ARIELLE GAVIN

name: arielle gavin
website: http://www.flickr.com/photos/36213892@N03/

At which age did you start creating art? And why do you feel compelled to create?
I think I was about 4 when I did this.

I just want to make things as nice as this for the rest of my life.

What are you inspired by? And who do you look up to?
Lately: My boyfriend, formalism, the train ride to and from school (more specifically, the people on the train – a strong-looking businessman with a mouth shaped like a bow, a frizzy madam with orange hair who recalled a certain Sonia, a crumpled Scottish man who said to me “Nice weather we’re having” on the coldest day of the year). Some people my mind drifts off to on the train: Yayoi Kusama, Hieronymus Bosch, Cy Twombly, Tsai Ming-Liang.

Which influential artist would you like to ask for advice?
I never think of asking advice from artists, I only think of going out for karaoke with them.

If you had to put up one piece of artwork on your wall and stare at it for a year, who would it be by and why?
The Ambassadors by Hans Holbein the Younger.
Northern Renaissance paintings were so dark and foreboding in the best way. No need for inverted crosses.

Tell us about your creative process.

Lots of huffing and puffing and tearing things up (even in my sketchbook, if I don't like what I draw, I tear the page out). Nothing too magical. Staring into space until something good happens.

As an artist, are you Technical or passionate?
I don't make rough copies of anything. I hate looking at grids and unfinished lines stretching across a page. I might have an idea of what I want to do, or how I want something to look, but that’s about it. I sort of feel my way around from there.

What frightens you most about your art?
I don’t know if it frightens me really. I just feel bad when my mom asks me why I draw so many penises. Actually, I’m not doing that so much anymore, but I used to… Penises and swear words. My parents were concerned.

Do you have any magic cures for creative blocks?
No. I’m just coming out of one, actually. I didn’t make any work while I was studying design for a semester. So I guess I can recommend not studying design.

Do you dream about your artwork?
My best ideas usually come to me as I’m falling asleep.

What kind of career do you ultimately want? And what kind
of career do you think you'll end up having (or already
have) realistically?
It would be nice to win the Turner Prize (ha), though I think it’s way more likely that I’d end up on the jury instead. I guess it’s easier to recognize good art than it is to make good art.

Is your family supportive of your art? Who influenced and nurtured your creativity most?
My grandmother was an artist. She was always very encouraging - I remember going to art galleries and drawing with her. Whenever she came to visit, she’d bring me these children’s art books; I remember one about Andy Warhol. I don’t think the book mentioned anything about the drug parties or Blow Job, though.

Who are some of your heroes outside of the visual art stream?
Ivor Cutler (I wish I could trade accents with him) and Susan Sontag (I will be forever intimidated.)

Which of your own works are you most proud of/ is most meaningful to you and why?
Whatever I happen to be working on at the moment is most important to me. I don’t feel like revisiting old work at this point because I feel like there are so many things I still need to try my hand at.

Which art mediums and brands do you prefer to use?
A good set of pencils. I don’t really care which brand, just as long as I have every kind – 2H, F, 4B, HB, whatever. I’m pretty much grossed out by any sketchbook that isn’t Moleskine (I never know what to do with bright white paper, I just get sort of overwhelmed by how white and blank it is). My collection of old National Geographics does me well, too.

What kind of art education do you have? Do you think it is important?
I’m currently completing my first year at OCAD. I don’t know how I feel about it yet. I think art school gives you the opportunity to challenge yourself and learn a lot, but many of my peers don’t really challenge themselves nor do they have the desire to. Also: too many Marilyn Manson portraits.