Artist Interview: Irene Hwang

Irene Hwang of Bobobabushka makes the most interesting matryoshka dolls around – they’re all alive with character (and attitude too, I might add); best of all, there’s some trompe-l‘œil action going on!

Name: Irene Hwang
Location: Gold Coast, Australia (and sometimes NYC)
Website/Shop: Etsy: bobobabushka
Blog: bobobabushka.wordpress.com
Illustration media: acrylic on wood…with miscellaneous add-ons.

Tell us a little more about yourself!
I am a Taiwanese-born New Yorker currently living in Gold Coast, Australia so I’m an old hand at filling out officious-looking forms. I was teaching art to pre-schoolers up to grade eight students for several years before deciding to give it all up, including my bulldog Bo, and start afresh in the west coast. But first, I was going to see the world, broaden my horizon, and figure out what to do with my life. My first stop was Australia. Three days after I arrived, I met my future husband. I ended up moving west as planned, only a little further on than I intended, and on flip side of the equator.

Don’t worry, my Bo is safe and sound and being minded with diligent, almost to a degree of alarming, care by my parents.

You were born in Taiwan and grew up in the USA. Did that ever impacted your work in any way?
When people ask me where I grew up, I always say, Taiwan and Queens. I was encouraged to experiment with all things artistic as a kid because my parents believed that I might as well have my fun before being thrown into the rigorous education system in Taiwan. Immigrating to the US took its toll, but the one solace I always had was my ability to create an alternate universe with my drawings. This resulted in me being a little loopy. Fortunately, in the US, there are plenty of opportunities for loopy kids, like high schools that focuses more on the arts than academics and I had some great art and design teachers. In the first part of my childhood I learned to have fun, in the second part, I learned discipline and how to combine the two together, which ultimately made me a perfect candidate to dabble in illustration.

What stands out about living in Australia at the moment, and what is your daily schedule like?
I’ve been living in Oz-Land for nearly two years now and still can’t get over how laid-back everyone and everything is. It’s quite a change from my previous life in the Big Apple. But I’ve always been a mellow person, so this place suits me better…although I am still surprised that I don’t get yelled at when I dawdle at the check out lines in supermarkets!

I don’t use an alarm clock anymore, since the birds make sure I wake up when they wake up, which is around 4:30 AM these days. We’re not talking about the gentle chirps of Disneyesque birds, but the loud and obnoxious squawks of Australian natives. They are more effective than alarm clocks. On a work week I spend about 6-8 hours on a project. Parts of my afternoons are set aside for messing around in the kitchen. I love to cook but detest following recipes. I feel bad sometimes that others are subjected to my concoctions. Then again, without people like me, there wouldn’t be Cup O Noodles. At night (in the summer months) I usually abandon my paintings because my desk lamp draws every moth and gnats in the area and I monitor the rooms for any invasion of the insect kind. In Oz, nature has a tendency to take back what’s rightfully theirs. Although I respect that, I still don’t see why I have to share my muffins with roaches the size of warthogs. My fiance makes sure I have a day off now and then. We usually spend it at the movies, hiking or kayaking.

How did you get your start in illustration?
It started with me discovering the magical wonders of a ball point pen. I can’t say how old I was, but old enough to know it shouldn’t be used on the dining room wall, but it was anyway. After that I always had a pen with me. I didn’t get into any of the Catholic high schools in Queens, but managed to be accepted to several art high schools in Manhattan. I majored in interior design in high school but moved onto illustration in college. I worked for art dealers, high concept boutiques, an illustration rep agency, and did some freelance gigs before going back to school for art education and subsequently began my teaching career as a dance instructor.

Could you tell us more about your thought process when you start a piece?
The ideas generally hits me at the most inopportune time, waiting in a queue, kayaking, marooned on an island (this happens to me more frequently than any New Yorker would care to admit). I’d be so excited about the project and want to start straight away. But I’d force myself to sit down and do a sketch first and figure out all the kinks. Painting matryoshka dolls can be a bit tricky, especially if I’m trying to convey a story through them. I’d have to have the right angles and focus on a point of interest and then figure out the colors. Up until recently I’ve only really worked with pen and ink, so the concept of color doesn’t come easily! I’ve learned over the years that my first instinct is always the right one, so I almost always stick with it.

Do you keep a journal/sketchbook, and would you mind if we had a sneak peek?
I have this really bad habit of scribbling on pieces of scrap paper. Napkins, receipts, lotto tickets…When I was packing up, I found, to my horror, that with one swift flick of the wrist, I could be buried in an avalanche of my scribbles. Since I was planning on doing heavy duty backpacking, I had to get an actual sketchbook, or else I’d be leaving a trail of papers behind me wherever I went. I have two now. One is comprised of drawings and prints I’ve done in taped into a sketchbook (old habits die hard) and the other one is my travel journal. For me, art and writing goes hand in hand…and I finally had the perfect excuse to combine both of my favorite past times.

What or who inspires you?
I firmly believe I have a muse lurking around. When she’s here, she’s loud, demanding, pushy, and wants to get things done without any regard for my personal welfare. I adore her, except on nights when I desperately want to go to sleep but am stuck in my chair with a paintbrush in my hand. When she goes on vacations, though, I am inspired by every day things. I never know when an idea is going to hit, whether it’s a trip to the mechanic or just doing the laundry. It’s a magical thing, how an idea comes into the light and ends up either firmly taped into my sketchbook or on a matryoshka doll.

What keeps you motivated?
My fiance! He’s an adventurer who does these crazy sea kayaking expeditions. When I first met him I figured that he lives off the land and grunts around a bit when he’s on one of his trips. I didn’t know then that he’s also a gear head. A lot of things he uses can’t be bought commercially or are too big to fit into his kayak so he’s always thinking up ways to make his sojourns bearable and then constructs it from scratch. He makes his gadgets on one end of our dining table and I use the other end for my projects. He gets so into his work and I feel like I need to do the same as well. It’s always funny when the two of us are working together because what we’re doing is so different from each other’s but our mindsets are the same.

What’s your favourite tool?
I absolutely love pen and ink. If I hadn’t had a bevy of teachers and friends to inspire me with other mediums, I’d have stayed with it! But now I rely heavily on the Winsor & Newman Cotman paintbrushes. I have one about 10 years old and it’s still good as new.

Are you a full-time artist?
Now that I am not tethered to a day job, I am. I live in a small space so I am constantly surrounded by my art supplies, piles of matryoshka dolls and my books. I’m also fortunate enough to be in a situation where I don’t really have to think about anything else.

What advice would you like to give people who are interested in being an artist full-time?
There’s no reason why you should let a little thing like life hold you back.

Where do you see yourself within the next few years?
I plan to travel more and see what else will inspire me. If I haven’t taken the initiative and leave my comfort zone, I wouldn’t be where I am right now, doing what I love.

What message do you want to send out to people about your work?
My dolls are meant to put a little sparkle of light into people’s life. If the spark is lit, great. If not, that’s all right too.

Tell us something random about yourself!
I have an extensive (but mostly useless) knowledge of progressive rock and Broadway shows.