Q and A with Providence-Based Artist Paige Huggon
Paige Huggon, local abstract artist and creative visionary, uses a variety of art mediums that go beyond the canvas.
Paige Huggon, a Taunton, Massachusetts transplant, finds inspiration for her art and creativity in her supportive friends, family, past experiences and future opportunities. Photograph by @kinglopes.
Twenty-seven year old Paige Huggon has been a creative for as long as she can remember. From crafting houses out of cardboard boxes with her babysitter to printing her paintings onto chiffon scarves today, Huggon’s mission is to push the boundaries of artmaking. We spoke with the Bridgewater State University graduate about her past and current projects, implementing fashion into her work and more.
RIM: What types of mediums do you create your art with and what’s your preferred one?
Paige Huggon: My main art mediums are acrylics, spray paint and pigment sticks, but I also dabble in making short visuals. I’ve recently been calling myself a creative director because I am – everything I create needs creative direction. Lately [videography] has been my preferred medium, even though I’m still creating art and printing it on the scarves. The whole package that I’ve been releasing, I love the creative direction of it.
RIM: And you do so well with the visuals, I love the rawness of them.
Huggon: It makes me happy that you say that because that’s always my mission, to release raw, authentic work. I want people to relate to me, even if you’re not an artist. I express myself through my art and its themes. I like when people are able to relate, so being authentic and letting people step into my life in some sort of way is rewarding.
RIM: Was fashion always important to you?
Huggon: Ever since I was younger. I was always obsessed with sneakers, and I was a tomboy so I played a lot of sports. My basketball shoes and soccer cleats had to be pristine. I wasn’t the best player on the team but I looked fly as hell! In college I met René Ramos, a local artist and designer. He and his girlfriend Jo started a fashion club at school and I was secretary. We would put on fashion shows and thrift shops, and that’s where I was able to fulfill my love for fashion. Then I started modeling, so I was always able to stay in touch with that side of myself.
Paige stands behind Nyree Sylvia on the set of This Chapter I’m Living In. Photograph by @_loverita
RIM: Tell me a bit about the chiffon scarves and the collection Ain’t Even Gotta Try.
Huggon: A little over a year ago is when I really started getting back into my art. A random thought came to me: “I wonder what my art would look like printed on a scarf.” I started looking at chiffon scarves and, while I love creating art on canvas, I wanted to be realistic with myself. I feel like my audience isn’t buying canvases and with my canvases, you need to have a specific look with your decor to hang it. I thought, “What’s something I can try that’s going to be appealing to people my age, or misfits, or people that are unique and daring with fashion?” That’s when I started working with chiffon scarves. I began looking at the blank canvas as if it’s going to be a scarf. Now I was focusing on symmetry, line breaks, the colors, studying designs and getting inspiration. I looped in a good friend Nyree Sylvia, who I collaborated with for my last project, and I wanted her to bring this vision I had to life. She took the film pictures, digitals, styled every model for the visual, and she helped with the creative direction and videography. I wanted to focus all the promotion on the vibe we had on the photoshoot – nostalgia. It was my way of introducing myself as a creative director. I’m in the fashion world and I want my art and fashion to intertwine with each other. This visual was inspired by the theme of stepping back into my confidence and not being afraid to show that I know who I am.
Ain’t Even Gotta Try is about what the title is. I was hesitant because it sounds cocky, but I was like, “There’s a lot of people in this world that are just effortlessly fly and don’t even have to try,” so I wanted to choose models that give me that vibe and create each scene based on the model. My brother was one of them, he taught me how to be fly and that’s where my fashion started from.
RIM: The thought process for this visual shows that you’re articulate with your work, and I’m sure a lot of people take note of that.
Huggon: The brainstorming that went into that is ridiculous. There was one night Nyree and I had a note of everything, we shared it with each other and threw stuff in there. One night I was like “You’ve got to come over, we have to whiteboard all of this.” I’m a very visual person and when I have an idea, I physically need to write it out. We were planning out the entire shoot for over an hour and feeding off each other. If I was stuck on an idea, she’d come up with a solution. I’m seeing how important it is to be genuine with my art, it’s like my baby – I have to treat it and nurture it.
RIM: Do your friends and family play a part in your art?
Huggon: Absolutely. My parents have always let me be the free, wild girl I am. My mom has always given me confidence, she hangs up my art and wears it. My last project, “This Chapter I’m Living In,” was inspired by my friends. Everytime we’re hanging out with each other it’s like the real world is non-existent. I’m the happiest with them and we’re able to feed off each other energetically. Everyone has their own talent and when we’re together, we bring it out of each other. They remind me of who I am, it’s great to have friends who validate you.
RIM: How would you describe your recent visual collections?
Huggon: Reclamation of the Creative Mind was the first visual I did. I was coming out of a break up and had to redefine who I am as an independent woman. I realized that I completely let go of my creativity – I knew it was there but I wasn’t feeding it in any way. It was my first time being alone in a long time and I had so much silence and time with myself that I [realized] I haven’t created art in a long time, I need to figure out my passion again. It’s like I was meeting myself again. During that time, I had to heal my inner child, reflect and get to know her again because that’s where it all started – little me in art class or in art club in middle school. Reclamation of the Creative Mind is a journey back to myself as an artist.
This Chapter I’m Living In was another transformative time of my life, it focuses heavily on my friends. I wanted to paint a dreamy visual of us all in a field. When we filmed it, I didn’t give them much information on what they’re coming into other than “I want you guys to be yourselves and act like no one is filming you.” There’s not much background other than feeling like a child with my friends and wanting to show that in some way.
From promoting her art in exhibitions to traveling the world, Paige aims to continue honing her craft and expanding her portfolio as a creative director. Photograph by @kinglopes
RIM: Can you describe how your introduction to art began and how it led to self discovery?
Huggon: It started when I was very young, I must’ve been in elementary school. My eldest brother has cerebral palsy, so he would have personal care assistants growing up. All of the assistants were amazing, and two of them that stuck with me were both very artistic. Not only were they my brother’s PCAs, they babysat my other brother and I, God bless them, we were a handful. They would do these elaborate art projects with us. I remember my favorite project, we would take cardboard boxes from my brother’s medical equipment, take the hollow part of the box, turn it on its side and create these houses and fake people out of cardboard and paper. They were very good at utilizing imagination, that’s so critical for younger kids. They’re the catalyst of where I’ve gone with my art and I’ve always loved saying that. They took the time to cater to my artistic needs.
RIM: What kind of headspace do you find yourself in when working on these canvases?
Huggon: It’s always high energy. I’m a very energetic person and whenever I’m creating art, I have to have music blasting or put headphones on. Most of the time while I’m painting I’m taking breaks and dancing around my house, but it always comes from pure euphoria. I like to think I’m a grateful person and I appreciate life and nature a lot, and I like to incorporate that when I’m creating. Most of the time it’s me self expressing and throwing that onto the canvas or in the visuals I create. I’ll space out and envision what I want my project to look like, and when I feel that’s it’s right I have to make it happen. I look at creative ideas as expiration dates so if I’m not taking that vision I have in detailed writing, I know I’m never going to revisit it. I’m on the go all the time. Life is really short and I live by that faithfully every day.
RIM: What’s next for you? What do you see yourself accomplishing in the next chapters of your life?
Huggon: I’ve been submitting my work into international magazines. I got into one the last week of March. I’ve been trying to broaden my horizons, so that’s what I’ve been working on. I’m in this era of rebranding myself. I don’t know what project is going to come next but with taking a couple months off of work, I want to travel and be inspired by different cultures and see what that inspires me to do with my art. I really want to step more into the creative directing world, now that I’ve got a taste of it. What I’ve been thinking about lately is, I really loved the roll out of Ain’t Even Gotta Try, and I want to continue to do the similar type of style with all my projects. The creative direction, the brainstorming and working with other local creatives. I’m trying not to rush anything – one thing I’ve been doing is surrendering and slowing down, and I want to do the same thing for my art.
Check out the Ain’t Even Gotta Try collection from July 13 through August 20 during the Curating Commemoration exhibition at the WaterFire Arts Center. The exhibit is open Wednesday–Sunday 10 a.m.–5 p.m., 10 a.m.–9 p.m. on Thursday. 475 Valley St., Providence, 401-443-5553, waterfire.org
Visit Paige’s website and social media to view her portfolio of paintings, scarves, visuals and more. paigehuggon.com, instagram.com
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