We were lucky to catch up with Hana Lock recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hana, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

I loved to draw for as long as I could hold a pen, and growing up, my family, teachers, and peers knew me as the artsy kid. I was always quietly doodling cute cartoon animals and comics in the margins of my assignments during class and in my sketchbook during recess and lunch. I don’t know why I loved art or what compelled me to draw in the first place; it was just a natural part of me. However, it wasn’t until I was 14 that I realized that I wanted to pursue art beyond that as a hobby and instead as a legitimate career path.

In 2014, my parents took me to the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco after they unveiled their new exhibition, “Skulls”. Aptly named, this show featured over 650 skulls of countless species arranged in a way that made it feel as though you were being enveloped by them. I distinctly remember first stepping in the space and just being in awe at the sheer quantity of it all. Something in my brain clicked, and what was intended to be a simple, fun family outing ended up changing the course of my life. Up until this point, I hadn’t been interested in anatomy, but something about this exhibit wormed its way into my consciousness and refused to leave. I felt an itch to draw on a level I had never felt before, and I desperately wanted to capture what was before me onto paper. I spent hours fervently sketching as many skulls as I could; entranced by their bizarre beauty and elegance. I think that was the first time in my life where I was so engrossed and intensely focused on something, and my parents practically had to drag me away when it was time to go. As we exited the museum, I realized that I wanted to do this forever. This was what I wanted to draw for the rest of my life.

It has been a decade since that trip to the museum, and I am just as – if not, more – inspired by anatomy and nature as I was then. It is a driving force in my work, and I don’t know what my art and life would look like if I hadn’t happened to have gone to that exhibit.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I am a half-Japanese, half-Chinese American visual artist whose paintings and drawings discuss the cyclical nature of life and death and challenge traditional notions of beauty by embracing the grotesque. Through the meticulous use of ballpoint pen, watercolor, and acrylic, I craft intricate line work and vibrant colors to depict imaginatively anatomized figures and creatures intertwined with flora and patterns. My practice is inspired by natural science, philosophical and cultural elements from my Asian American background, and aesthetics derived from a variety of movements of printmaking such as Art Nouveau and ukiyo-e. Through my art, I simultaneously evoke a sense of awe and unease and celebrate the inherent beauty and ugliness in life, death, and the natural world.

Based in the Bay Area, I graduated from San Jose State University in 2022 with a BFA in Pictorial Arts. For the past two years, I have continued to refine my practice in pen and paint and pursue professional opportunities in the art world. I have worked as a collections intern in an art museum where I researched and documented artworks, and I am currently an art preparator at a local gallery. I have also shown work in various group and solo exhibitions in galleries and museums, and I have started to gain some recognition in the local community. However, I am at a fairly early stage in my career, so I am not entirely sure where I am headed yet. However, if there’s one thing I learned about myself in the past few years; it’s that I can adapt. Whether it be I make art for galleries, tattoos, murals, commissions, or anything, I am confident I can find my footing in the art world and keep creating.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

For me, the most rewarding aspect of being an artist is the process of art-making in itself. It’s a long, tumultuous, and yet satisfying ordeal where sometimes I know exactly what to do and am excited to get my hands moving, and other times, it’s tedious, arduous, and infuriating, and I just want to bang my head on a wall. Despite these ups and downs, I always look back on these experiences with fondness. When I step back to see my progress after a long day of drawing and painting, I often find myself thinking, “Wow, I can’t believe I made that.” I can always see myself improve and evolve with each new piece, and I feel a swell of pride when I see a project through to the end. I’m aware it’s a pretty self-serving reason, but I think art, at it’s core, a selfish pursuit that can give meaning and vibrancy to life.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

Something I’ve noticed that non-creatives struggle to understand is just how unpredictable a creative career can be. Whenever people ask me what my step-by-step plan for the future is, I don’t have solid answer beyond keep making work and putting myself out there. There is no tried-and-true method to becoming an artist, and every artist I’ve talked to have taken wildly different and unconventional paths in their art journey that they didn’t expect. I’ve learned that pursuing an art career is a gamble, and I can attribute some of my own accomplishments to luck, such as chance meetings and being in the right place at the right time. I think it’s really difficult to plan out an art career like you would a “regular” job, and a lot of it is just taking a leap of faith and throwing things at a wall and seeing what sticks. I think a lot of non-creatives – at least those that I’ve met – are pretty shocked by how risky it is and how many factors you can’t account for.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://hanalock.wixsite.com/gallery
• Instagram: @medama_dango