coat and purple fuzzy top hat, looking every bit as majestic as you might expect. I introduced myself and he took my hand to kiss it, or so I thought. He proceeded to lick my entire arm from the hand to the elbow and then said politely “A pleasure to meet you.” I think something in that funkadelic saliva changed me forever.
Thank you, Jamie! Please visit jamiegaul.tumblr.com to view more of Jamie’s work.