Interview with our new logo's designer, Davis Bashungwa

Davis Bashungwa recently designed Stonewall Youth’s stunning new logo, and through the process we realized what a perfect opportunity it was to poke at zir wealth of experience in being a queer person establishing themselves in the art world of today. The youth who attend our drop-ins were also excited to ask some questions of their own, and below we have a mix of Stonewall staff and youth participants’ questions, as well as Bashungwa’s stellar answers. If you’re interested in learning more about Bashungwa, click on her blue name at the beginning of this post to visit fae’s website.

Q. You mentioned character art, and I happen to know you've got some socials. What has your experience been with commission work on sites like Tumblr or Twitter? Do you have any tips for youth artists looking to get into commissions? Specifically on pricing/ self marketing strategies?

A. I have lots of experience with commission work through social media! One of my biggest tips for people wanting to do commissions is make them accessible and to evaluate what you can and can't do based on price. I have the confidence that my artwork is worth 100 dollars per fully illustrated and rendered character art, but do the people who follow me and want to purchase my work have $100 to drop on something that isn't a necessity? Probably not! When I still had my commissions open I think the highest price I had per character was around $60.

Another tip is don't expect that when you open commissions you will get them. It takes a while for you to build an audience of people who want to support and enjoy your work. So post those drawings, make characters, design new interesting things and then when you see that people are interested in your stuff and you're able to recognize the people who are consistently going back to your account to see your work, offer some commissions! Nothing is wrong with starting small and then scaling as your drawing technique is developing. I started out doing just 10 dollar commissions once upon a time!

In terms of marketing yourself online, just make the kind of art you want to see in the world. [...] If you're seeing a lack of what you want to see, chances are there are other people out there just like you!

Q. What's your experience with self-advocacy been like? Were there any surprising challenges? I've heard it can be difficult to enforce pricing with commission work, or deal with unhappy customers but I'm interested in what your experience has been! Were there any significant differences between freelance commission work vs. some of the "more official" stuff you're up to now?

A. When advocating for myself in terms of creating art has been mostly perseverance and a bit of self righteousness, if you think you're the best or you tell yourself that you're really good you'll believe it and others will too. When facing tricky customers or working through satisfying deals you can say no, it's allowed. Just because you pass something up doesnt mean youll never see something like it again especially when you start creating art from your own point of view[...]. And when applying for things like galleries, grants, positions, if you think about it - you’re not there already so it wouldn't change anything if they said no but it would feel really great if you gave it a shot and they said yes!  

One huge thing between me doing “art world” stuff versus internet art is that internet art works and follows trends and patterns, [whereas…] a lot of the art world is about narrative, connection and experiences.  

ALSO - you can make fanart, but PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE start working on original things, the worst thing you can do for yourself - especially if you want to start profiting off of your work - is to [make] fanart your entire art identity! Selling prints of fandom characters is already towing a thin line in terms of copyright, and selling it at cons is probably the norm but once you start selling in galleries and at exhibitions people do not want to pay for/won't pay for artwork depicting a readily available character[...]. People want to see your own unique experiences through art. 

Q. How did you get into curation?? Was it something that came up naturally with your work, or did you seek it out? And is it something you would recommend to youth looking into careers in the arts? Do you have any ideas of people curation could be particularly suited for?

A. I took an interest in curation after I took my first Theory and Practice class. Several of our projects were about curation, first we did a fantasy curation project - we choose a theme and venue and specifics and made all the ephemera and padding as if we were going to pull it off for real (but did not need any permission to) and then out final project after that was creating an exhibition including our classmates work and on campus! Since then I also worked to create the Expressions of Color Exhibition. EOC was first done through an office at my school but now it lives on through the students of color collective. It definitely has shown me a world that I never knew I'd be interested in! It's also shifted my career path as well. I plan on applying to work or intern at art museums or even one day owning and operating my own art gallery!

I would absolutely recommend doing gallery curation, once you learn what's possible with creating physical space outside of the traditional white cube you open a whole new door of what's possible with art. Gallery assistant jobs are also very accessible to people who don't have a professional background in art but are interested in pursuing it as a career! You do need to have good communication skills through and be very active in involved in the communities you want to work in. My professor told me - the art world is a lot smaller than you think it is, leave a good impression!

We also took some questions from the youth, who wanted to know more about Bashungwa’s process/ art preferences. 

Q. Do you have any motifs that make a consistent appearance in your art? (if yes: do you have tips for youth who want to also have motifs?)

A. Motifs arise when you develop your own artist shorthand through stylization. Once you KNOW how to draw something, and I mean be able to rotate that thing in your head, you can then begin to break it down and turn it into symbols or shapes and use it in a lot of areas. For me it would be the way I draw twists, dreads, ropes, or any sort of corded looking item. It came from me understanding how to draw afro-hair styles but then became a necessity as I learned how tedious it could be to complete one character drawing. And then I'd say another “motif” is probably the colors I use? I like using almost muted pastels with contrasted saturated tones, in my drawing program I have a saved palette called “frogwhomp colors” thats samples of colors I like and also samples of my own artworks colors over the years :D

Q. What steps do you take in the process of putting your thoughts into art/ how do you put your thoughts to paper?

A. Making mood boards, using lots of references and also drawing whatever garbage comes from your brain, vomiting ideas into pages or even sketch canvas can be the best way to visualize your input. Doodling mindlessly is also a great way to just start. No paper is sacred- don't be afraid of it, it's just paper, make as many mistakes as you want and don't be afraid to start over.

Q. What is your preferred medium(s)?

A. This is such a hard question, I want my preferred mediums to be everything. I'm currently researching and preparing to do furniture design and I have done a hint of fiber art works in the past. I want to expand more on those practices! But in terms of mediums I am very familiar with it would have to be physical/digital illustration and design! It's what I think I'm currently most known for! OH- and printmaking! That's another medium I have confidently added to my toolbelt - mostly because I've taken so many printmaking courses!