We were lucky to catch up with Jaclyn Amor recently and have shared our conversation below.
Jaclyn, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?
When I was six. That’s the cute answer. Because when I was five I remember telling my mum that I wanted to be a doctor, more specifically, a pediatrician. For some reason as a child I felt it necessary to take care of other children. Perhaps it was due to me being a sick kid who was overly exposed to doctors and hospitals, or just a natural thought for anyone with doctor parents who quizzed them on the human anatomy in lieu of a bedtime story. But something clicked when I was six as I painted a picture of a stuffed animal: I want to do this. And by this I meant making things.
I was the kid who rummaged through rubbish and pulled out anything I thought could be useful. I made a three-story dollhouse out of stacked boxes and filled it with furniture like cassette tape cases wrapped in layers of tissues for beds, matchbox dressers, little plastic “tables” kept from the last pizza delivery – you could say I was scrappy. All I understood at the time was that I enjoyed the act of making things and how fulfilled I was seeing the finished product.
As someone who grew up exposed to all things performing and visual arts, I guess I was destined do something in the entertainment industry, but this really solidified as a feasible professional goal when I was in 9th grade. By this time I had seen numerous friends find success on TV, local films and touring with superstars like Michael Jackson, and I myself had performed in prolific venues and events (like the 2000 Sydney Olympic Ceremonies). I asked my parents if I could transfer to a full time performing arts school to focus on my crafts (which they weren’t exactly thrilled about). They agreed to it only if I could write down all the reasons it would benefit my goals and sign it as a contract to commit to a life in the arts.
I haven’t broken that contract yet.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
My name is Jaclyn Amor, and I am a Filipino-Australian multidisciplinary artist and filmmaker currently based in Los Angeles. I grew up on stage as a performer (singer/dancer/actor) and always fancied myself as a visual artist (painting, drawing, sculpting, photography). I went to a performing arts high school where I was able to really hone in on my passions and made my first film – that’s when I got the bug. I got into a prolific fine arts university in Sydney before deciding I wanted to pursue filmmaking full-time, and moved to New York City to attend film school and try my luck in the big apple. 13 years in NYC meant numerous lives, such as an after school nanny, an acting teacher for special needs kids, a group fitness instructor, a director of a film festival, a dog walker, a creative director, summer camp counselor, a DJ and hairstylist for NYFW, opened a pop up art gallery, had a clothing brand, directed off broadway plays, produced events; all the while continuing my pursuit of making films. I worked on various projects in the film and video space, and in 2017, I found myself working on some incredible shoots in Sydney and LA, and realized that it was time to consider moving away from my beloved New York if I wanted to shift the scale of my career. After a year and a half of being bi-coastal, I made the move to put down roots on the west coast and started working on bigger and better projects as a director, producer and production designer. Being on set consumed my life and I didn’t want it any other way.
The pandemic allowed me a reprieve of the competitive 18hr day hustle culture our industry has placed on our lifestyles, by providing me the space to explore my personal artistry without the pressures of gaining a paycheck. I gave myself grace to create anything and everything just to re-work those muscles and remind myself that it’s ok to play. During this time I wrote and recorded music (something I hadn’t done in over a decade), painted, wrote a feature and three pilots, directed and produced a live Zoom based variety show, wrote essays and poems, made a winning 2 minute quarantine short film, collaborated with friends on a narrative vertical series, started a small production company (Agent 86) and made custom jackets. Like I said, anything and everything
Post pandemic I returned to freelance producing before being offered a full time directing job with Architectural Digest. A dream job for me as an interior design nerd, and still gave me a little time to continue developing some of my personal projects. I returned to freelance production a year later, working on commercials, music videos and numerous feature films until an opportunity popped up for me during the writers strike this year – joining the producing team at Snapchat. I quickly accepted, a move I definitely needed considering the uncertainty of our industry. Since being there, I have been able to exercise both my creative side as well as my logistical producer brain, and have been welcomed by an absolutely unparalleled production team. But not to worry, I still take on freelance client work as well as produce my own personal work.
This year I had made a promise to myself to create more work for myself, to get back to my roots in painting and fine art, and I am pleased to say that I have been taking painting commissions and am currently working towards a new series of work I would love to showcase in a multimedia exhibit. I haven’t shown much of my artwork but I believe this next chapter to be the right time for it.
I always take pride in being unique due to my extensive background. Aesthetically/tonally, my work can be both high concept and editorial yet still quite raw and authentic. I often say that I romanticize heartache, where everything is beautifully painful (or painfully beautiful) in the search for human connection as my main objective is to stir up emotion. I feel that all of my seemingly random experience partnered with the various people I have worked with and made true connections with, make me a strong storyteller no matter the medium in which I choose to express myself. A lot of my clients and partners have found my skills useful especially when working with tighter constraints as I’m happy to wear the different hats and can communicate well with other collaborators.
Plus, I have a reputation for making sets safe and fun, filled with dance parties, vocal harmonies, treats and actual hats.
In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?
“Money Pleassseeee…” (Parks + Rec anyone?)
I say that in jest, but the romanticism of being a starving artist is long played out. I always say “we’re starving for a reason” due to the fact that the mere cost of practicing your craft and creating your work is an endless investment. Those of us who are lucky enough to make a living from our artwork often succumb to the battles of selling out to corporate systems. While there are numerous grants, funding and mentorship opportunities in the arts and entertainment industry, the competition remains fierce while the funding has lowered. Majority of the work you do as a creative on a daily basis is marketing, networking, submitting to these aforementioned programs and looking for work or places to showcase your stuff.
It’s always been an interesting observation when you look back at how society used to hold artists and philosophers in such high regard vs the general outlook on them now. I think about the commissions painters and sculptors must have made in comparison to the low wages we offer crew members working 13+ hour days generating media for international mass consumption. Why has the general value of modern art making diminished so drastically?
While I don’t expect a sudden influx of investors knocking on all of our doors, I do believe that the general public can help artists by supporting small businesses and creative friends. You can purchase prints, commission art pieces, buy products, donate to them, or even just re-post great work you see and tag the artists because any exposure helps make a difference. Another thing that really needs to change is the amount of disrespectful negotiating that goes into hiring creatives. If someone is quoting you for a project, please consider this number as a representation of the many years of training, countless sleepless nights, all the equipment, materials and supplies accumulated and just solid experience. You went to this person or business for a reason. While negotiation is fine to do, lowballing or just straight taking advantage of people isn’t. You don’t walk into Gucci and ask for a discount. Pricing art is already a very confusing process so respecting the artist and craft really goes a long way
Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?
“Damn Good Advice (for people with talent)” by George Lois This is a book I often recommend to my creative friends due to the nature of the book itself. It’s like a grown ups picture book filled with bite sized anecdotes, practical advice and suggestions on how to tap into your creative potential. My best take away that I apply to this day is to listen to when your creativity wants to work. If you work best in the morning, create that routine. Or if you’re like me and your brain only switches on after 11pm, lean into being an insomniac and plan your time accordingly. My days are filled with linear, logistic based work while my nights could see me painting, editing or writing till 6am. I’ve learned to embrace the flow of it and how I benefit overall by carving out time to focus on those creative endeavors.
“Zag: The Number One Strategy of High Performance Brands” by Marty Neumeier
The base philosophy of this book is “When everybody zigs, zag” – a simple yet effective statement that plays in my mind anytime I’m faced with a new project I have to pitch creative for. When I first discovered this book, I was doing a lot of work as a creative director partnering with start ups to flesh out brand identity, brand positioning and online strategies. It drives the point of how brands can leverage radical differentiation to set themselves apart in an oversaturated market. As someone who takes pride in being weird and different, this book is both a confidence boost in alternative thought as well as a practical companion to marketing insights.
I have a library in my dining room, so we could talk books for hours (feel free to reach out for other recs). But I will say one exercise that has helped me a lot as a creative is free writing and brainstorming. I like to do this a couple of times a week where every thought and idea just has a chance to get out of my brain and during this process, I branch out into a brainstorm, fleshing out ideas that really stick with me. If you’re lucky enough to have partners and friends in your field, tap into them as a resource and brainstorm with them. Carve out a little free time and let the magic happen. I have a couple of friends I could riff with for hours, and any time spent with them is incredibly rejuvenating and rewarding.
Contact Info:
- Website: jaclynamor.com
- Instagram: @jaclynamor
- Facebook: facebook.com/thejaclynamor
- Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/jaclynamor
- Twitter: twitter.com/jaclynamor
Image Credits
Jaclyn Amor, Jennifer Khoe, Drea Castro, Ben Meredith, Paris McCoy