Lola Glass
Born: Brooklyn, NY — 2008 / Living: Brooklyn, NY
“Fire Girl” (2018) from Glass’s sketchbook.
Interview by Sendra Uebele — January 2020
Sendra Uebele: Who are you?
Lola Glass: My name is Lola Glass, I’m a street artist, a skateboarder, a drummer and a writer. I’m 11 years old.
SU: Why graffiti art?
LG: I like being different from others because being the same as someone else makes me feel like a ghost. Graffiti art is creative, vivid, colorful and vibrant.
SU: Can you talk a bit about ‘The Bushwick Collective’?
LG: The Bushwick Collective is a beautiful, diverse community of people, all different from one another. I met Joe (Ficalora, the curator of the Collective) when I was 6 years old. I was drawing on one of his murals, he caught me red handed, he was upset at first but then he asked me if I wanted to join in. Obviously I said yes. It inspires me a lot to see other artists work on their own stuff. They give me tips and help me get better. Every time I go there it feels like home.
SU: How do you come up with your titles for your pieces?
LG: Sometimes I use writing for inspiration or a particularly good book. At first, I sketch my piece and around the end, I come up with the title. Everything inspires me and to me everything has potential.
SU: What stories inspire you most?
LG: I love anything by Miyazaki and it has inspired me a lot. I love Keith Haring, Basquiat and everyone at the Bushwick Collective. I am also a drummer and a skateboarder so those passions also give good inspirations. Like: Girl is Not A 4 Letter Word, Nirvana, David Bowie, Supergrass, Oasis, and The White Stripes to name a few.
SU: Do you feel that being a woman, and a younger person, affects your art practice? If so, how?
LG: I don’t really feel like it’s harder for me because of my age and my gender. I have met so many talented artists who are different that I don’t really notice. The only thing is that sometimes people will expect hearts and unicorns and that’s not really my style. I gave them punk rock and skateboarding.
SU: What is the audience you have in mind while making?
LG: Anyone who feels left out, all girls across the world.
SU: What other artists do you think people should be paying attention to?
LG: Oh man...so many! London Kaye, Danielle Mastrion, Dasic Fernandez, Natasha (Surface of Beauty), Jerkface, Sipros, Franck Duval, Mr June, Jake Merten, Ethan Armen, Sacsix, Lauren YS, Crystal Moselle.
SU: What has been the most fulfilling project you’ve worked on so far?
LG: It’s very difficult to choose just one. This year I was able to work on the Mark AR app at Comic Con. It’s an app that allows you to tag walls around you with your phone. It was so fun and I met so many amazing artists doing it. I also worked on a mural at the Bushwick Collective which is an offrenda for Kurt Cobain. That was very special to me.
SU: What’s coming next for you? Any new projects you’d like to share?
LG: In February “Hey, Amateur!” will be released by Black Crown and I am so stoked about that!!! It’s an anthology of more than 50 artists teaching you a skill in 9 panels. I still can’t believe I got to be part of it. Some of my favorite people are in it like Cindy Whitehead and Jim Rugg. Having my work edited by Shelly Bond was a dream come true!
Photograph by Lea Hoang for Speciwomen
Lola was born in Brooklyn, New York on June 27, 2008. She resides in Brooklyn, NY. Glass recently published a comic in “Insider Art”, edited by Shelly Bond. She has worked for Adidas, Google and done pieces for Fillin Global, the Bushwick Collective and been published in Insider Art and Hey! Amateur! for Shelly Bond. She is also part of the Girl is Not a 4 Letter Word skater team.
Glass is currently getting ready to work on a mural in Coney Island at Deno’s Wonder Wheel.