Welcome to the Studio with Komikka!
I recently returned from a much-needed break, during which I spent the summer exploring different islands of Japan, Charlotte, and New York. Upon my return, I took time for introspection and readjusting to being back home. It is a restorative period and I feel inspired by the adventures, which will influence my upcoming plans as I settle back into my routine.
Rest is necessary. It is important to settle matters so that forward movement is deliberate and clear. I firmly believe that when things start to feel obligatory and no longer enjoyable, it's time to change direction. I am deeply engaged in my creative operation, delving into the essence of my being while also exploring the depths of nature. As summer draws to a close and the leaves begin to fall, I have returned to North Carolina to embrace the final thunderstorms and summer showers, savoring the precious water they bring.
Creating space is crucial. I stretch purposefully to make room for new experiences and new perspectives, breaking down barriers to allow new growth. My recent work reflects this theme, where surreal self-portraits reveal my innermost thoughts as I strive to understand the human experience. Just like constantly rearranging a collage, I delve into different aspects of my identity and then reshape them.
Photo Cred: Reginald Eldridge Jr.
The current adjustment period has been embracing various colors and becoming comfortable with handling a lot of information and sensory input. In the past, I avoided this because I was overwhelmed by sensations. I warned myself against overstimulation since I wanted art to be a place of rest, peace, or to incite a meditative energy. Now that I have gained a bit more clarity and respite, I am interested in expressing myself more brightly and adding with greater complexity. A more full and immersive experience that invites a fuller and improved sense of transparency.
I've spent the last two months in a hyper-creative space drawing, rolling around in paint, and inhaling all types of fumes. After such a long time traveling (and creating), It’s nice to regain stability and use the insights, color palettes, and inspirations I gained abroad to create something new and inventive—without worrying about if it will fit in my suitcase. I'm really excited to see and share how my travels have influenced my art and added to my imaginative self.
Environment! Environment! Environment!
My studio spaces like to shift every few months or so whether it's due to roaming or some form of cleaning. I enjoy working in a new and refreshed space, or maybe a different part of the house. Maybe instead of listening to audiobooks, I'm just watching Chinese lifestyle shows on YouTube (me every 2 months). All of it feeds different facets of myself that require my attention and support. I show up in support and it shows up in the art.
TANGENT!
Link to available works here!
A trip to New York isn’t complete without visiting exhibitions! I was fortunate to visit The Metropolitan where they featured beautiful works from the Harlem Renaissance. This was a time and place for immense Black expression through color, illustrative gestures negating European beauty standards, and radical confrontation of racism through the depiction of joy and family.
The exhibition showcased the layering of cultural, social, artistic, reflective, and emotional information. I was particularly drawn to certain works on account of their texture. Although my work is through a more intrapersonal, emotional, and cerebral lens, I was drawn to the materials and the layering process where imagery meets storytelling, culture, and triumph.
Grappling ideas from home and blending them with the constant motion of culture around me to create art overwhelmed (but excited) me. With a new way of seeing, interacting, and integrating mundane objects like cups, dyes, paper, materials, and other things, I have broadened my appreciation for the little things.
Not only in my creative practice but spiritually, mentally, and emotionally, things have gotten more colorful. Some days are quite active in the studio, while some are spent in bed, in front of a computer screen, or laying in the sun wishing for rain. It is through the totality of all experiences that the creative mind really shines; and the allowing of celebration of all experiences that art and profoundness take stage.
Lately, I've been reflecting a lot on fear and how we tend to hide or suppress it. This theme has influenced my recent artworks and self-portraits, which often focus on the bravery required for introspection. I've been exploring the concept of embracing shadows, having conversations with them, and learning to love them as they are, rather than trying to change them to fit societal norms.
The current work highlights an effort to love unconditionally—to love everything that was once suppressed and/or ignored—because of survival or because of not knowing any better. Color has been added to celebrate the brightening of vision and the expansion of capacity to hold onto a butt load of information, such as texture, lines, shapes, values, all of these visual elements that combine to create an intriguing image or point of view.
As the mind unlearns and relearns, the art has no other choice than to evolve as well.
I have a deep appreciation for my migrations because I feel some locations bring forth more polished ways of expression while others are more gritty and raw. Some places inspire me to use blood and dirt while others say “maybe lets try the expensive gloss medium… we want it shiny.” Both experiences are essential to my process and heighten the conversation of humanity.
So excited to clean out art and visit family and friends. And most importantly unpack what I've collected on my journey. Stay tuned for what's to come!
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- Komikka Patton