Meet Chia-Hsin Lee: Visual Artist & Designer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Chia-Hsin Lee and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Chia-Hsin, is there a quote or affirmation that’s meaningful to you?

I have been in choir for 5 years, and have had different choir directors. All of them would often tell us to “listen louder than you sing”. People often focus too much on singing their part and forget to listen to other group members, and the whole choir group becomes disconnected.

I think the quote goes much deeper than merely in a choir setting. Often in life, we are too focused on our day to days, needs and wants, thoughts and feelings, that we, too, forget to “listen”. We lose connection with the world around us, with the wind, the sun, the grass, the rain, with ourselves, and most importantly, we stop listening to life and what the world offers us.

They often say artists have to be in pain, or be in a bit of madness to create amazing art. I disagree. As we begin to learn and to listen to the rhythm of the world, we will discover there is so much input and so much to celebrate through art.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?

Everybody approaches their art differently, and there is no right or wrong way. I tend to create from my emotions, to observe them and to listen to them. In the past, I used to create directly from the emotions. For example, if I were scared, I would paint out what imagery I have upon fear. However that created a problem, for when I’m really scared I get too scared to even pick up a brush! And when I’m not scared, the emotions are gone and I’m not inspired to paint anymore. It became a huge blockage for creativity, and my productivity is low.

These days, I have learned another way – to acknowledge the emotion I’m feeling at the moment, detach myself from the emotion, and then simply observe it as if I’m an outsider without trying to push it away. Most negative emotions then become funny, even hilarious. Painting the emotion now becomes an “observational painting” of my own mind, a record of thoughts and feelings I have no control of, yet it remains as expressive as I want them to be.

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 suggest taking them to the Barnes and Nobles in the Grove, that’s one of the most magical spots! I love books, they open our minds to so many possibilities, it is simply magical. I would suggest taking them to all the art museums, for example, the Getty, the Broad, LACMA, MOCA, and the Huntington Library. Were it me, I would definitely take them to CalArts, especially Thursday nights because it’s their Gallery Night where artists talk about their works. You could take them to see some night bands and shows. And of course, the usual LA Hollywood tours, like Universal Studios, Disneyland, Paramount, and a hike up Griffith Park to see the famous Hollywood sign. And since you are in LA, you must go to the beach, say Santa Monica, Venice Beach, Malibu. You could drive around Hollywood and Beverly Hills to see beautiful houses. And last, what’s a trip without some wildlife when you are so close to so many National Parks, so for two or three days, you must drive down to Joshua Tree to see some alien landscape, or up north to southern Sierra Nevada to see some iconic pine trees, valleys, and sequoia!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?

I would like to dedicate my shoutout to CalArts. I went to CalArts 5 years ago with a one and only goal to learn traditional animation, but I came out of CalArts having learnt so much more than just animation. CalArts is a place where performances are happening all the time, musicians are practicing in the hallways, and art exhibitions are placed in every corner. It’s a place you get soaked in art, and you get to learn all the different possibilities of art very quickly! I graduated from CalArts being a totally different person than what I originally intended to become! 

Website: www.chiahsinlee.weebly.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/artsy_chia

Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/chiahsinlee/

Facebook: www.facebook.com/artsychia/

Youtube: www.youtube.com/c/artsychia

Other: www.artstation.com/chiahsinlee

Image Credits
(The image with the Phoenix is an album cover for composer Juan Mendizabal’s orchestral album “Una Fantasia”. I did the cover art.)