Today we’d like to introduce you to Amanda.
Amanda, we’d love to hear your story and how you got to where you are today both personally and as an artist.
My name is Amanda, but I go by MIISHAB as my artist name. I first decided I wanted to be an artist or at least live the artist life ever since I can remember. I had grown up in my mother’s art gallery, The Bohemian Art Gallery, in Savannah GA. When I was 11 she had passed away and hats when I moved to Los Angeles to live with my mom’s sister, Pam, and her husband, Ed McMahon. Needless to say, that was a huge change, but it was so empowering to meet people who were successful in whatever creative life they chose, it made me think if they can do what they love and be good at it, why can’t I? When I was 18 years old I moved back to Savannah, GA to attend the Savannah College of Art and Design where I majored in Textile Design and minored in Printmaking. While working in the print lab I became more and more fascinated with the printing process of creating, and with every project I completed in class it helped me realize that I didn’t want to be a textile designer I wanted to be a painter, a printer, a fine artist. I loved the process, I loved creating artwork, and how you can always learn new materials, new styles, new ways of expressing yourself, this was the artist life I had always wanted. I moved to New York after 7 years in Savannah. When I moved to the north east I fell in love with the graffiti, and the street art scene and started to add my own artwork to the concrete wall, and that’s where I started to brand myself as an artist, and street artist, Miishab. I have been living here now for about 8 years, and I have so far made a name for myself in the street art community, and in the art world as well. If they can do it, why can I?
We’d love to hear more about your art. What do you do you do and why and what do you hope others will take away from your work?
As an artist as I change as a person, my art changes too. It started being very graphic, most of the street art posters I put up on building walls have this black and white liner botanical design that I have become a bit more known for, my Botanical Illusions, or Botanical Nebula series. I have been told it reminds the viewer of sacred geometry. With the acidic colors I choose, and hippie-esque designs, people started to describe my artwork as psychedelic, which I guess fits well with the whole sacred geometry thing. One day I was putting up a poster, keep in mind they are all handmade not printed at all, and as the wind blew more than half of the poster torn apart. I took those pieces home and I started to collage those onto a new piece which is how I got to my style today. I worked then primarily on paper, most of my artwork ended up glued on a wall on the streets, when I took those ripped pieces back home with me though, that’s when I started to really see myself as an artist because it wasn’t just making art for the sake of it, but I was emotionally infested in this piece, and when I put those ripped pieces back onto a new piece of artwork, it made me happy, and feel good during time in my life when things weren’t going so well for me personally. Now days I work on canvas primarily.
Once I am working on one piece, I usually step away work on something else and make my way back, because it takes me sometime to really try to imagine the look of how I want it to look. I will also work on something because I really want to paint at that moment, and later I will not care for it, but I will use that canvas and I’ll build on my mistakes. I’ve found that these are some of my strongest artwork. In my artwork now I use spray paint, resin, ink, graphite, watercolor, acrylic paint, glitter… a lot of fun things. I am definitely inspired by the griminess of cities, flowers, nature, and layers of texture and materials. I’m inspired by artwork that you stare at for an hour trying to find all the perfect little spots where something magical happened, pieces you can really get lost in. I’m into old psychedelic music posters from the 60’s, the colors they chose and the other worlds quality they had. I’m inspired by the process of creating artwork, I get motivated even besetting up my work area to make something new.
I want the viewer to enjoy my artwork and let it take you somewhere else, another world, a memory, a feeling. Whatever connection the viewer makes with my artwork, whether it good or bad they are making that connection. I don’t have any defining message I want to say, but my work has become such a huge extension of myself, that I want the viewer to get a sense of who I am and how I felt in that moment.
The stereotype of a starving artist scares away many potentially talented artists from pursuing art – any advice or thoughts about how to deal with the financial concerns an aspiring artist might be concerned about?
Never give up. I know it sounds cheesy, but there are times where I feel defeated. As an artist your putting your heart into your work, and when it doesn’t move and you don’t get the financial stability you need to live its rough. I think it’s also important to stay true to who you are as an artist, there’s a balance of creating artwork you know someone would like to have in their home versus creating something to add to the art conversation and if someone loves it and buys it then great even better! I don’t just make art to sell it, I think that’s the hard part, I make it because I have to, its who I am. I’m stubborn enough to really be like “I’m going to live off of my artwork, off of art”. When my mind and wallet was telling me to do something else, my heart was always telling me to keep going to I listen to my heart more than my head, it can play games with you. So, don’t give up, times when it’s hard, work harder. The struggle will only make you a better person, and a better artist!
Do you have any events or exhibitions coming up? Where would one go to see more of your work? How can people support you and your artwork?
I have artwork up in different shows throughout the year, I also post photos of finished pieces on my social medias and website. If you can make it, please come out to the art shows, I love for you to see my work in person, and those I am showing with. I enjoy meeting everyone who comes out, it is such a treat. If there is ever any work you would like purchase feel free to reach out to me via email artistsandnebulas@gmail.com. I am keeping my website up to date so you can see any other past projects on my website www.miishab.com including what I have now and what’s to come.
You can find a more up to date day by day of what I am working on, the processes I use and what art shows I’m in that are coming up on my Instagram. I also will do limit releases of prints of my artwork and I only post that on my Instagram so make sure to follow me to see when those happen as well.
@miishab.
I am honored to be showing artwork with Erica Horwitz, Mahan Mohiuddin, and Sima Schloss, the Virago Crew, at this years Superfine Art fair October 2018 in Washington, D.C. If you can please come to the event, there will be a lot of amazing artists there and will be a great time. I will have my most recent work up for sale. You can also find my work at New York’s only Good luck Dry Cleaners Gallery owned by Phil Reese. You can find them on Instagram @goodluckdrycleaners
Contact Info:
- Address: 524 Chauncey st. Apt. 1L
Brooklyn, NY 11233 - Website: www.miishab.com
- Phone: 917-655-9519
- Email: artistsandnebulas@gmail.com
- Instagram: miishab
- Facebook: miishab
Image Credit:
MIISHAB
Getting in touch: BostonVoyager 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.
