Missi Jay’s work is fun, bold, girly, and fabulous for adults and kids alike. Oh, and she’s a pretty amazingly talented artist as well! Her pop influences obviously contribute greatly to her work, but it’s really her energy, which is infectious and comes right through her art, that adds that bit of magic that is not present in every artist’s work. How pleased I am to have her work on the blog! Here is what she had to say about some of her pieces:
I LOVE “POP.” Anything pop. Pop culture, pop music, pop art. I watch TONS of television. I am mesmerized by ad jingles, I quote movie lines, love music, stand up comedians and have a HUGE crush on Andy Warhol. He was my idol.
That being said, I have created art that juxtaposes bold color and silhouetted shapes with handwritten messages of all my favorite things: quotes, lyrics, and comedy.
When I hear something that strikes me, I make notes about it, find an image that suits that quote and marry the two ideas. As a trained visual artist and illustrator, I love creating shapes and images with hand-made type. I fill negative and positive spaces with words in all different styles imitating a variety of fonts. I like how you can graphically portray the same message with whimsey or a darkness, simply depending on the style of handwriting.
Chinese Plastic
This piece was inspired by my love for the fabulous Prentender’s Chrissie Hynde, and her lyrics to “Boots of Chinese Plastic.”
The Little Chocolate Donuts
At first glance, this a tribute to the late John Belushi. The secondary messages are actual fortunes my husband and I received the day we found out I was pregnant with our beautiful daughter, Ruby. Plus I just freakin’ love donuts. I mean, who doesn’t?
Never Enough I Love You’s
Initially created to honor Kevyn Aucoin, the legendary makeup artist, this is about one’s personal struggle to be accepted for who you are. As described in the Max Cannon quote in the background, you can be beautiful on the outside and still feel like an outsider. The quote, “there are never enough I love you’s,” is my favorite though, as it describes the feeling of fiercely wanting affection when you feel so alone.
Bring the Monkey With Us
Inspired by the awesome Beastie Boy’s, “Brass Monkey.” Enough said.
Love One Another
This piece is about pure happiness and proudly being yourself, so who better to feature a quote from than the prolific creative dynamo, Frank Zappa. I love the humble quality added by Bryan Ferry. Also including quotes from other personal favorites: Joey Ramone, David Bowie, Mitch Hedberg and David Byrne.
Nonsense
For this piece, the image was my inspiration and the quotes followed–it is usually the other way around. I found this autobiographical “nonsense” quote by the storytelling genius, Theodor Geisel, who most people know as Dr. Seuss. I think the expression of “delirious confusion” on the girl’s face accurately describes the “Seussical” magic that engulfs us all. My favorite part of this art is the small quote around her eye by musician Bjork, “People that complete other people’s vision are understated.” Well said.
Ruby Slippers
To honor my daughter, Ruby, I thought some ruby slippers á la “Wizard of Oz” would be appropriate. Naturally, glamourous shoes and Monolo Blahnik are synonymous, so the “high heels” quote seemed like a perfect fit. But the true acknowledgement here is to the beautiful, Gwen Stefani, the most stylish mom on the planet. I can only hope Ruby thinks I am half that cool…someday.