Roger Gastman: In the past several years there has been such a craze with designer toys and other products. Your work seems perfect for that medium, yet I have noticed you have stayed away. To me it has made your body of work seem even more precious.

Seonna Hong: Believe me, I’m so glad there is great, stylish stuff out there that a lot of artists I know are making. It’s nice to have in the house, and it’s really great as a parent to be exposing my daughter to innovative design. I haven’t really delved into it as much myself for a lot of reasons; lack of time, difficulty in painting under armpits (for those custom designed ones), and ultimately because my paintings are like journal entries to me. That’s why I’ve generally shied away.


What is your painting process? You also use various mediums?

It starts with some personal experience and then pictures, like snapshots appear in my head. Or I’ll put on music to continue to indulge those feelings that are coming 
up from that experience, and more images will go through my head. Then, if I’m not too lazy, I will get up and make notes or a sketch. One of my favorite comedians, Mitch Hedberg, RIP, had a funny bit about how he kept a notebook and pencil handy so that when inspiration struck he could write it down, and that when said notebook and pencil were just out of reach, he would convince himself that it wasn’t really all that funny. Anyhow, once I have an idea of what I want to do, I try to figure out what medium would lend itself best to that painting. With this new series of paintings I’m working on, I’ve been able to experiment with some more techniques like staining, collage, embroidery, and interpretive dance. Just kidding, you know, about the collage.

--Excerpt from Seonna's interview with Roger Gastman, Juxtapoz #73, Februrary 2007

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