Interview with artist Romy Aura Maloon

What is your favorite medium & why?

I love to work with ceramics. I love how the material is so temperamental; how the colors, texture, even shape changes in the kiln. I am usually controlling and planned with my work; the kiln offers me a level of freedom that I would not have other wise. It leaves room for chance; which is where the most interesting work usually comes from. It’s my medium of choice. I have not had access to kiln for a while so I have been experimenting with different things. Expanding foam, plastics, craft materials like glitter and rhinestones. I like to collect things and slowly pull them together into sculptures. I am working currently as a catering coordinator, so the garish aesthetic of centerpieces and the like has been influencing me. I have been using a lot more craft materials.

Have you always been an artist or is this a career change?

I have always wanted to be a fine artist, but the pragmatist in me caused me to be an event/catering coordinator. It is still creative. I get to design how parties look, make invitations, and occasionally centerpieces, so I still get to mindlessly craft. It is hard to find the time to devote to my art work since I work a 9-5 job. I sleep very little. I usually work all day and make artwork in the evenings. It can be pretty exhausting so it really helps if I have a show deadline to light a fire under me.

I would give anything to make my own work all day, but at this time it is not really possible for me. I hate manipulating my work into what I believe will sell. I have been illustrating a children’s book recently (to be published this July!) and while I love the process, I find it really restrictive to have to limit what I can make to the content of a linear story. I like to make sculptures that shift and change based on material and how I’m feeling at that given moment. For me it is far more fulfilling to have a job that is separate from my art, so money does not dictate my content.

Have you ever taken classes/courses?

I went to the Ringling College of Art and Design in Sarasota, Florida. I received a BFA with Honors in sculpture and business. I loved living in a small town like Sarasota. I loved living on the beach, but the artistic scene and job market was really lacking. I needed to be in a city where the possibility of a creative profession existed.

Do you have a muse or a favorite subject to portray?

I glean a lot of my artistic influence from my family. My parents are South African immigrants and I am their first American born child. I think most people experience a generational divide with their parents, especially if they are immigrants. I saw a lot of African art growing up because my parents collect it, so I’ve always had a fascination with the way artifacts can be used to mimic nature. I like to take stock "African" and American kitsch images manipulate them. My work often straddles the line of kitsch, but from what I’ve been told, it’s a “bit too weird” to be fully mistaken as such.

What do you want your art to accomplish or describe?

I do not like work that has a very specific “message” to tell you. It becomes a one liner. Why look at art if it’s not going to continue to insight new feeling every time you look at it? Otherwise why would you want to own it? That’s the reason I stopped making art that was too political. I think it can become stale and preachy; at least it was for me. I like ambiguity. That’s where the interesting content lies. I like how one person will look at my work and assume I’m an environmentalist and another will think I’m an avid hunter. They bring their own narrative to it; I want that. Some one once told me that may work is really disturbing but looks like candy. To make someone want to eat something that resembles a blood splatter is an accomplishment in my book.

Where is your favorite place to create? 

I have a studio in my home. I need a separate space. I’m not one of those people that can just make anywhere. I need my tools, materials, and space. I can’t make where I sleep. I like to have clean white walls/ tables and slowly fill them with trinkets and materials.

How has your work changed over time?

My work has defiantly matured. I think it has become less contrived. I used to assign meaning to objects, now I let the viewer decide.  

If somebody was standing in front of one of your works, is there anything you'd want to tell them?

I have mentioned how I don’t like to dictate my content to the viewer, but maybe I would mention my materials as I think what I use is pretty important. Using organic material as opposed to synthetic tells a very different story. I might also mention my background a bit. When I mention my family history people seem to “understand” more why I would use the imagery I do. They often think it’s strange that a girl would be attracted to the imagery I am. I want my viewer to be attracted to my materials the same way I am. When you are attracted to a particular work, there is usually an unspeakable reason. I want my viewer to have that initial interest and after that initial draw, discuss my personal history. I think people like to feel connected to a work, but they also like to feel connected to the artist. What their story was that caused them to create the work.