7 Questions for Jason Ice
posted by Michael Lagocki
Jason Ice’s first ArtLoveMagic show will be January 30th’s UNDERGROUND. He’s a Dallas based artist you should know, one that founding partner David Rodriguez and I have been geeking out on for about the last year or so. We kept seeing his work pop up in various shows and always found ourselves talking about it, and the prospect of working with him.
In an effort to whet your appetite for Underground, I wanted to post interviews with a few of the shows’ artists and performers. Jason was a natural first choice.
Why do you do Art? What types of subjects are you thinking about today, this week, now, that you want to make art about?
Jason- I originally did art because it was an outlet. I didn’t grow up with a lot of stuff as a kid, so I had to make my entertainment. Art kept my attention as a kid. I still use art today as an outlet and therapy to keep myself sane. Lately I have been wanting to be more socially aware with my work, but I have never made art for these reasons. I make art for me. It is a sweet bonus that other people like my art! I always saw myself as a street artist and I am just now really coming into the idea of accepting myself as an artist.
Your Deep Ellum Art Park statue is dope. I loved it from the second I saw it. These things are outdoor and are seen by tens of thousands of people. What possessed you to paint a mammoth?
Jason- Thanks man! I had a blast doing that piece and felt very honored that I got chosen to do it and know that the art will be up for so long. The title of the piece is “Full Circle”
The mammoth came from me wanting to challenge myself as a stencil artist with something that would be really detailed and I wanted to do an animal. An animal that could symbolize strength. The mammoth walking on the human skulls represents the cycles we go through on earth… Everything on this planet come full circle.
I know you from your paintings, but saw some of your sculpture work on facebook recently and was blown away. Can you talk a little bit about sculpting. What are your materials? Your process?
Jason- Man, those sculptures came from me collecting all of those items for years. Some of the elements in those works, I had saved for about 15 years or so in jars… A friend of mine prompted me to do something with all that stuff or toss it. I am a bad pack rat. I have done assemblage work in the past, but with these I could tell a story. But for the story to work, all of the elements had to carry the same weight. I wanted people to have to study them and really get up close to them… so that is when I decided to start painting them. I began to run out of stuff I collected, so I started walking Deep Ellum to find more things to use in my work. So the later pieces are a collection of things I have been saving, and recently found. I also have a good connection with a guy who operates estate sales. It’s like a gold mine!
Are there other artforms you mix it up in? Any music? Comics?
Jason- HAHA! Does DJ Hero count? HAHA! I wish man. I had bass guitar and learned a couple of songs and said ok, I did it! Then I took it to the pawn shop and traded it for a crappy digital camera. It was dumb but I felt that the time spent on the guitar was taking away from visual arts. I never had any music class in school, so I was really lost. Doesn’t every guy buy a guitar at some point thinking they will learn to play? HAHA! After attending Mad Swirl, I am trying to get the nerves to read a piece I have written. I never really wrote before, but after going to Mad Swirl a few times, I walk around thinking more about how I can assemble words to express how I feel…
You’ve had some success in getting your art seen and in local galleries. What path would you recommend to someone here, in this city, right now who’d like to achieve the same?
Jason – To get in shows and galleries you got to get out and represent yourself. No one else is going to until you do it for yourself. Get out there. Get your face seen… If you expect someone to just ask you to participate you’ll be waiting forever. I did… And then once I started getting out, talking and networking it helped a lot. The network of artists in this city is amazing! I feel a true love here and all the artists, no matter what the art form is have big love for what the creatives in Dallas do and bring to this city.
What do you plan on doing live at the Underground show?
Jason- I am thinking of working with my stencils for my live *ART piece at Underground. Stencils are my *LOVE. Stencils have this *MAGIC aspect of instant imagery! I have been using spray bottles with watered down acrylics like spray paint. First time I ever experimented with this technique was painting live and the results were awesome! That is the game plan, but it could change! HAHA!
Where do your want your art career to go in 2010? What do you want to accomplish? Create?
Jason- Man… I have spent all of 2009 trying to formulate what I needed to do for myself and for my art. I struggled with going back to the corporate world and following my heart. What do I want to create in 2010? I want to recreate myself! I realized, that it’s time for me to follow my heart. I am focusing on promoting myself as Jason Ice the artist. Not skeptic1 the street artist or whatever people perceive me and my art as… I have an outline and game plan for what I want to do and now I am starting to map out how to get there… 2010 is opening up strong, especially with being a part of Underground and this amazing line up of talent for the show! I am really hyped for this! February is looking good… I have 3 shows the first 3 weeks of the month… I am looking to book some more shows through out the year but I normally tend to only commit a few months out at a time in case life changes…
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Research- for more on Jason’s process and materials for the Art Park Mammoth, click here.
You can catch Jason with almost 50 other artists and performers when ArtLoveMagic presents its largest and craziest lineup ever at Underground.
Saturday January 30th, 2010
at the Janette Kennedy Gallery
and Artist’s Quarter in
SouthSide on Lamar
1409 South Lamar Dallas TX
8-Midnight
The ArtLoveMagic Blog 
January 10, 2010 at 2:53 pm
Great interview of Jason! I figured he was a hip cat but now I know for sure! I hope he does get his nerve up next time at Mad Swirl and read a piece or two or three. Thanks for sharing this insight into the artist!
January 10, 2010 at 4:19 pm
Nice interview, Michael… sweeping, yet focused… I now know enough about Jason to know that I want to see more of his work, and see where his journey leads him.
January 10, 2010 at 5:02 pm
Can’t wait to check out his work at Underground.
January 11, 2010 at 5:29 am
Thanks all. It was a fun interview to do. Jason and I got to hang out a bit at Mad Swirl the other night, and talked about the art scene and the ups and downs of living as a professional artist. It was good times.
We hope to do more interviews like this of local artists and begin to archive them on the website.
-ML