Blackscarab... the art of Corinne Alexis Hall

For a very long time now, I've been making things with my hands.  Painting and illustration are at the root of my artistic life.  I can easily say that my first official goal (which I uttered to my mom's "worldly" boss on Madison Avenue at the age of seven) was to become a sort of "David Bowie" of the art world.  I've been a painter, sculptor, and fabricator of all sorts.  It's funny though, I'm never known for everything that I do.  Some people have met me under the banner of Love Nico and my tees, and others have met me in the animation world- and what I'm surrounded by at those times is usually what people assume to be the extent of what I'm capable of.

Often friends are shocked when they come to our apartment, because they see a lot of art on the walls and automatically assume that Jayel made each piece- but soon find out that I've made at least half of them.

As I hit the age of 23, 24, I started to become a bit frightened about being stuck in a position of promotion on only one point of capability.  Though in the past it may have been a method to success to focus on one thing, in this day and age it is certainly not a method of benefit to me.  There is so much information and so many people on this great Earth that in order to grab opportunity, one must branch into many arenas.  Learning has become the art itself.  Learning how to learn is the best skill you can have.

I learned how to build websites because, as a visual artist, I needed one.  I learned how to silkscreen tees because I had an opportunity to start something with family investors, my brother-in-law and sister.  I learned how to sculpt because Jayel and I were working on stop-motion animation projects.  I learned how to Photoshop because it was simply necessary for everything.  And oddly enough, everything I'm learning applies to everything else- even seemingly unrelated skills, such as getting up on stage and singing backup for a band, or throwing an event.  But these things in and of themselves are never going to be enough for me.  They are not the point, they are tools to achieve a point.

Every piece of art on my site is a piece of a puzzle.  I have always "known" certain things, and over time I've seen some of those things come true.  What I "know" for myself is that I'm meant to be a part of something very, very big, and everything I've accomplished has been training for that thing.  I'll know what that thing is when I'm at the threshold of it.  And I know I'll be calmer than I've ever been, because I'll be ready. I love each piece of art that I have made, but they aren't big enough for me.  They can never be big enough.  Whatever it is I'm going to be a part of, I love it most of all.  It has so much gravity that I've been listening to it throughout time and space.  For the sake of it I get lost in each step, each piece, and every lesson.  For the sake of something to come, which comes at just the right time, I am tempering myself.

What is most important to me is not the art I make but the intent behind it all.  The brush is my wand.  I am not an artist.  I'm a magician.