Meet Mina Gash | Artist & Designer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Mina Gash and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Mina, what inspires you?
I think first and foremost, I’m inspired by music and occultism. Those are the threads tying all of my art together.

I’m also inspired by the femme experience. I’ve always been obsessed with the space where femininity meets rage and wrath. Think lace and chains, silk dresses and swords, a woman from a Pre-Raphaelite painting wearing corpse paint.

To name some more specific inspirations, I’m really inspired by hair metal, gothic literature, visual kei, Victorian era sentimentality, video games, cemeteries, and religion (I am not religious but am fascinated by the ways people practice devotion).

And for specific people and artists who inspire me, I love Kiki Smith, Genieve Figgis, Pina Bausch, Hilma af Klint, Trent Reznor, Princess Diana, Naudline Pierre, Louise Bourgeois, Leonora Carrington, Chelsea Wolfe, Faye Wei Wei, Cy Twombly, Yoshitaka Amano, Darla Teagarden, Florence Welch, and Tim Walker.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I’m a multidisciplinary artist with a passion for the sweet spot where visual art and the music industry mix. I’m really a jack of all trades and love collaborating with people in settings where I can contribute any or all of my skills, which include design, illustration, photography, videography, styling, and writing. My favorite projects have been album and single covers because I think I have a knack for having the right conversations with the musicians to create visuals that go way deeper than the surface level, and sometimes hopefully even get the musician to delve deeper into their music themselves. What does the sound look like? What color is the synth? Night or day? Does this guitar riff remind us more of a spring breeze or a snowy winter night? These kinds of questions combined with asking the musicians to share the lyrics with me really help me develop an intimate relationship with the song/album that I get to explore and be immersed in during the duration of the project, and that is when I feel most alive.
As a child, I made my friends star in music videos and concerts, made websites for my pets, conducted photoshoots in which I did the styling, modeling, AND photography…anything I could get my hands on. Anything I could do. I wanted to be a model, a singer, a photographer, a music video director, a curator, a stylist, a writer, all at the same time. I was uploading my silly music videos to YouTube for years and at 17 even won a contest through Kerrang! Magazine where my music video became the official video for a song by Wrongchilde ft. Gerard Way. I ended up attending Ohio University and went in with the plan to major in Media Arts & Studies. I wanted to direct music videos and make fashion films, and my dream job was to work for fashion photographer Nick Knight’s SHOWstudio. But as most young adults do, I changed my mind and my major several times, and I ended college with a lot of experience with art handling and gallery/museum work under my belt. And, surprise! I now don’t resonate with those things very much, either. I had a gig handling the art gallery portion of a local metaphysical store, WitchLab, and it was awesome, but I recently made the decision to step away so I could focus on my own passions.

I’ve now made two album covers, three single covers, and some gig flyers. I make and sell zines and art prints for extra income and as a way to stay creative. My next dream is to make band merch, like clothing!

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
There is SO MUCH to do in town!

I’d definitely want to take them to Gateway Film Center for a weird art film or classic they’re screening (One time I saw Return of the Living Dead there and it was like a religious experience for me.) I’d also have to take them to WitchLab and The Book Loft. If it was the right time of the month, we would of course have to hit up all the art galleries and studios on Franklinton Friday.

The Columbus Museum of Art is really great and the restaurant there, Schokko, is DELICIOUS and has seasonal menus and fun coffee specials! For food, I also love Local Cantina and Pierogi Mountain. I love getting coffee from Upper Cup Coffee, Stauf’s (my favorite is the one that’s in a beautiful old church), and One Line Coffee.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I’d like to shoutout the people I’ve met through the alternative scene over the past couple of years. All of these people showed me just how many options there are for what I can do with my life other than what was presented to me as a child.

Firstly, shoutout to Tiffany Boggins, the owner and founder of WitchLab. I got a job there fresh out of college when I had just moved to Columbus and she’s like my second mother. She’s helped me grow into a tough woman who can hold her own in business and life in general.

Thank you to Viv Locker, a dear friend and fellow local artist who has been growing with me as both an artist and a person the past few years. Thanks for encouraging me to be myself and to be myself loudly.

Thank you to Cristina Rombi, a not so local but endlessly inspiring and encouraging friend, mentor, and collaborator. Thank you for giving me my first album cover commission and helping me REALLY understand what makes me tick as an artist.

I’d also like to shoutout Hannah Avalon of the bands WINGTIPS and Visceral Anatomy. We met at a very fragile and formative time in my life and you’re my witchy soul sister in this lifetime and every other one, I’d bet! Thanks for making me feel not so alone with all of my intense emotions and for encouraging me to begin pursuing music.

And lastly, thank you to my life and creative partner Ghoul. You’ve made me feel safe to explore who I am and what I’m capable of doing and I’m so grateful and excited to keep creating art with you forever.

Website: http://www.etsy.com/shop/minagash

Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/minagash