Jessica Phan, SWAYE Artist, created a piece called “Home for the Holidays” for the SWAYE December Issue. Matthew Chen (Founder, Editor-In-Chief) interviewed Jessica to learn about her artistic process, inspirations, and goals.
Q. What kind of art do you do?
Jessica: Bullet journaling
Q. How and when did you become interested in it?
Jessica: I actually started off my interest in bulletjournaling from doing calligraphy. When I was in 7th grade, I loved to do style my font and get creative with them. Soon, I found out that type of art lettering was called calligraphy. I spent most of freetime just scribbling around practicing my calligraphy. That was when I saw youtube videos of people doing what was called a “daily spread”. With the inspiration of those videos and my interest in kpop, I started my own bulletjournal on kpop groups/culture.
Q. How do your family and friends play apart in you pursuing your art?
Jessica:
“My friends have always been rooting for me whenever I show them my form of art which motivates me to continue exploring my art more in-depth.”
Q. Why did you join SWAYE Media?
Jessica: I joined SWAYE as a way for me to explore both my art and myself more. I wanted to take this as a chance to finally show my form of art and hopefully inspire others.
Q. What memorable responses have you had to your work?
Jessica: I remember in 8th grade when one of my PE teachers was amazed by my bullet journal and asked me if I could design a poster for her so she could hang it up in her office.
“This made me feel so touched and urged me to continue this art.”
Q. What is your process like for writing a piece?
Jessica: I tend to come up with a type of aesthetic and color first, then creating a mental layout of the piece. Afterward, I just like to go on with whatever I have.
Q: How is writing special to you?
Jessica: Bullet journaling is my safe space. It’s like my distraction from the rest of the world.
“It allows me to feel calm and to create whatever I want without any limitations.”
Q. Describe a real-life situation that inspired you?
Jessica: When someone once told me they started bullet journaling because they were inspired by me!
Q. Who or what are your greatest inspirations?
Jessica: I don’t have a person in mind, but besides my art, music is my greatest inspiration as it motivates me to do a lot of things in life.
Q. What is your ultimate goal as an artist?
Jessica:
“My goal as an artist is to inspire others and give people a sense of who I am through my form of art.”
Check out Jessica’s project from last month: “Home for the Holidays” here!
Jessica’s Social Media links: