Today we’d like to introduce you to Abby Guempel.
Abby, please kick things off for us by telling us about yourself and your journey so far.
I’m originally from Indonesia and the oldest of two children. My mom is an artist. She painted movie theatre billboards when Adobe had not yet been invented. So, I grew up with my mom’s sketches and colored-pencil paper dolls as my childhood toys. We get the artistic blood from my mom side for sure. My background is actually architecture and minor in graphic design. My brother always did better art than me and I was stuck with columns and beams, but he was the one who taught me digital art for the first time using Wacom. In 2008, I moved to the US and I was super poor. The only meal I could afford was noodle cup and apples. So, I tried to make ends meet by taking a small graphic design job for a science company. My first project was a graphic shirt design. It was an eye-opening and now I’m obsessed with anything related to design.
Can you give our readers some background on your art?
I have been exploring across all media such as mural art, digital illustration, clay figuring, painting, etc. However, my true love and passion are for paper-cutting and hand lettering.
I learned some of the technics of paper-cutting from architecture school. Every semester, we had to create a 3D model for our architecture design. So, I implement that skill to make paper-cutting art. I usually start my process with sketches. Then, I usually walk away and look for ideas and more inspiration. After I spend enough time browsing around, I come back to the drawing board and recreate. Once I find the ‘aha’, I start paper-cutting. Most of my papercutting projects are about eerie movies or nature.
My love for hand lettering was discovered not that long ago, in 2015. I knew it was love at first sight. My love for proportion and flexibility are shown all over my hand-lettering works. I’m obsessed with the intricacy and the skill of problem-solving that you learn from hand-lettering.
Most of my projects are talking about positivity and motivation (also, about my love for eerie movies). So, I want my art to be an inspiration for people to feel motivated to do something for themselves and it can start with small things like doodles on a scrap paper.
Do you think conditions are generally improving for artists? What more can cities and communities do to improve conditions for artists?
I think people appreciate artists a lot more nowadays compares to the old days. People have a deep-set appreciation for craftsmanship and artisanship. As you can see, so many art events are supported and funded by their local area. Therefore, artists can express their creativity more freely and can reach out and interact directly with their enthusiasts and audiences. I think supporting locally made products or local art events is one of the things that we can do to help artists (us) survive. Also, not forgetting the power of social media which has been very helpful for artists to promote and showcase their products. So then, followers can interact directly with the artists and vice versa.
What’s the best way for someone to check out your work and provide support?
You can check all my works via my website: https://asyerabella.dunked.com/
And see my hand-lettering stuff on my Instagram: @asyerabella or https://www.instagram.com/asyerabella/
Contact Info:
- Website: https://asyerabella.dunked.com/
- Email: asyera.bella@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/asyerabella/
Getting in touch: VoyageDallas is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
