Sandra Jockus Interview | Respect The Artist
This article is brought to you in partnership with START Shows.
I am a self-taught artist/illustrator and mainly draw using my iPad and/or acrylics, but also love doing experiments in mixing several techniques.
My illustrations are characterized by a big variation of colors and a love for animals.
I was born in a small town in Lithuania, grew up in Berlin, and lived in Tokyo for 9 years, where I studied fashion design at the Bunka Fashion College for 3 years.
I am based in New York since the summer of 2018 enjoying the great diversity of cultures. I love to observe people on the streets all around the world in various situations, what has a reflection in my illustrations. Also, life in Japan with its wonderful seasons, traditions, and neon lights, and my new experiences in New York bring big inspirations to my work.
How did you get into creating?
I remember I started drawing in the first grade of elementary school. My teacher was holding a portrait of my mother that I drew for her for mothers day and praised me in front of the whole class. She said she is impressed with how well I was able to portray my mother. I will never forget the feeling I had that day. I was only 7 or 8 years old but I remember thinking "maybe I am good at this!". Since that day I kept on drawing because I loved to get compliments from classmates and teachers and it just felt amazing being good at something. I continued until I realized as a teenager that it became my biggest passion and also the biggest part of my life.
Where are you from?
I was born in a small town in Lithuania close to the Baltic Ocean but my family migrated to Germany/Berlin when I was 9 years old.
How did growing up in your neighborhood/city affect you?
Till the point we moved to Berlin, I lived in a small town with basically nothing there. Lithuania was a poor country at that time and I had never seen an escalator, elevator, or subway before. So seeing all those things after coming to Berlin was like entering a new world. I feel like I started observing things very deeply, looking at every detail and color very closely and noticing things that people normally would not notice.
What did you do to advance your skills/knowledge?
Sketching, sketching, sketching...Practice makes the master and that is pretty much what I did all the time, especially during my High-School years.
I was a huge fan of the Japanese animation "Sailor Moon", so I copied all the poses, clothes, and facial expressions until I slowly but surely started to develop my own style which evolved countless times during the past years.
What does your current setup look like?
I work from home using a huge desk for my IPad pro and laptop with the screen. I need space for a good stretch, my coffee, water, and some almond treats.
Who inspires you?
Throughout my life, I had many people who inspired me. Mostly close people like family and friends. Seeing somebody that is close to you not giving up on their dreams, working and fighting for it every day, is very powerful and inspiring.
Nowadays it is my dog Trevor who inspires me a lot. He puts a smile on my face every single day and seeing him and other dogs playing in the park gives me a lot of positive energy and brings me also lots of new illustration ideas.
What is your goal when you create?
First of all, I want to have fun while creating, enjoying the process is the key to a satisfying result.
But the main goal is to be happy with my work at the end and feel that I made another step in the right direction.
If the creation is made for somebody else and I see their smile, my heart starts blooming and I know I am going to have a great sleep that night.
How has choosing your creative path affected your life?
It affected pretty much my whole life after High-School. When I moved to Tokyo I was very serious about my life decisions, I thought it is impossible to be a full-time artist so I need to study something that had to do with creation but is also going to get me a proper job, so I chose to study Fashion Making and Design. In the 3rd year of my studies, I already knew this is not what I want to do, I understood that I want to illustrate, and create art. I loved Japan a lot, so I stayed there after my studies and was working in the Fashion Industry while working on my art in my free days. Inside me, I knew all I want is to be a freelance illustrator but also wanted to brush up on my English for my future job opportunities, so I gave up my settled life in Tokyo and came to New York for language school and also for a completely new wave of inspiration.
Did you have to overcome any obstacles along the way?
For most of my life I lived in places where the language is not my mother language and needed to deal with visas.
Learning new languages, understanding new cultures, and dealing with all necessary documents and visas is a very energy-drowning and time-consuming process.
I am kind of used to it now but it has definitely always had a big toll on my mental health. But if it is for my dream I would do it again and again, I feel like this is where my love for colors is coming from. I went through a lot of struggles and dark moments while living in new countries, like experiencing the strongest earthquake in Japan's history in 2011, for example. But this made me only stronger and unveiled the passion for the art I am creating now.
What's your go-to song right now and why is it important to you?
Vacation by Dirty Heads
This song is so motivating. It is exactly about what I want to achieve in Life. I want to feel like I am on vacation every day because I love my occupation, love being a full-time artist.
What is your dream as an artist and what steps are you taking to reach your dream?
To connect with amazing people and brands. Showcasing my art in all areas of the world :)
Build a cute and artistic shelter for animals in need.
What would you tell someone else with a dream?
It might sound cheesy because everybody says that but not giving up and just keeping on doing what you love, is the most important thing.
I have learned that sometimes the things that you are looking for are somewhere where you would have never expected them to be.
Don't be afraid to leave your comfort zone, leave your city or even your country, the best adventures lie beyond the walls of the box that you are in.
Tell us about your most recent release
It is not a recent release but one that brought me into the world of NFTs.
Edison Chen, curator, and co-founder of the fashion label CLOT invited me to join his NFT collection "RED NVLPE" (published in February 2022)
I created 888 NFTs for this project. I learned a lot about WEB 3 and connected with lots of amazing people. It feels like joining a new creative family.
Check it out here http://www.nvlpe.io/
Connect
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/sandrajockus/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/Sandrajockus/
Website: http://www.sandrajockus.com
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