Haoua Saley
Welcome to the first week of December, everyone! December is a crazy time for Barbara Ingram because of the all-school Performance Holiday Spectacular. Here, all students from all grades and disciplines participate and show their work whether that be a drawing, a piece of writing, a dance, an animation and so much more. This week at the Phantom we decided to start off this month's column with an interview with Ethan Yamashita and Georgia Bantugan. They partner together to create a story with illustrations for the creative writer's collaboration with the visual artist.
Ethan Yamashita’s Interview
Saley: How did you come up with the inspiration for your piece?
Yamashita: My main inspiration for the piece was actually something from when Ms. Fishow was still at BISFA. She gave us these little slips of paper from what she called the “Surrealism Bag of Wonder” and mine simply read “Your character sneezes out handwritten letters.” I was struggling to find an idea for my holiday spec piece and then I came across this little tidbit which got me going. From there I had the idea for Evan, a really sweet guy who can only talk through letters, just thanking a random person on his commute, being Sylvia. From there I just kind of followed where these characters told me to go.
Saley: How long did the writing process take/what were the steps taken to get your piece to where it is today?
Yamashita: The actual writing was a bit of a process. I got the burst of inspiration from the little prompt at about midnight because the paper was on my bedside. So I hammered out one or two letters that night, took a break, and then over a couple days I kept on writing and revising the piece until I had it finished. After that initial draft was done, it went through a workshop process of peer review and revision, a conference with Ms. Lee and Ms. Irwin, and then a final revised copy. It took a lot but I’m really proud of where it is today.
Saley: Is this going to be your first piece of published work?
Yamashita: It will be, although my encyclopedia project, A Life Lived In Spite Of _______, An Encyclopedia will soon be on sale through Barnes & Noble. I’m really excited to get my writing out there.
Saley: How did you and your artist come into contact?
Yamashita: Initially Georgia and I got in contact through Instagram where I saw I had about ten messages from this person I hadn’t talked to much before. She just asked me a lot about my characters and what I was envisioning for the piece.
Saley: What surprised you when working with your artist?
Yamashita: Something that surprised me was how specific a lot of the questions were. I like to have a really specific idea of my characters in my brain, favorite colors, favorite foods, likes and dislikes, manner of dress, all that jazz. As we talked she ended up asking about a lot of those things which I’ve never really had to use before so that was a neat experience.
Saley: In what ways did you help your artist with their piece?
Yamashita: Like I said, I helped with the looks of the characters (which didn’t end up going into the final draft of the art piece but it’s cool) as well as with the overall design of the art piece. I also remember her saying that she was going to use my handwriting on the piece itself which terrifies me if true (I haven’t seen it close enough to tell).
Saley: How do you feel about the final piece?
Yamashita: Like I said I haven’t seen it too closely, our teacher put it on the projector at about a quarter of the screen, but I really liked what I saw. The lighting and the ambiance of it is so spot on and is so above my league. It’s truly amazing seeing it all come together.
Saley: Where can we find your work?
Yamashita: You can find my work and Georgia’s work in our upcoming collection with the rest of the creative writers and visual artists Dark Nights & Twinkling Lights coming out on Barnes & Noble publishing. You can also find me specifically in my collection A Life Lived In Spite Of _______, An Encyclopedia also coming out soon.
Georgia Bantugan’s Interview
Saley: How did you work with the writer to come up with the inspiration for your piece?
Bantugan: I firstly started off with reading Ethan’s piece and brainstorming ideas. I was having some trouble actually, and a friend of mine, Jessica, suggested putting a letter on a bus seat. Realizing how amazing and simple the idea was, I immediately started making drafts, including some other ideas involving the characters in the same setting.
Saley: How did you create cohesion between your style of art and the writer's style of writing?
Bantugan: I made the style to go along with the feeling Ethan’s writing gave. By applying the mood I received, I used textured brushes and a warm-toned yellow to give the same sense of warmth you’d feel when you read Ethan’s piece.
Saley: How long did the drawing process take/what were the steps taken to get your piece to where it is today?
Bantugan: The drawing process didn’t take too long actually. I used Procreate on [my] iPad, [and] started off by tracing my rough draft and finalizing the line art. I then used grayscale, which is everything in black and white, and added layers of color.
Saley: Is this going to be your first piece of published art? If not please plug and brag
Bantugan: Yes, this is my first piece of published art, and I am STOKED
Saley: How did you and your writer come into contact?
Bantugan: I messaged Ethan on Instagram asking for suggestions and if he wanted anything to add onto the work.
Saley: What surprised you when working with your writer?
Bantugan: Ethan made my job incredibly easy. He provided great suggestions yet giving me lots of creative freedom. Dude’s such a nice chill guy, professional, and it was such a cool opportunity to work with him.
Saley: How do you feel about the final piece?
Bantugan: I feel pretty accomplished with the final piece, I think the style and the colors completed the feel or mood of the artwork.
Saley: Where can we find your work?
Bantugan: I have an art account on Instagram @pinoymangoart!! I also have a few other pieces in the upcoming arts exhibition, taking place at the BISFA lobby.
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