Getting to know artist Vanja Kragulj
On color, teaching kid's art classes to adults, and finding balance: A conversation with Editorial Director, Ashley Holloway
Unleash Lit editor Ashley Holloway sat down with Canadian artist Vanja Kragulj to chat about all things colorful (and some not-so).
Ashley Holloway (AH): Hi, Vanja Kragulj (VK), thanks for spending some time with Unleash! Among many other really cool things, you are a Canadian artist, surface designer, illustrator, art educator, entrepreneur, and overall, super fab human who has a pretty big following. I am really interested in how you got your start; can you tell me a little bit about your journey?
VK: Hi Ashley! Thank you for the opportunity to be interviewed about my work. I initially studied graphic design at AUArts, and shortly after graduating I moved to Montreal and started working in children’s publishing and fashion as an illustrator, graphic designer and art director. I never planned to work in the children’s industry, it kind of found me early on in my career and I realized I really loved it. However, I was too scared to try freelance illustration, so for many years I worked in graphic design. But after a while, design didn’t stimulate me creatively and I decided to take the big leap into fulltime illustration about 8 years ago when I moved back to Calgary. It was also around that time that I started dabbling in teaching, at first from my home and then later I opened my studio. I now split my time between freelance illustration as well as teaching illustration workshops to children and adults in my studio and in collaboration with local organizations and schools.
AH: When approaching a project, how do you start? Like, how do you get your inspiration for such cool, bright colors, designs, and shapes?
VK: That’s a great question! I initially approach my illustration projects with a mindset of a designer. That means that I start by creating a mood-board of images that will inspire the final illustration. This can include a colour palette, patterns, graphics, etc. I keep these images all around my art board as I start sketching or illustrating so that I always reference back to them.
AH: Do you ever feel as though there aren't enough colors or shapes in the world?
VK: I DEFINITELY feel that there is not enough colour in the world, in particular in our part of the world. I wish we would approach colour similarly to countries such as Mexico. Personally, I think colour makes everything better and we should embrace it more, in our architecture, design, fashion, everything!
AH: A big focus of your workshops is collage-based art, and you teach kids art classes to adults. What is it about the act of creating and of making collages that draws in both kids and adults alike?
VK: I definitely didn’t plan on becoming a collage artist. I just found that it was very closely linked to my graphic design background because it allows me to play with colour and shape similarly as I would on the computer. With collage, I get to choose from a much larger variety of colours that can’t be produced in print and I’m able to create everything with my hands, which I prefer over the computer. With children, I use collage a lot because it’s much easier for a young child to cut let’s say a circular shape, paint it, then glue it, rather than paint a circular shape and a background around it. As for adults, I feel that the act of cutting and glueing paper brings them back to a child-like state. It’s very therapeutic because it allows us to let go of perfectionism and enjoy the process. I often have to set a timer in my adult classes for the cutting portion because people really get lost in the process.
AH: You and I have discussed how I, as someone who writes and edits on the side, have a lot more creative freedom to take on projects, and do so without worrying about financial gain (well… to a point!). As someone who has a salary, I have the luxury of doing so; I know I will still have a paycheque at the end of the day. You, on the other hand, have taken that giant leap and have made this your work. Now, to me, this is incredibly courageous, and I admire you so much for this (but, I mean, come on, your art is fabulous! Of course this is your career). But, in doing so, this also means that your work is a bit feast-or-famine; you take work when you can get it because it may not be there next week. I'm curious how you deal with this uncertainty and relative lack of predictability? Basically, how do you be you?
VK: Well, this is the million-dollar question. I would say that I’m still learning to deal with the uncertainty. It’s an ongoing process. However, I also know that I don’t do well with too much predictability, and I get bored easily. The key is to shift the fear of the uncertainty into excitement of what might come next. The potential of a new project or a new aspiration is what gets me up in the morning. The uncertainty and excitement go hand in hand.
You can find Vanja Kragulj through Instagram (@vanjakraguljillustration) or through her website: https://www.vanjakragulj.com/