Meet Tamara Gould | Graphic Designer, Visual Branding Specialist, Fine Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Tamara Gould and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Tamara, how do you think about risk?
Risk has been ever present in my career as an artist and graphic designer. I feel like most of what I endeavor comes with uncertainty – will this work? how can I make it work? how will it be received? What keeps me going is the confidence that I have in myself and my abilities, my creative mindset, and my overarching goals of visually communicating ideas to people in a way that elevates their understanding of the world on multiple levels.

I have not followed a strategic or structured pathway to the work that I do. Most of this was never planned! I learn as much as I can from every situation I am in, and I allow myself to go with the flow of work, of clients, or the industries I serve. I love change, I love the exchange of ideas, and I love working with people. I think these are the constants for me. The rest is the discipline of allowing myself to engage and see where things take me.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I am first a fine artist. I believe in magic. I believe in things that I can’t and will probably never understand. That we all gather information from places within ourselves and often defy definition. In this world of finding finite information at our fingertips, I believe this is an important piece of what sets me apart.

I have an innate trust in my abilities and my intuitions, which I allow to guide me. At the same time, I am indeed structured and meticulous in my work. In both my fine art and my design, I build positive feelings, information that engages and evokes stories that bind us to our humanity. My fine art and my design work feed into each other.

My foundation is in actively making physical things. While so much of my design work is created using the computer, my first step is always to draw by hand on paper, or to paint, sometimes to just scribble and work out the sensations that I wish to construct.

None of this has been easy, it’s all been a lot of work. I love my work, it brings me joy and that joy encourages me to get through the difficulties of time constraints, unclear client direction, bidding, etc – the less romantic aspects of the work. And managing through these not-so-fun tasks makes me stronger and more resilient each time.

My career as a designer began in art school. After graduating from UCLA with a BA in Fine Art, I attended a brand new (at the time) experimental program called The Santa Monica College of Design, Art & Architecture. With Deborah Sussman as one of my instructors, I learned how I could take my artistic vision out into the public realm in the form of graphic design. I have the opportunity to work with Deborah, really, as one of her assistants. This allowed me to sit shotgun with her as she designed, worked with her staff designers, and dealt with her clients. I never studied graphic design in school, I was schooled by Sussman Prezja & Co. I feel fortunate to have already been establishing my own visual voice as an artist, and then learning graphics from some of the best in the world. From there, I worked for the Jerde Partnership International, Inc., working with architects and environmental designers. Again, a visionary firm that prized real creativity above all else. Working for these world class designers kept my mind open to all possibilities.

I’ve learned that to keep my own creativity feeling fresh, I must always incorporate art into my life. Drawing, painting, making things. Also making mistakes, going for things, admitting what I may have done wrong, keeps me fresh and on my toes.

I believe in the inborn creativity of human beings and our intelligence, and I love our shared humanity, our stories, our histories, myths and legends. These are things that I always strive to keep alive in all that I do.

And this is where my latest endeavors come into play. I created Vex & Delight, my fine art business, that has two major pieces:
1. Creative mindfulness and team building workshops through fine art
2. Original art greeting cards

The workshops are about helping people discover their own innate creativity through watercolor. These are not learning-how-to-paint workshops, these are all about creating without judgement and expectation.

The premise behind the original art greeting cards, is making fine art accessible to everyone.

Everyone has a right to experience the magic of themselves and of our shared universe.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I would begin at the beach, Point Dume, or Marina del Rey Beach. To feel the ocean and that glorious Pacific air. And then to where I live now, up into the mountains of Topanga Canyon, to hike, to eat at the Topanga Living Cafe, hike some more and smell the sage, see the wildflowers, feel the sun. These are places that bring me peace and joy. And maybe just walk around DTLA, stop into the Temporary Contemporary, tour around the public areas of the Disney Concert Hall. Stop in at any given bar or restaurant that smells good. Check out the myriad and often unrelated shops. And watch where you step! My favorite restaurant is probably Gjelina on Abbot Kinney in Venice – the best bread in town and glorious gourmet farm to table food.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I would dedicate this Shoutout to my daughter. I learn so much from raising her. She is a mirror into my soul. Whenever I struggle, she is my inspiration to work things out. When I am on a winning streak, I feel grateful to share my successes and what I’ve learned with her, and am motivated to see her succeed in whatever she attempts. My desire to explore my gifts and talents is because I wish for her to do the same, and I want her to see that you can try and fail and try and fail and keep going until you succeed, and so I must do that myself. Raising her to be the best that she can be means that I have to do the same. It is a beautiful upward spiral that I enjoy every minute of every day.

Website: https://www.wakingstate.com https://www.vexanddelight.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wakingstatedesign/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wakingstatedesign/

Image Credits
portrait of Tamara Gould, credit Juan Rojas Aguilar
all photos of work shown were taken by Tamara Gould