We just wanted to officially welcome our newest artist, Jing Wei to the Charmingwall family. Her pieces are beyond precious and we had a chance to chat with her recently about animals and everyone's favorite dessert... jell-O!
CW: How did you get started? Any cool childhood work you remember?
JW: I had a magnetic drawing board that I was obsessed with as a kid. It had a handle, so I would carry it around everywhere. Whenever a family friend came over, I would make them sit while I drew horrendous portraits of them. But growing up, I never expected or wanted to have a career making art. In middle school I was voted "Most Likely To Become An Artist", and was outraged because I really wanted to be a food critic. Then in high school, I rediscovered my love for drawing and the rest, as they say, is history.
Designed by Jing Wei for issue of in-flight magazine for American Airlines, American Way
CW: Are you an artist full time?
JW: Almost. I have a part-time job teaching Mandarin to 2 yr. old babies on the Upper West Side. They're very special babies. The class involves a lot of singing, dancing, and puppeteering. It's totally embarrassing and awesome. And we make tons of art projects, 90% of which feature stick-on googly eyes.
CW: Do you have any favorite pieces?
JW: I actually really like how the black and white Believer pieces turned out. I'd love to make more of those. It's less time-consuming, and emphasizes the drawing in a very satisfying way. Normally with my artwork, the honeymoon period is extremely short. I tend to get sick of a piece the same week I finish making it! And then it's on to the next thing.
CW: Animals seem to inspire you very much. Did you grow up around animals?
JW: Not really! In grade school, I'd always try to make friends with the kids who had the best pets, so I could go over to their houses and play with them. I got my first pet when I was living in China, on the way home from school one day. I passed by a guy selling baby chicks out of a shoe box and thought, "I should probably get one of those". When I moved to the states, I had to part with my chicken and it was really sad. I remember being on the plane with my mom, who told me that he was in the hands of my relatives, and they were probably going to eat him.
by Jing Wei
CW: Do you currently have any neat pets?
JW: I'm not sure if neat is the word. I have an enormous cat named Groover(who also goes by Greenberg and Chairman Meow). He's super friendly, but also exerts a lot of power over the household. He's been likened to an aggressive sea monster and a half-full bag of rice, depending on what mood he's in. When he gets mad, it's a lot to handle. I'm so thankful for the patience of my roommates. I hope they stick around long enough to grow old with him.
CW: What are looking into exploring with your work in the new year?
JW: I'd like to work on creating fuller landscapes, more convincing places. With a lot of my pieces, the background is kind of an afterthought, when it could be used to add more context and dimension. I've also been really interested in transportation and travel. (I'm sure NY public transit has partially affected this.) I like thinking about how some of these characters get around from one imaginary world to another, even if it's not plausible in the least bit. So I'm sure that theme will sneak its way into my work at some point, if it hasn't already.
Precious Moments : Lime by Jing Wei
CW: What flavor jell-O mold would you most want to hang out in?
JW: What flavor of Jell-O WOULDN'T I want to hang out in?? (Answer: Anything savory.)
To be in the know of Jing's Wei's radical work please check out her blog. And don't forget to scope out her prints at Charmingwall.
