Jaden Kale [aka. JadenKale] - Artist Interview

- Tell us about yourself: I'm a 31 yr old East coast girl landlocked in the Midwest with the only beach at my disposal being on the banks of the Mississippi River. Being a navy brat, I lived most of my life between Hawaii and Rhode Island before my father retired from service. I was just starting high school when we picked up and moved the whole family back to his home state. I originally started out in school as a Music/Tech Theatre major before feeling that my ability to manipulate art and create design for practical use seemed the better route to go. I changed my major after my freshman year of college and got a degree in Graphic Design/Commercial Art.

- Describe your typical day: If anything, my life is not the typical up at dawn and sleep at dusk. I'm, as my profile subtitle states, an insomniac. I barely sleep and when I do, it's at most about 3-4 hrs a day, on a good day. Most people would probably go mad, but it's just how I've learned to function. Usually though, I spend the morning hours replying to emails, checking mail and running errands and I spend the bulk of the afternoons and evenings designing. When I'm not designing on my computer though, you can probably find me holed up at one of the local bars a couple nights a week, participating in one of the local karaoke competitions... though I'm usually tucked in a corner, drawing any ideas that come to mind in my sketchbook in between songs.

- Favorites:
Favorite movies: Currently?: Labyrinth. Of all time?: Wizard of Oz (don't hate... ;-) )
Favorite books: Alice In Wonderland and Alice Through the Looking Glass both by Lewis Carroll
Favorite TV shows: Currently?: House, M.D. and Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations. Recently canceled?: Pushing Daisies. Of all time?: The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show
Favorite music: This is quite possibly the hardest of the fav's since I listen to so much. I guess to understand some of what I like, it would be best to check http://www.playlist.com/JadenKale though I've found I'm currently most fond of St. Vincent, Andrew Bird and The Weakerthans, with a strong revival of They Might Be Giants.

- What's your favorite t-shirt that you have designed? I guess my favorite would have to be 'Tea Leaves', though 'All That Jazz' and 'Tiny Surfer/Bottle Boardie' are right up there. My favorite design that has printed though would be 'Oh Burned!!!'

- What's your favorite Tee that someone else has designed? Enclothe's 'Cthulhu' by Jeremy Hanlin will most likely be worn until it's falling apart (at which point I'll likely beg them to make it again just so I can buy another). But if I stray from my cephalopod fixation for a moment, I think my favorite non-squid/octo shirt would be Shirt.Woot's 'Avocado Man' by Jason Cirillo.

- Do you do art projects outside the t-shirt world? I do. I've been asked to work on some local community functions, for example, creating the logo and site for a local Mardi Gras event. Since I was, at one point, the youngest person to have created their celebratory button for entrance into the event, they came to me two years ago to revamp the site and do the themed logos for the next few years. I have also worked on some business sites and pamphlets for area bed & breakfasts.

- What are you most proud of? I'm most proud of my ability to deal with copious amounts of stress and still seem to make things look effortless, despite the current flow of things. I've been told that while I may need to blow my top at times (which everyone needs to at some point), I handle a great deal of stress with the patience of a saint.

- What are some words of advice for fellow Cameesians? Take the time to pay attention to detail and be more concerned with outputting a quality design instead of a quick joke or fad or simply settling before you know it's done. Everything else will fall into place, eventually. You'll just have to be patient.