Gabriela Domville creates mixed media art inspired by nature and its inhabitants. She works in diverse mediums—paint, paper, fabric, and thread—often incorporating elements symbolic of nature, time, life, and death.
How did you find yourself on an artist’s path? Always there? Lightbulb moment? Dragged kicking and screaming? Evolving?
I think my artist path is a result of my creative quest and evolved through the years. I remember being 7 or 8 years old and sewing Barbie clothes and building my own Barbie house with wooden crates, shoe boxes and scraps of rug and fabric.
As I grew older, I started making simple clothes and taking drawing classes. When I finished high school I started a Bachelor’s degree in Art but switched to Fashion Design six months after as I missed the textiles.
After college, I did a Master’s in Ceramics and further down the road I finished two certifications one Creative Process and one in Photography at UCSD. I have taken over 40 workshops all over the world in places such as Spain, England and France, all related to art and counting,…evolving and growing.
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Learning and teaching are two of my biggest passions.
Do you feel that you chose your “passion,” or did it choose you?
Haha tough one, I think it was both! Since I have a very keen eye for things and I am sensitive to my surroundings, I am attracted to aesthetic things, therefore I feel the need to create them. I take pictures of everything that I find beautiful, it could be a simple plant, a color, the paint peeling on the walls, even trash. There was a moment in time when I gathered things that I found and arranged them in a neat way and left for other people to find them.
What different creative media do you use in your work?
I love using recycled materials, for example, old papers, fabric, and wooden boxes. I like combining these materials in different ways. Sometimes it is collage, sometimes there is machine sewing, etc. I use paint, pencil, drawing, anything goes!
How do you decide which media you are going to use on a piece or project?
I don’t have a plan. It is spontaneous, it comes from playing and it starts showing itself.
For example, one day I arrive at the studio and decide to print on gelli-plates. As I go along, I can print on paper or fabric, when I finish that process then I decide in which direction to go.
I might collage fabric with paper and stitch, other times I start by collaging papers then I add fabric and paint over it or use fabric or wood as a substrate then add collage and add sewing details, it varies a lot.
When it comes to creating, are you more of a planner or an improviser?
It depends on the project, for example If I am working on a commission, it implies a bit of planning materials, dimensions, maybe even color and subject matter but then it takes off in a spontaneous way. When it is my own practice, I am totally improvising, flowing with what I am feeling as a result of color combination or materials.
Do you use a sketchbook or journal? How does that help your work develop?
I use a sketchbook to draw plants and figures which later I re-use to paint or stitch. When I travel, I paint or draw in my sketchbook which has evolved from landscape or places into abstracts. I am finding a voice as I let go of any expectations and just let my intuition guide me.
How do you manage your creative time? Do you schedule start and stop times? Or work only when inspired?
I still struggle to have defined studio hours. I would love to have regular hours but I juggle it in between my everyday routine and other tasks. I do try to go at least 2-3 days into the studio to keep the creative flow. I have found it is harder to get into it when you stop for a while.
I now understand why the journaling practice becomes handy!
Do you have a dedicated space for creating? If so, what does it look like?
Yes, I have two spaces. One small room at home where I work smaller projects like drawing, small abstracts on paper and stitching. My home studio is very cozy, full of books, supplies and hanging artwork. My other studio is fifteen minutes away from home. It is in an industrial complex so it is a bigger space, which I use for larger work and where I teach workshops.
This studio has open walls with a couple of tables and a shelf with supplies, so it is quite the opposite of my home studio.
Have you found something intended for one media that works well for something else?
Well, I guess that would be my sewing machine. I like to draw with it using free hand sewing motion. I trace my subjects and then I go over them with the machine.
How often do you start a new project? Do you work actively on more than one project at a time?
I think every series is a new project or a commissioned piece. I could probably say I work on 3 projects a year. Each series is made out of 15-30 pieces depending on the size, complexity, and media. Sometimes things do overlap between a commission and my own work but I try to be sure they are independent of one another.
When I am working on a series, yes, I work on multiple things at the same time trying to make a cohesive body of work going back and forth from one paint to the other.
Which part of the design process is your favorite? Which part is a challenge for you?
Coming up with ideas is easy, having the time to execute them is never enough. Hahaha. Beginnings are fun, easy, unexpected and playful. It is about letting go. Then there is a moment between playing and figuring out which direction to continue and I think that is the point where I struggle the most. Sometimes I am ready to commit to the piece and yet it would be at a very early stage so I have to push myself to keep going.
Can you tell us about the inspiration and process of one of your works? How does a new work come about?
I think what influences me most is nature and traveling.
My bird series was inspired by a museum visit which later became a more profound research on specimen birds. The inspiration came when I saw these amazing birds with incredible colors, some of them a hundred years old (literally) and my thought was “if we continue to destroy nature, this is how we are going to see animals in the future”. I decided to create a collection to call the attention of my viewer.
As mentioned before, I like to upcycle materials and I find that the use of disposables could be decreased; so in that train of thought, I started to paint birds with cups and saucers that reminded me of my grandma’s chinaware. I later discovered that this pattern on the chinaware is called Toile de Jouy which depicts natural scenes, humans and nature interacting and that became my point of departure for the whole series. That pattern including the color has lingered in my work for a bit and continues to inspire me.
How does your formal art education help your work develop? Does it ever get in the way?
I am an avid learner so I have received many certificates and done various workshops, which have become tools for all I do. No, It doesn’t get in the way, because I can let go once I see something that I like.
Is there an overarching theme that connects all of your work?
Nature, Memento Mori, Motherhood and Womanhood tend to show up on a regular basis. Certain motives like hands, chairs, plants and birds also repeat in my work.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve received?
“If you are not willing to destroy your art and start all over again don’t do art!”
It has been so helpful because I am a perfectionist and I tend to hold on to very early stages of my work. Sometimes this is not good because it is only a beginning and therefore I get stuck. If i remember this phrase, I can go further, and usually easier to finish a piece.
How has your creativity evolved over the years? What triggered the evolution to new media/kinds of work/ways of working?
I was more a representational artist and I now I gravitate towards abstract but in the process of fusing them together.
How do you know when a work is finished?
Hahaha, this you never know, you can always keep going and doing more. I guess when you like overall what you see and it works in balance. Once I heard that you finish when your work is due for delivery.
Tell me more about your scarf project.
When I created the bird collection, I wanted to give back to the environment trying to create a positive change. I researched a couple of ways on how to do this and I ended up creating a scarf line which is made in an eco-friendly way supporting fair trade and that employs women. This scarf collection is available on my website only and part of the profits are donated to bird conservation programs like Audubon Society. I would love to create an impact by selling and donating more to this cause.
Where can people see your work?
My website is www.gabrieladomville.com
Instagram @gabrieladomvilleart
Studio tour send an email [email protected]
Interview posted June 2024
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