We know you are originally from the West Coast, how did you end up in Newburyport?
After graduating with a biology degree from San Francisco State University, California, I worked for several corporations and biotech companies, where I learned graphic illustration, Web design, photo editing and desktop publishing on the side. Then I took a weekend adult watercolor class. I was hooked and my creativity exploded! At the same time, my boyfriend accepted a job offer in Cambridge. He asked me, “Why don’t you come out to Massachusetts and take an art sabbatical for a year.” That sounded exciting. I was ready to leave the Bay Area corporate life and pursue a more creative one. So I moved out here in 2003 working on my art & fine tuning my craft. My boyfriend eventually asked me to marry him (I think that was his plan all along!). I also wanted a career with more of a human service element so I enrolled in nursing at Salem State College, Massachusetts. Today, I call myself an artist-nurse. Whenever I’m not in my studio painting or teaching classes, I’m a charge nurse at Anna Jaques Hospital’s Child Psychiatry Program, located in Amesbury, Massachusetts. I love these kids–they teach me how to be a better human being. My hope is that my creative spirit is put to good use wherever I am!
Your work is obviously inspired by nature, and you seem to have a particular affinity for trees, what is it about them that speaks to you in such an intimate way?
To me, a giant oak tree is just as beautiful as the human heart-both have the capacity to heal and grow. A forest filled with trees symbolize infinite wisdom. It is a beautiful & spiritual place. I paint landscapes in which to get lost, to go deeper, to find solitude, to embrace mystery. What I seek in my paintings is true in life: to find peace & harmony. Otherwise, a life unchecked can be consuming. I appreciate the information age, but I need shut off my computer & ask important questions like: how am I cultivating a true relationship with myself? Did I do something soulfully enriching today? Did I stop everything to catch the today’s sunset? When was the last time I had a good laugh with a loved one? Inspiring beauty is everywhere if you know where to look. I don’t think trees struggle with this at all.
You’re an avid blogger, did that happen as a way to showcase your art or was it borne of a desire to keep a journal?
I purposely do not blog everyday, but I do try to post any noteworthy, creative happenings in my life. Blogging was a way for me to achieve both creative goals–a place to post my growing body of work as well as to share what’s inspiring me. I used to maintain a separate, stagnant website to display my bio/art portfolio and then would have to update a blog. Today, I have combined both worlds. My Web sitewww.ginaleekim.com links directly to my blog, creating one dynamic site. Visitors can still shop for original art, find out about up-coming classes, see what I am working on & make comments, right on my blog.
Your art is also filled with words and quotations, your blog talks about “Art Journaling” can you explain that?
I blogged about this very subject HERE
I love hybridizing words and color. Art and journaling can be a dynamic way to record the human experience. Whether it’s to help us navigate through very challenging times & difficult seasons, or to help reveal our hidden dreams & excavate our innermost wishes, art journaling is a safe & nurturing way to unlock the subconscious. I never stop at wishing. My art journals empower me to have the audacity to dream big. It is a creative way for me to push myself to go deeper–to constantly clarify my true calling & become the artist I was meant to be. Through a colorful journey, art journaling allows me to completely embrace who I am & where I am in my life….that I am right where I should be.
You are also a teacher, how long have you been teaching and what do like best about it?
I started actively teaching watercolor in 2005. Almost every month now, I instruct adult watercolor classes at Massachusetts Audubon’s Joppa Flats in Newburyport. It is a beautiful nature sanctuary overlooking the Merrimack River to conduct my workshops. On occasion, I teach youth workshops as part of Joppa Flat’s family program as well. I also teach privately on a one-on-one basis in my studio in Salisbury.
The best part of teaching art is that I co-discover with my students, beautiful inspirational moments in the artistic process. Although my classes are geared towards all experience levels, I am enthusiastically welcoming beginners in my class. In Zen philosophy, new students have what all the masters want–that is, a beginner’s mind. It’s what I call a “heightened state of awareness”. Yes it’s scary to begin something new but it’s also exhilarating. It’s a courageous act to enroll in an art class. It certainly changed my life! Also, being a little scared in your art is a good thing. It means you’re taking risks, you are making authentic art. Teaching also makes me a better artist & an effective communicator. Painting is such a right-brain experience & yet, explaining its methodology (to analytically discuss its techniques) is a left-brain task. I’m just glad I can do both. I know that my students appreciate it when I take the time in explain my watercolor workflow, from beginning to end.
What is your favorite Newburyport spot? The one that provides you with the most artistic vision?
Valerie’s Gallery. My husband & I make it a point to start every Newburyport Art Walk there and end there! It is a beautiful gift shop that showcases fine American crafts, jewelry & art by local, regional & national artisans. Valerie & her husband are very good friends of ours too. That’s the beauty of Newburyport, you fall in love with the people as well.
