Thanks to our supporters, we’re back with more from MrJames Workshop!
In our last encounter, we introduced Dalton (Mr. James to you) and took a trip down memory lane. Today, we will pick up where we left off with the introduction of MrJames newest endeavor, Queer Cosmic Folk Art, more specifically, The Billies! (Now on tour in Eureka Springs).
You’ll get the most out of the experience by listening to the podcast audio while following along with the text and images. If you can’t listen to the episode, check out the audio transcript- it’s messy but full of amazing insights and stories! I’ve included the timecodes from the audio in this email so you can easily reference what I’m talking about:)Here we go!
The Billies- 10 years in the making (Timecode 31:31)
Billy started out as a literal doodle. I was in New York and I was in Brooklyn at jury duty.
It was the most awful boring thing I could imagine, so I just started sketching this little face and I just kept drawing and drawing it.
I showed it to Brian and he thought it was funny and kept encouraging me to do it.
And then I worked on it for, I'd say 10-12 years just trying to find this little weird little face.
Can you image working on something for ten years? …now that I think about it, it took me 20 to make my feature film, STUCK, so maybe I can! That’s a testament to what some long term one-day-at-a-time thinking can produce in your life:)
”They all represent everyone in my mythology.
Once I developed the original Billy, Billy B, he felt so lonely.
I wanted to make him a family so, I did.
…the naming convention, I wanted to pull from my roots in Texas…”
You can bring a Billy home, just head on over to www.mrjamesworkshop.com and purchase online. Dalton also takes commissions!
”THE ARCHETYPES” (38:04 Timecode)
Feeling alone because you can’t find yourself in the mythologies that guide how we fit into culture? Follow Dalton’s lead and build your own!
It's what we were talking about earlier about trying to find yourself in the world.
For the longest time, I just gave up trying to find the story that seems so familiar that I could...I don't know… a path that I could follow or a direction that I go like, “oh, I can just go do this, because it's already there.
I've tried to do that so many times and it never worked.
And so I was like, “well, I guess I'll just make my own.”
“I started with the hero because, I mean, you have to be the hero of your own story, right?”
The hero is the creator that's how he becomes the hero. He finds that notion of everything you ever needed is right there inside and it contains everything.
You already know everything you need to know.
In this section we also cover:
Jenni’s having died multiple times over her lifetime
Keep the faith, you’re on a spirit quest
The Queen of Sleep and Melancholia (“This one character who disguises themselves to look like all the other archetypes. So that the voices that you hear from her sound like other archetypes telling you it's never going to work out.”)
Core Beliefs, The 3A’s, and how Jenni deals with her “taskmaster”
How two very different people with very different experiences can be on parallel paths and so much more!
The Two Daltons (60:08 Time Code)
I asked Dalton to send me his bio pic- I was surprised at what I received- so I straight up asked about why he sent me a photo of “mean Dalton”.
I think that over time- and it's something that I've realized about myself-is that I created this external…styling…as a protective mechanism, so I don't get messed with.
You know, the things that run in through your head that you have to protect yourself from.
I mean, I live in downtown LA and it's super fucking scary down here.
I just wear that all the time.
It's kind of a default, I guess.
I don’t know if that’s good or bad. It’s just…that’s the picture.
That we live in a world where this beautiful human has to hide his natural proclivity for joy, creativity, and love saddens me. How about you?
“I would not have been able to create work of this level
if it wasn't for the love I share with my husband.
He has given me room, patience, and support
to grow in directions that I never could have imagined.”
Dalton asked that we celebrate his influences: Charles Schulz, Mary Blair, Takashi Murakami, Yoshitomo Nara, Keith Haring, and Robert Rauschenberg (another queer artist from Port Arthur, TX)
Wrapping it up…for now.
I’m so happy that I had a chance to reacquaint myself with a friend/collaborator of over 30 years. I love sitting down and talking to people. Everyone has a story- let’s face it- everyone has a whole crapload of them! I find that sharing stories with one another is a great way to realize that we are not alone in whatever it is we are going through and that our diversity of experiences and influences doesn’t have to separate or isolate us, in fact, they can connect us in ways we couldn’t have imagined.
There’s more to come….we haven’t even gotten to his video art!
Where you can find Mr. James
Website: MrJamesWorkshop.com
Instagram: @mrjamesworkshop
Bluesky: @mrjamesworkshopContact: hello@mrjamesworkshop.com
TAGS: #queercosmicfolkart, #popart, #losangelesart, #westhollywoodart, #mrjamesworkshop, #mrjamesworkshopshow
Until next time- love ya lots!
Jenni
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