We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jaymes Earl. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jaymes below.

Jaymes, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

Everything that I’ve learned as far as the craft has been self taught. My original string art was and still is a work in progress. In the early days, there was constant trial and error. Learning shading techniques and threading patterns were always tough.

Recently I began working in the digital space. The learning curve was very different as I could rely on things like Google and YouTube. With this, it’s just a matter of learning the tools and how I can use them to tell my story.

Knowing what I know now, some art classes definitely would have helped the learning curve. It’s important to experiment with a number of mediums to find your niche. It opens you up to more possibilities when it comes to telling your story!

I think my problem solving skills have been most essential. Having a background in Mathematics, has prepared me for this.

The obstacles I had early on was finding the right materials. The medium I choose wasn’t as common so I didn’t have as many options when it came to shopping and seeking guidance.

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

My name is Aaron Jaymes Booker. Most of you know me by JaymesEarl. I am originally from El Paso, Texas. I graduated from Prairie View A&M University with a degree in Mathematics. I taught 7th grade math for a few years before I pursued an art career.

As a child I was really into arts and crafts. I used to love drawing anime comics and build with Legos. Once I got older I gravitated more towards sports and didn’t take any art classes outside of the ones I was required to take. I didn’t pick up a paint brush again until my mid to late 20s.

Today I work mostly with pins and thread and I do some digital art as well. I got into string art around 2014. This was inspired by mediums like table salt art and other works made with bottle caps and shredded pieces of paper. I not only appreciated the technique, I loved the extra layer that was added once you learned the materials used. This caused me to experiment with random objects from the arts and crafts store before settling on the pins and thread. Then over the pandemic, I started working in the digital space. This has really allowed me to create a number of products and accessories like prints, shirts, totes, and even ball caps. Most important it has allowed me to open up more when it comes to using color and telling my story.

Today, my work is about combining my favorite childhood activities along with my love for our hip hop culture. My work is inspired by 3 things: Math, Music and Muses. My work is mostly geometry inspired. I make great use of angles and intersecting lines when creating digitally. My string art holds these qualities as well however there is also a 3 dimensional layer added. Today music plays a big role in my artwork. The hip hop genre has shifted culture in ways that we could never imagine. My work is not only about highlighting this culture shift, I also want to show it’s roots in how it all got started! Last, I love working with angles and chunks of color. My work as a very minimalist approach along with the use of geometric shapes and color blocking.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

Prior to the pandemic, I began to realize there needed to be a shift. I noticed artist sold prints in between selling originals. Often times people may not want to spend $1000s of dollars but still want to support. My string art was great but had no way of creating prints. I tried photography prints for a bit. I was able to sell a few however the method was very time consuming. So later I started creating digitally. Not only did I accomplish my goal to make prints, I was able to create more products like shirts and tote bags.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

The most rewarding aspect for me is when viewers point out the minor details. I love hearing the different perspectives that people have when viewing my work. I think everyone has a unique connection when they see a work of art they like.

Contact Info:

• Website: Shopjaymesearl.com
• Instagram: Original_jaymesearl
• Facebook: Originaljaymesearl
• Other: https://opensea.io/collection/jaymesearlcollection