Interview
Jay Lasnik
Jay grew up in the San Francisco and Monterey bay areas. He has always been interested in art and for his day job career is a live theatre props artisan, shop supervisor and teacher. He is also a set designer, scenic artist and costume crafts artisan. Jay has worked for such companies as the San Francisco Opera, Cirque de Soleil, American Conservatory Theatre and Penn State University, to name a few. As a fine artist, he is also a painter and lino block artist. His wax-resist "Pysanky" style egg art is something he took up seriously during the 2020 pandemic and has around 200 currently in his stock. They are for sale as individual pieces and soon as mobiles, too.
What is your background and how did you start your journey in the art world?
“I grew up in an artsy family. As far as I can remember, we were always doing some kind of art, painting beach rocks, carving dry-wall bas relief for school projects, winning neighborhood holiday lawn decoration contests with our chicken wire and paper mache sculptures, building model airplanes, cars and knights, the HO model train set up, with an airport! Mom doing needlepoint and then ceramics, dad doing watercolor paintings and photography, my brother doing models and my sister doing pen and ink drawings and etchings, and on and on. My earliest memory is literally painting the red paint on the Santa paper mache in our garage. I was always going to concerts, theatre shows, museums and some traveling. I was also, at an early age, exposed to people from other countries so that combined with all the other cultural experiences definitely helped stoke my insatiable appetite for new experiences, new adventures, for traveling, for different cultures, for nature, and for art in all its forms. I find that I get bored fairly easy and need to try and learn new things - that's why I really enjoy the challenge of learning a new art skill and then seeing how it can be a form of personal expression and how it can affect other people, too.”
What inspires you?
“Well, this is a very emotional question for me. First, I'm not sure if it's "inspiration" per se, but I have a physical, mental and emotional need to create things with my hands. In my day job, as a props artisan, supervisor and teacher, I call this "Itchy Finger Syndrome," the absolute need to use ones hands to create, to build. I think it's very primal and doesn't necessarily reply on skill or talent - it's just a natural, human need, like to eat or sleep, but in this case it is to, for example, take a lump of clay, throw it onto a table and pound it into a shape. Same for painting. Everyone has the same human ability and need to self-express, and communicate either important information or just that "I am here," and one of my biggest frustrations with adults is that they think that they are not "as good as" someone else, or "can't do" something. We're not talking about perceived "talent" or "quality." I'm talking about the human cathartic need to be recognized as being here on this planet. Aside from that, what inspires me? Music that can make me cry because it is so beautiful inspires me. Strong people who are moving forward and growing in their lives inspires me. Nature inspires me; walks through the trees, or by the beach, the sounds I hear in those places. I think my recent 60th birthday also inspires me, or maybe "motivates" is a better word. When one looks around at all the natural beauty in the world it's difficult not to be inspired just by that.”
What themes do you pursue? Is there an underlying message in your work?
“I am a big proponent of letting the art do the speaking. I really have never been much into additional information explaining a piece of art, because I feel art is to be experienced viscerally, not intellectually. If the placard next to a work of art, for example in a museum, is for historical context, then, fine. It may help the viewer understand the state of mind of the artist at that time in place of its creation. For me - themes? The theme I suppose would be, in my eye, aesthetic composition and emotional resonance. Sometimes it's just as simple as, "does it look good?" Other times, it's "does/can this make me feel a certain way? Do I like to look at it? Does it give me a good feeling or evoke a good memory?" I think the message of my art is a pretty simple one: See beauty in everything, try to look at things differently sometimes, don't take life for granted, take your time but don't waste it. I think that's what I want to communicate to people.”
“I am a big proponent of letting the art do the speaking.”
How would you describe your work?
“We're specifically talking about my wax-resist dyed, painted and/or inked decorated eggs here. I would describe them as fun, little pieces of unusual visual art that has the added dimension of being fragile. I would describe them as interesting to look at and display, and hopefully engaging, too. You can look at them as one thing, or you can pick them up and look at the lines or the shapes and the layers of colors. There is simplicity in the details and details in the simplicity of them. They can be merely decorative, say displayed in a bowl or jar with some yarn, placed on an egg stand on a bookshelf or fireplace mantle or sideboard, or even hung from a holiday tree or just a hook in your kitchen, living room or elsewhere. I would describe them as decorations that can elicit conversation from others and small 'moments' of color in your room.”
Which artists influence you most?
“Hands-down Claude Monet. Specifically, his huge water lily paintings, but all of his work, really! Tied for first is Vincent van Gogh, Rembrandt and Vermeer. When I see their paintings I feel emotions, I feel their point of view of the subject and the times in which they lived. Other artists that are influential include Maya Lin, Dale Chihuly, Richard Diebenkorn, Damien Hurst, Julie Taymor, Maurice Sendak, Isabelle de Borchgrave, Frida Khalo.”
What is your creative process like?
“Well, this might sound funny - but after I clean and sanitize the eggs - I really look at each egg, its size, shape, curves, length, etc., and kind of have to then let that specific egg "speak" to me. I know, it sounds kind of hokey, but only certain designs, line arrangements or natural shapes, will only look right on a specific shaped egg. Sometimes, I will pre-dye the natural egg in a color, so I might dye a dozen eggs in many different base colors to remove the white or the brown. Sometimes, I sketch out a design or pattern, for instance there is a set of 3 leaf-pattern eggs, and having that outline stencil helped me pencil in the design. Other times, I might just turn on the right music and good designs will come out. But, I do it solo and very focused in a short period of time. I try to do the whole process in one sitting; laying out the design, base color, if any. But, I also hand paint on dye or ink or paint, too. One egg is loose and flowing, another tight and constricted. My creative process is basically to be in the right mood and to want to do it that day. After the waxing and coloring is done, I melt the wax off over a candle with a paper towel and the egg in my hand, then dip the egg in oil-based Shellac. I am now, also coating, the inside of the eggs with some resin to give them an extra amount of strength, in the off-chance that they were to jump off a table and hit the floor, they are now better protected.”
What is an artist’s role in society and how do you see that evolving?
“An artist's role in society, be it visual art, fine art, performing art or literary art, is two-fold: to educate/communicate and to entertain. Or educate through entertainment, or entertain through educating. A good artist always has a point of view and a philosophy about life or a specific aspect of their world view including the culture in which they live and societal and political issues. It may be that a painting or photograph educates the viewer about a societal wrong or right, and motivates them to take action more so than a newspaper article. It may be that an aria from an opera moves a person so much to finally cry their eyes out from a trauma they had been repressing. Maybe the comedian just provides the best medicine, laughter, and it's healthy to just laugh in life. The purest definition is that the role of an artist is to evoke emotion. To evolve. To grow and change. Will the role of an artist evolve? The role itself? I am not sure. Today an artist can be an artist in their own studio and create only for themselves, or they can have patrons, sell their art or keep their art. 500 years ago an artist was a tradesperson, a craftsperson and that was their job. Today there are a lot of art for arts sake artists and a lot of emotional expressive artists. Does art affect the world if it's only created for the artist? Or must it be put out into the world?”
