We were lucky to catch up with Caleb Saint Julian recently and have shared our conversation below.
Caleb , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?
Though I work in many mediums (paint, pen, dance, photography, etc) I have been focused on block printing as of late. I was first introduced to the medium in my 8th grade art class. In fact, I still have the stencil I made all those years ago. However the focus on that medium extended no longer than 2 weeks. I then revisited the medium on my own about 5 years ago and have been expanding on and refining my knowledge and skill on my own since then. The process is very much trial and error, so practice and consistency are essential for learning. In the process of refining the skill, I’ve found that patience is essential, haste makes waste in this craft. Some obstacles that stood in the way of my learning process were insufficient funds for materials, and not having an inspiration space to create in. In acknowledgment of these obstacles in the way of picking up the craft, I have been offering intimate classes in my art studio for those interested in learning a new medium. All materials are provided as well as shared knowledge of all that I’ve learned along the way.
Caleb , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I have been creating my whole life, always eager for expression of any form. I have danced across many mediums, allowing creativity to flow through whatever channels it chooses, whether that be movement, music, visual art or performance. My roots span far and wide. However it wasn’t until about 7 years ago that I started to consider art as a career. I started out with my focus on painting, while I studied art in college where I developed a visual style of my own. Simultaneously, I was living with and learning from a prominent figure in the modern art world who taught me not to limit myself to one medium and to release the concept of “completion” from my work. Much like the ever evolving artist, the art should be able to do the same. Since then, (with a focus on visual arts) I have allowed myself expand into many other means of creative expression such as poetry, live performance paintings, modeling and photography collage work. Often times finding ways to allow mediums to intersect. However in recent months, my focus has been on fashion, implementing the skills I’ve developed in block printing to up-cycle clothes. The intention is to focus in on sustainability, rather than fast fashion, as well as reintroducing a sense of sentimentality to our belongings. Rather than discarding them when we feel we’ve outgrown them, breathing new life into them and allowing them to grow with us. I am excited to say I have been undergoing a sort of renaissance in my craft. For years I have been operating on intuition, sort of like a channeling from which I determine meaning after the fact. A process that served me as I was on a journey of self reflection and discovery. However recently I have been refining my process by taking the raw ore that is intuitive inspiration and throwing it into the fiery forge of intention, alchemizing it into something far more powerful that it was before. Much of my latest work is inspired by the lessons I’ve been learning in life, lessons that I have observed to be a relatively universal experience amongst others. With that in mind, I have been employing the universal language of symbols, allowing me to create art that speaks for itself without the use of words. The intention behind each stencil creates an energetic charge to each print.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
This last year and a half a has been a series of pivots for me in many areas of life. In march of 2022 I bought a small bus with my then partner and began the process of converting it into a tiny home. After 7 months of bringing that dream to fruition, I took time away from my job in the film industry to live and travel in the “lady beetle”, as we called it. After 6 months and several mechanical difficulties, the lady beetle’s journey ended in AZ after the engine died. I then returned to LA in hopes to continue work in the industry. Only to find that the writers had gone on strike, putting a halt to all of production, and in turn all work. I held out for 2 months in hopes that the strike would end, living off of my savings and unemployment, only to find that it would more than likely extend to the end of the year. It was at this moment that I took a leap of faith and invested what little savings I had left into leasing an office space as an art studio. Since then I have been a full time artist, living off of my craft.
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
Since I began my career as an artist several years ago, I have have had two driving forces: Passion and Purpose. I have identified my passion to be creation, expression. I have realized it to be a necessity in my life, without it, I feel incomplete and life becomes more of an existence without meaning. And I have realized my Purpose is to inspire and impact all of those who come into contact with me or my work. More specifically I aim to inspire those who inspire, to influence those who are influential. This way my impact spans further than just my reach, expanding through all who experience me and that which I create.
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