Can a technically ‘imperfect’ piece still be perfect? Let’s find out with this month’s merch drop. Argentinian artist Clara Wall collabed with 9 year-old Violenda from the SDN 002 Mentarang school in Pulau Sapi, Indonesia. Their final illustration is a clean and structured piece, focusing on the harmony between night and day.
The WallC x Violenda collab is out now!
From biotechnology to full-time artistry
Surprising as it might sound, Clara didn’t start out by making art, but by studying science. Before she started the muralling she’s so well-known for, she did biotechnology at
“I had a degree and I even worked in a genetics lab,” she explains. “It was something I did because of a curiosity to learn more, to understand how nature works. But then I thought, if this was going to be my life, it would be boring.”
It was pretty soon after finishing her science degree that she started making the switch to art. Clara goes on: “I worked in a genetics lab for about 5 years, and I was already studying graphic design and communication when I was working there. When I finished that degree, I was sure I wanted to go down that path.”
And after she started down the path of art, she never looked back. Now, one of the things Clara is so well-known for is her mural art. She started muralling right at the start, but she also practiced with other flat surfaces.
“I started with murals and also painting surfboards and skateboards. I had a lot of friends who used to do those kinds of sports, and a lot of them wanted some kind of art on their boards. This was also at the beginning of Instagram, so I started posting what I was doing.”
Overcoming her fear of colour
When you spot a classic Clara Wall piece, one of the first things that jumps out is the bold use of colour. So it might be surprising to hear that she was quite nervous about using colour when she was starting out.
“At the very beginning, I used to make just black and white drawings. But when I started, I also just made art for myself,” she says.
“I remember my first mural for other people was for a hostel in Uruguay. They gave me a painting they had left and it was very colourful. So I started to mix different colours and to create a palette. And that's when I realised that I really like to mix and create colours.”
And now, the challenge is going back to black and white paintings.
Luckily, when Clara gets commissions, it’s mostly to create the cheerful and colourful pieces she’s known for. And what project stands out to her the most? She admits it’s hard to name just one.
“I have made some murals in Buenos Aires, in public areas.
Those are the ones I really like because they are for everyone to see and to enjoy. They make dark spaces colourful, bright, and more enjoyable.
Cities are usually very grey and the 2 projects I like the most are tunnels or bridges. Those places are really dark and maybe you don't want to go there. But now they’re the opposite, they’re very bright and they’ve become a tourist stop.”
In-person workshops and making art with children
You may know Clara for her signature mural art, but did you know that she also loves hosting in-person painting workshops?
“What I like the most is to see people lose their fear of the white sheet and the art itself,” she starts. “When I do these kinds of events people usually start off very scared. It's like they have this pressure to do something beautiful. And the goal of these events is to lose yourself, to break free of any fear you have. It's very playful. And I think art must be playful too.
“In the process of that kind of event, you start to see how people start to enjoy themselves, play around, have fun, and finish with a big smile. No matter what they have done, it's the experience that is the most important part.”
Speaking of working with other people, Clara not only has lots of experience making art with adults, but also with children.
“There's an organisation in Buenos Aires that did something similar to Face This, and I participated twice. They worked with children in difficult areas. The task was to learn about the creative process and how to express yourself through art. They had a workshop with these kids where they created an art piece. The children’s drawings were then framed and sent to the artists with a plastic film on top.
“My task was to paint on top of it, without covering it, just respecting the original piece, but getting involved with it a little bit. So the original art wasn't altered at all, but it became a collaboration piece between the kid and the artist.”
It’s no wonder that we were drawn to Clara for a collab! Not only does she have a passion for helping children through art, but she also has a deep appreciation for children’s creativity. She goes on: “When you're a kid, whatever you make is really more authentic than when you grow up.”
The WallC x Violenda collab is out now!
Chasing perfection with Violenda (9)
Given Clara’s incredible artistry and heart for helping children in need, we were thrilled when she agreed to do a collab.
For this illustration, she worked together with Violenda, who made a drawing based on the theme of perfection. This is a concept Clara is also familiar with, as she admits that she’s a perfectionist.
“I'm very perfectionist in the way I paint,” she explains. “Something other artists say to me is that my murals are very sharp. Although the forms are very organic, the silhouettes and colours are very sharply painted.”
At the same time, perfectionism isn’t the only thing Clara chases: “A very wise teacher I had once told me that there's no right or wrong when you are creating. So, it's not good or bad, right or wrong, perfect or imperfect. And you must create and see what happens with your art.
“That's why for this painting I used this style where the colours are moved away from the lines. They're not perfectly aligned.”
Similarly to Clara, Violenda also strives for perfection when making art. When we interviewed her about her theme, she told us: "I want to be perfect because I want to draw better". This showed us that she is not only passionate about her art, but also serious about getting better at it.
This aspiration was immediately clear to Clara: “Her drawing was very symmetrical. The moon is in the middle and there’s a symmetry to the mountains. So, I think that I saw perfection in the way she created symmetry in the composition.”
Getting creative
Before even picking up the paint brush, Clara had to rethink the way she interpreted Violenda’s drawing. “She said that she had drawn a moon. And I saw a sun,” Clara exclaims. “So I thought okay, this has to be a moon and a sun. It has to be a mix of what I saw and what she's done.”
From then on, it was a creative process like any of her other projects. First, she had to pick her colour palette. And this is when the next challenge came: how should she combine the warm colours of the sun and the cool colours of the moon?
“What if I divide the piece and make one side warm and the other side cool? Then I realised that if I did that, there would be my part and her part. They would be separate, not joined. So I decided to mix the colours. I also tried to respect the symmetry and all the elements as much as possible.”
She also made sure to not align the colours with Violenda’s outlines perfectly, introducing a bit of imperfection into the final piece.
The final illustration is a beautiful blend of Violenda’s disciplined, symmetrical composition and Clara’s playful use of colour.
Inviting children into the art world
What is Clara leaving this experience with? “It's all positive,” she concludes. “These kinds of collaborations leave me with a very positive energy. It’s because I’m inviting kids to be artists.
“I grew up in a time where you had to study, to have a degree, and to have a career. Being an artist wasn't taken very seriously. And now I get to invite kids to see that art is a very fulfilling path. Even if you don’t end up as an artist, you have been introduced to that world, and it gives you many tools to express yourself when you grow up.”
Of course, there is always something we can learn from children. So what did Clara learn?
“Kids always have something to say and they know exactly how to say it in their own way. They don’t just see the world, they are experiencing it. They think about it and feel it. So they usually have a very strong opinion about everything. It's good to see or hear what they have to say, or what they have to express without minimising it.”
The WallC x Violenda collab is out now!