INTERVIEW with Yow Giao || Artist
From Yow Giao’s Instagram
SD: Can you tell us a little about your art and your background?
YG: My art is about awareness… I create my abstract eyeballs which I wear on my head as a headband and I also add these eyeballs to all my art works.
Awareness I believe is the most important thing we can do to progress in life. Being aware of ourselves and our surrounds at all times. Being aware at all times is living in the present moment and having control of your mind for a stronger mind… mental toughness. This is something we all have to do on a daily basis in order to live a happy and fulfilled life. If we focus of hardening our minds and control our minds we will live a better life, overcome depression through hard work and doing what we are suppose to do not what we always want to do.
Mental health is very important to my because in 1998 my sister in law committed suicide when she was only 16 years old. I will tell you the story another time… Her brother who was my partner at the time was also very abusive towards me… there was physical violence, mental violence, emotional violence… Long story short … the relationship ended with myself escaping death through strangulation and a finally a restraining order in court. Because of the suicide of my sister in law and the violence behaviours of my ex, I have been interested in the mind, why and how people do what they do. I have discovered that a strong mind can overcome negative thoughts…our thoughts are EVERYTHING… our thoughts will decide all our actions and what will happen in our lives… Don’t be the problem… find the solution.
To me I have discovered that one solution is working on our minds everyday… if we tell ourselves ‘today I will wake up early and clean up the house’ do it…
If I minds tell us ‘I will not drink today’ do it…
If we say ‘tomorrow I won’t eat so much sugar and carbs’… do it!….
We all have struggle with something and every day is our own struggle, it’s the hardest thing… but if we overcome it we have the power over our minds. We need overcome our minds by doing the things we dislike first and then we will be happier… because doing what we love it not a struggle… that’s the easy part…just my thoughts.
SD: What have you been doing during quarantine?
YG: I have been working on my art and learning about strengthening my mind.
I recently started on a new art project called “closer to god’… it’s about getting closer to God through meditation, fitness, mental fitness, obsession with learning and work…. Pretty much through everything we do in life… if done in the right way can get us closer to God… which I have come to believe it is within ourselves.Unfortunately my dog/my best friend Guinness passed away during this Quarantine so I spent some time grieving for him. We also got a new puppy the following month after my Guinness passed so that took me out of my normal routine. Training a new puppy takes up a lot of time… just watching him so he doesn’t make too many potty mistakes in the house. Training him some tricks and not to bite… etc.
SD: In terms of your artwork, which artists have inspired you?
YG: I loved Picasso because his art was different at the time and his life was art… art every day… creating everyday. Picasso changed how we all see art…. Also Henri Mattise for similar reasons to why I love Picasso.
I also love Andy Warhol because he changed how we see art. He made everyday objects into fine art. I love Marcel Duchamp because he is another artist which changed the art world by putting a urinal into a gallery and saying “anything can be art”. I love conceptual art… art that makes you think differently.
SD: Have you ever experienced “artist’s block?” If so, what are some strategies you’ve used to overcome it?
YG: I have never experienced an artist’s block. There are so many things to create/draw/paint/sculpt… Draw a cartoon, person, flower, a tree, make a bee, patterns, food, scribble, draw circles… anything… theres so much inspiration out there!
From Yow Giao’s Instagram
SD: What do you like about painting?
YG: I love creating something from nothing…
I love seeing the end result.
I love inspiring people through art.
I love color and experimenting with paints and other mediums.
I love that art inspires me to learn, to love life so much more and appreciate everything that is life.
There is so much I love about art… not just painting.
Jackson Pollocks brother was a painter… Jackson Pollock couldn’t draw a picture but he was an artist.
SD: Can you describe your work process?
YG: I have an idea in my head and I try to create my idea.
Sometimes it turns out close to what I imagine and sometimes it changes as I am creating.
I decide what mediums I will use for which areas and then I usually add some mediums during the process as I feel the picture needs it.
I like to create what makes me happy and what inspires me at the time. I just do… I don’t think too much about it.
YG: Giao, what is your definition of art career success?
YG: Make the best art you can … alway make your latest piece your best… always progressing and evolving makes a successful artist.
SD: What personality trait do you have that has been most helpful in your art career?
YG: All personality traits can become successful…whether you are an introvert, extravert, bubbly, quite, sociable or recluse.
The fundamentals of a success artist to me are Never give up, Create work EVERYDAY! Think art, do art, breathe art… BE ART! And then show it to the world. You are the creator but the end result belongs to someone else.
SD: What famous artist from history would you like to spend a day with and what would you do together?
YG: I would like to spend time with Picasso and pick his brain…
But mostly I would love to spend the day with Jesus, Buddha or Lao Tzu… people who know how to live life. I would like to be in the presence of those people. I would like to just listen to them speak and learn as much as I can.
SD: What’s an exciting project you have lined up that you can tell us about?
YG: I have many projects… one project in the future is to open my own Gallery. A place where people can come in and take photos and socialize, a happy place where people can come and then leave feeling inspired. That is my future plan for my art.
I would also eventually love to collaborate with some fashion companies because I also love fashion.
Follow Yow Giao on her:
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/yow_giao_art/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/yowgiaoart/
Website: http://www.yowgiaoart.com/
From Yow Giao’s Instagram