Locals Only - How did your upbringing play a role in this interest?
Zo Gatti - I’ve been drawing since 3 years old or something. My parents were always super supportive of my art. Even when I chose to go to Walls they were like why don’t you think a little more about other schools or maybe doing art? Then when I was transfering they were like definitely go to Ellington (Duke Ellington School of the Arts) and so I went. My dad built me a desk and studio space when I was a little kid. Just having a family that believed in me and my art, it was really helpful. Even when it came down to deciding where to go to college, cause I wasn’t 100 percent sure I was going to do art. My dad said “You’re an idiot if you don’t go to art school.” I just appreciate everything they’ve done cause I would not be an illustrator right now if they hadn’t pushed me to do that, cause I was too scared. When you go into art, you have no idea really what you’re going to do. You can’t be sure whether you’ll be successful in that field. I don’t think it just applies to art, I think it applies to absolutely everything. I definitely had doubts about myself and started to wonder if I was really good at anything else besides art.
L.O - How would you describe your illustration style?
Z.G - I’m starting to change it a little more now with incorporating color and doing fewer lines but right now my work consists of a lot of really detailed line work. Mainly in black & white. It’s a lot of organic forms.
L.O - What do you say when you hear your work resembles the work of Tim Burton?
Z.G - I like it. Tim Burton makes some really cool stuff. You’re maybe like the 10th person who’s told me that and I’ve heard it from professors and fellow students. It makes me feel like I’m on the way to being a somewhat accomplished illustrator. It just feels good to hear that.
L.O - What’s your process on creation? When you have an idea do you just pull out your sketchbook, think about it for a while or incorporate it into a project?
Z.G - It’s like all of those things. Sometimes if I forgot my sketchbook and I have my phone with me I’ll write it down as detailed as I can. Usually whenever I have my sketchbook I’ll pull it out wherever I am. Last week my friend from Paraguay was visiting me and he was so weirded out. I think we walked to Times Square and I pulled out my sketchbook at the randomest moments just drawing stuff that was coming to mind. I was having a creative day cause we had just gone to the MoMa. I was having a creative overload. I also do thumbnail sketches to incorporate into other illustrations for class or just for fun.
L.O - How do you know you’re finished an illustration?
Z.G - I don’t think they’re ever finished honestly. I never really feel a piece is finished. I could go back 5 months later and look at it and just be like all these things could be different or I should do this over again.
L.O - What do you want people to feel when they’re viewing your art?
Z.G - I feel like I have a variety of different kinds of work. I would say mainly to not initially totally understand what it’s about when you first see it. I want people to interpret my work in their own different way. I don’t want there to be just one general understanding of what my piece is about. I rather it be 50 different interpretations.
L.O - How do you feel when your art is critiqued?
Z.G - I’ve always been open to critique. In high school we would have portfolio review. You’d show it to the whole department and in front of the whole department you would get critiqued and it was huge cause everyone was there. At Pratt we do critiques every single class. I’m super open to it even from people who don’t know a lot about art or don’t do a lot of art themselves. I don’t like to discriminate. I just like to take into account everything people suggest about my work because there’s so many things I don’t see that could be improved. I don’t see it even if I step away from it for a while.
L.O - Lets talk about Pratt. The school itself, the people you’re around and the classes you take. How are all of these things playing a role in your art?
Z.G - My major is illustration and it’s in the department called Communications Design which is combined with graphic design and advertising so a lot of my classes have some kind of aspect of graphic design to them. I think it’s really helpful. I have 6 studio classes and 2 liberal arts so I’m in class all of the time. We just critique for a lot of my classes. It’s just making me think more carefully about all the decisions I make with my work. Communications Design is about communicating some kind of concept as clearly as you can so people don’t have to read too much into it when they first see it. I really like Pratt. It took some getting used to. It’s a really small school so you see the same people all the time. I’ve found a whole group of people that really really inspire me. I surround myself with them and we’ll draw together. The thing about Pratt that inspires me the most is the people I’ve met.
L.O - What’s your dream job?
Z.G - That’s kind of tough because I’m still not totally sure. Ideally I want to be doing book illustrations mainly on the side. Editorial illustration more than anything else. Dream job would probably be to do illustrations for The New Yorker.
L.O - Let’s talk about that amazing book! What was the process of illustrating a children’s book?
Z.G - The book is called Taking Down Ms. Moody. The whole process was a lot of fun. I first got interviewed to do the book in May. I got referred by a teacher from the writing department in Ellington. I’d been pretty close with him all of high school. He contacted me in April and he referred me. My boss interviewed me and she ended up selecting me from I don’t know how many people she interviewed but it was people from MICA, VCU, RISD and other schools. It started out with character sketches in the summer. We just wanted to get the characters down and I didn’t start on the book until I was in school in the Fall. I had 8 classes + freelance work + the book. It was super stressful but totally worth it. It was a 2 month period between submitting illustrations to getting it published.
L.O - Was there a children’s book that inspired you?
Z.G - Dr.Seuss was really awesome just cause of all the crazy landscapes that were in those books. I think that’s the most important part of a children’s book cause what is the text without crazy illustration? That’s what drove me to put so many details into this book.
L.O - And you used color!
Z.G - Yeah exactly! Deciding on the color palettes was a whole process. There’s just so much thinking that goes into children’s books. There are all of these details that people pay attention to that we don’t even notice.
L.O - What’s your greatest challenge as an artist?
Z.G - Feeling like a piece is finished or feeling like my work is good. You’re your own worst critic. I am always in my mind criticizing my own drawing style. I need to learn how to become a little more comfortable and accept the way I draw. It’s difficult when you have so many different inspirations and you wanna try so many new styles and you’re not entirely comfortable with them. You’re gonna fail a million times before you do something well.
L.O - Do emotions play a significant role in your art? Do you ever face an illustrator’s block?
Z.G - Yeah. I usually draw most of my stuff when I’m in a super pensive mood or not the happiest mood. I make my best work when I’m upset or mad about something. That’s definitely hands down when I do my best work. I only face a block when I’m in a super good mood cause I would rather go running around outside than be sitting and drawing. It’s kind of weird but overall I never really feel a shortage of ideas.
L.O - Are there any similarities between you and the work that you make?
Z.G - I’m not a super dark person. I feel like I am very much in my own head and I get way into my own thoughts. My work has a lot of little lines and little details that don’t really need to be there and don’t make a ton of sense and that kinda lines up with me and all of my thoughts. There’s too many of them, at all times.
L.O - What keeps you motivated and inspired?
Z.G - Mainly my friends who are also artists both at Pratt and RISD and people from high school that I still talk to. I would say mainly other kids my age who are doing the same kind of thing, especially the ones in art school because we all experience the same struggles and we really relate. So they really push me to keep doing what I’m doing because I have hope for all of us
L.O - How do you promote your work?
Z.G - I could probably do it more. I just like to sit around in different places and draw all the time. I don’t really put my work up online. I instagram some stuff but that’s maybe like a tenth of the stuff that I do. I don’t really promote it that much right now and I probably should work on that a little more but I’m just waiting till I have a bigger body of work that I’m actually really happy with.
L.O - Do you have any current or future projects you’re working on?
Z.G - Right now I’ve been working on a series of paintings but I’m only 2 paintings in. Once I finish that I’m thinking of working on my own zine. Maybe with a few friends and I kinda wanna put something out by Spring of next year. It’s gonna be like a whole zine of photography and illustrations.
L.O - How has your work changed overtime and since you’ve moved from DC?
Z.G - I’ve been thinking a lot more about every decision I make with each line I put down, colors I decide to use and what inspires me to draw what I draw. Whereas when I was here I would just draw and not really think about the way someone would look at my art besides myself. I’m thinking more general of how others perceive my art. I think before I used to do more of the art you would see on tumblr or online, just very generic but I feel like overtime the more art I’ve seen ever since I got to Pratt especially, it’s just made me think a lot more about where I draw each individual line and how much importance it has. My work has also gotten a lot creepier. I’ve also started to use color and teach myself about color because I’ve never really been good at that. In high school I would just stay away from it or stick to stuff that I knew like very basic color theory.
L.O - Let’s talk about your neighborhood. What does this place mean to you?
Z.G - Growing up in Capitol Hill is not even just about the geography of the place but just all of the different people that I’ve met. The way they’ve made me think about things. Just talking to my friend Adrian has made me think about so many different things and in different ways. It’s been a lot about the people that I’ve met and my family and just the conversations I have with my dad. But also growing up here in Capitol Hill is a really calm neighborhood where if I felt like going to the park and sitting and drawing it’s something that I could easily do. I don’t feel overwhelmed here. Especially after going to New York. DC feels small to me now. It’s so comforting. It’s kind of insane. I’ve been in a super calm happy mood since I’ve been here. New York, a lot of times I get in my little anxious moods. There’s a lot of ups and downs there at all times. I’m used to it now but when I come here there’s so much comfort and so many things that I’m used to. It feels really good to come here every once in a while.
L.O - What’s the best part about being an artist?
Z.G - The best part is the happiness that it brings to me and other people.
