ASA Artist Interview Series: Elle Street Art

Check out our ASA Artists Interview Series with ELLE Street Art
1. We are a big fan of your work. What is coming up that we need to know?
Thank you! That’s so nice of you to say! I have quite a few projects on the table at the moment. This month, I am participating in a group show at the Fashion Institute of New York, which opens the 17th of April. Next month I’m partaking in a mural festival in San Francisco, in conjunction with Rocha Art Gallery. The murals will be painted by myself and a number of other super talented women- including Hueman (SF), Lolo YS (SF), Tatiana Suarez, Caratoes (Hong Kong), Angelina Christina (Los Angeles), and Kristin Farr (San Francisco). We’ll be having an opening on May 28th at Rocha Gallery, SF.
Also in May I will be exhibiting with Select Art Fair, where I will be showing some of my new lightbox pieces.
In June, I will be participating in Bushwick Open Studios by painting a mural at Forrest Point in Bushick, and also doing a joint exhibit at Sugarlift studios on June 6th with Rubin415 and a few others. Immediately after that I am headed to Europe to paint walls around Amsterdam, Berlin, London, Paris, and a few other spots. I’m super fortunate to be sponsored by Liquitex and they are able to send me paint wherever I might be! I can’t even think beyond June at this point! 
2. What mediums do you use at the moment to make the artworks and are there any new progresses in these formats?
I have recently begun to make light boxes. This stemmed from doing Ad Takeovers around New York (with a key from Public Ad Campaign), where I would put a big paper piece of art in place of an ad inside of the bus shelters around town– then I thought, “Hey! I need to really take advantage of these beautiful lightboxes that light up at night around the city!” I’m able to make copies of the lightbox pieces in the studio and take them back into the streets, so enjoying the continuity there. So, I suppose drawing, making lightboxes, and painting walls is taking up most of my time at the moment.
3. How do you look at the Dutch streetart/graffiti scene?
I do pay attention to the global scene, and if we’re talking specifically Dutch– I’m actually good friends with the boys from the London Police, who live in Amsterdam, and I’m excited to visit them in June and hopefully paint a collaboration together while I’m visiting! We’ve done a number of collaborative pieces over the years and I think they’re fantastic! I look forward to seeing more of the Dutch streetart/graffiti scene in person when I arrive this summer!
4. What is the next step in to the future of street art in your opinion?
Whew- Tough question. I’m really a terrible planner. My whole motto is really just go-with-the-flow. I love not knowing what the future might hold for me!
5. If you have to choose, which city would you like to conquer next?
You know, it’s crazy, but nearly half of my friends moved to LA in the past year, so I’m really keen to spend some more time out there… I’ve painted in LA before, but it looks like I might be spending even more time out there next winter– and Mexico City!
6. I have seen a big progress in your artwork. What do you think about your own progress over the last few years?
Thank you! Hmm.. you know how it is, there’s never enough time to do everything that I want, so I’m always thinking I’m not doing enough and there’s so much more to be done! I’m just trying to keep my nose to the grindstone and keep pushing the work– I like to surprise myself, I never really know what I’ll end up with, but if I just continue making things- the work will evolve and grow… I just need to try to stay in the studio! 
7. You guys were in the latest street art intervention by IKEA. We are very curious of how did you guys became part of the project. Can you tell us a bit more? And do you think they treated you well as artists?
I was super honored to be included as one of the 12 artists in the IKEA StreetArt Event poster series. The creative director of IKEA in Sweden, Henrik Most, reached out to me via email last year and said that he liked my work and wanted to commission a piece… at the time I was thinking “How does he know about me in Sweden?!” He said he very much liked certain pieces of mine, and I was super flattered… so I called my mom and told her, very excited, and she said– “you know elle, don’t get your hopes up, I’m sure it’s just a scam”… haha… fortunately for me it wasn’t and Henrik was absolutely lovely to work with. I’m super pleased with the piece that I created for them and am very happy to have artwork available worldwide at such an affordable cost– that kind of accessibility is the point of streetart- making your work accessible to pedestrians and anyone who will look at it, putting one’s art out in the public for people to see and enjoy– not just creating art for people who venture into galleries!
8. What do you say to people who don’t understand that artists are OK with working together with multinationals ?
It’s a good question. I understand why certain individuals would be hesitant to work with multinationals, but you have to be able to discern between these companies. Not all multinationals are created alike or have the same goals. There are certain multinational companies that I would never, in a million years, work for or with. My collaborative piece with IKEA holds true to what I stand for; allowing me to share my art with whomever might want to own a piece at an extremely affordable price… on the other hand, I’ve been offered to sell my shirts in super hip stores and offered spots on streetart television shows and other things that don’t make sense to me as an artist. Mainly, I believe it is important to be cognizant of what projects you take on, and make sure that no matter what it is that I’m doing- I’m not jeopardizing my moral stance on things. I also am sponsored by Liquitex, and am one of their brand ambassadors, and they are fantastic. We have an amazing relationship and they have allowed me many opportunities by providing me paint. Liquitex encourages and enables me to take on projects that I wouldn’t otherwise be able to, financially or otherwise. Working with companies, like these two, allow me to create more work, better work, and with even more accessibility.