Irreverently Vulnerable With 'Like The Sun Holds The Moon' Author and Philly Mixed-Media Artist J. Eliza Wall
J. Eliza Wall on true-life trash crabs, spotlighting Deaf artists, and being embedded with a mermaid family. Exploring the intimate and the weird.
A monthly interview series with creators who discuss their worst fears, their best joys, and what turns them on.
J. Eliza Wall is an artist who makes intricate, intentional choices in her work, and a prolific creator with an artistic energy that does not dilute: each project is an intimate piece of herself buoyed by the need for and love of expression.
She is the author of the coming-of-age novel “Like The Sun Holds The Moon: A Novel” (Little Creek Press) and the children’s stories “TRASH CRAB” and “Like the Sun Holds The Moon: A Children’s Book”. She is a filmmaker whose most recent Short Narrative, OVULE, screened at The Women’s Film Festival in Philadelphia.
Her work is painted all over the city, literally, with her collaborations with Mural Arts Philadelphia. Every April you can see her mixed-media plant-inspired diaromas at the Philadelphia Flower Show.
J., thank you. Now, let’s get weird.
This is Irreverently Vulnerable Volume Three With J. Eliza Wall.
What book or movie moment evokes an emotion in you that can only be described as “Nerd Glee”?
As a mixed-media storyteller (artist, writer, and filmmaker), I’m most inspired by films that tap into the sacredness of life and its fleeting magic. Some of my favorite movies that truly do this and play the long game are the works of Richard Linklater: Waking Life, Boyhood, Before Sunrise, Before Sunset, and Before Midnight.
One of my favorite moments in the film Waking Life that evokes an emotion in me that can only be described as “Nerd Glee” is one scene that quietly features the characters Jesse and Celine, played by Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke, from Before Sunrise (1995), Before Sunset (2004) and Before Midnight (2013).
Not only is Waking Life a work of art, visually with the rotoscoping, but the content of their discussion is deep and philosophical. The dream-like atmosphere of Waking Life employs a unique rotoscoped animation style, which involves tracing over live-action footage to create an animated effect. This fluid and surreal style induces a dream-like atmosphere.
These two characters are so well-developed and natural, and to find them tucked within another Richard Linklater film made them feel even more authentic. Richard Linklater wanted to capture something very true, so he also made the two leads writers on the film. Within this short scene (about five min.), the two characters have a beautiful, winding conversation about life, memories, dreams, relationships, reincarnation, and collective consciousness.
Some of my favorite quotes: (I wasn’t kidding about the “nerd glee”. When a film really resonates, I’m there with my pencil and notebook, scribbling down my favorite lines)
“Observing my life from the perspective of an old woman about to die, like my waking life is her memories.”
“He was looking forward to the moment when his body was dead, but his brain was still alive. A second of dream consciousness is infinitely longer than a waking one. Six-10 minutes of brain activity, that could be your whole life. Maybe I only exist in your mind, still just as real as anything else.”
“I believe reincarnation is a poetic expression of what collective memory really is.”
“When a member of a species is born, it has a billion of years of memory to draw on, and this is where we inherit our instincts.”
“Once the answers are out there, people can pick up on them. It’s like we’re all telepathically sharing our experiences.”
Jesse and Celine - Waking Life:
What is a prominent wound you have drawn from and channeled into your writing?
My work explores various topics—the human condition, family dynamics, relationships, nostalgia, connection to nature, and mental and physical health—in an attempt to restore connections in a fractured world. I believe art is a powerful tool that can generate change and healing locally and globally.
One particular wound I've drawn from and channeled into my art, writing, and filmmaking is being a child of divorce. In 2020, I published Like the Sun Holds the Moon: A Children's Book, which addresses themes of separation and divorce, and for the May 2022 Lunar Eclipse, my book Like the Sun Holds the Moon: A Novel was published by Little Creek Press.
Synopsis: Like the Sun Holds the Moon: A Children's Book:
A little girl comforts her younger brother with a story about how their parents met and why they cannot stay together. This story is meant to broach the topic of separation (divorce or adoption) with young children in a magical and kid-friendly way. It can allow for conversation about a subject that can be very challenging. It is meant to comfort and inspire.
Synopsis: Like the Sun Holds the Moon: A Novel
Writing this coming-of-age story (Like the Sun Holds the Moon: A Novel) was a coming-of-age experience for me. I grew as a storyteller, artist, and person alongside this project.
Writing and art-making have always been comforts that have gotten me through challenging times. My novel is rooted in real trauma that my family faced, but the characters took off on their own journeys over the years. I'm so thankful for the lessons they taught me. My novel is in no way a memoir, and this is what makes writing fiction so freeing and liberating. It allows you to explore other possibilities. Working with universal themes of family dynamics and mental and physical health, I learned that even though intergenerational trauma is genetic, so is intergenerational resilience, and that is what is most important.
I think the most recent wound I've been creating work about is my journey to motherhood. I've been very open about my husband and I's path to becoming parents through the help of a surrogate/gestational carrier. I've been working on this via filmmaking through three short films documenting this experience.
My first short film, OVULE, which screened this fall at the Women's Film Festival (in Philadelphia), explores the theme of the womb as a portal with an emphasis on transformation. It starts with the Big Bang, the portal to all life on our planet, and ends with a vulnerable first-person account of the In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) process.
Due to some health conditions, I underwent the IVF process last February so my husband and I could collaborate with a Gestational Carrier/Surrogate who would carry a biological baby for us. OVULE works with the themes of fertility, transformation, and parenthood and is inspired by the work of Richard Linklater, Michel Gondry, and Charlie Kaufman. In seed plants, the ovule is part of the ovary that contains the female germ cell and, after fertilization, becomes the seed. The word 'ovule' translates to 'egg’. For millennia, people have worshiped the womb as the sacred portal from which all life comes. The womb is a seat of deep wisdom and a creative power center.
Brené Brown reminds me daily: "Vulnerability is not winning or losing; it's having the courage to show up and be seen when we have no control over the outcome. Vulnerability is not weakness; it's our greatest measure of courage."
What chapter or passage of story have you written that was viscerally emotional for you writing it and stays in your mind?
A few sections of my book, Like the Sun Holds the Moon: A Novel, were conceived of and feverishly written in a journal, in a semi-flow state, and then meticulously combed through and polished and re-worked.
Those sections are the novel's heart and were a catharsis to write. There were a couple of sections that are very vivid and emotionally raw for me: end of Chapter Two, when the main character finds her mom crying in the rain as she pulls weeds from the patio in the days leading up to a risky surgery, and the end of Chapter Eight when the main character confesses to her first love how she feels torn in two and he reminds her of the importance of black holes and how they hold the universe together.
Being vulnerable in creative work is important. It allows you to share and experience a full range of emotions, unhinged and unhindered. It takes courage, but it is rewarding and allows you to connect more deeply with people who have been there.
You’re gonna create today. What is the thing or things you do beforehand that need to be done before you can write a single word?
Before making my way to my studio, I have a few rituals that I do before hunkering down to do something creative. It’s generally the same routine, whether I’m doing film edits in Adobe Premiere, working on a new painting/section of a mural, shooting new footage, or drafting a new story. A few chores and a few things that spark joy before creative work: make my coffee, cuddle with my dog Ryder, make my bed, stretch/workout, open a window, light a candle, and clean. My go-to music is instrumental synthwave, vaporwave, and/or folktronica.
My current jam is: Four Tet’s New Energy album.
This really helps me clear a space so it can be freed up of procrastination and idle time.
In those quiet moments when you sit in an airport lounge, exhausted and reflecting, what might be on your mind?
To balance out my normal brain chatter that usually revolves around the fragility of life and its impermanence, I would almost 100% be scrolling through pug and beagle videos online to quiet my buzzing mind while sitting in an airport lounge.
Much of my creative work references memento mori (Latin for 'remember that you have to die'), an artistic or symbolic trope reminding us of death's inevitability. The concept has its roots in the philosophers of classical antiquity.
Sometimes, the only thing that works is a photo or video of a cute dog. I have a Puggle (Pug + Beagle mix), who I adore. We've already talked, and he has promised to haunt my house when he passes.
A cosmic wish-granter has offered you a +25 manna boost in talent and creative willpower, but in exchange, you must notify a family of hermit crabs that they will be shamelessly evicted from their shell home. What is your response?
After writing a whole kid’s book about Trash Crabs, I feel extremely conflicted that my +25 manna boost in talent and creative willpower would evict a family of hermit crabs from their shell homes. This question is a test. I would have to decline the cosmic wish-granter politely.
Instead, I would tell them about my book TRASH CRAB, which is inspired by real-life trash crabs who are already displaced and are forced to make their homes in beach litter. TRASH CRAB is all about sustainability and upcycling to inspire the next generation to be the heroes and innovators we need to save the planet.
TRASH CRAB Synopsis:
A day at the beach turns into a search and rescue mission when the Taylor sisters stumble upon their first trash crab. Instead of shells, these hermit crabs use plastic bottle caps, cans, and other trash to protect themselves since their environment has changed. Juniper Rose and Katerina Mae save countless ocean creatures along the shoreline and put their heads together to solve this serious problem!
How do you approach sharing your work? Do you sit on it for 17 months like a brooding seagull, or do you write a draft and release it straight to the ether?
It depends on the type of work.
Artmaking: I have an almost compulsive obligation to document, ever since I was about 10 and got my first camera, I’ve been filming the mundane and monumental moments in my life. I’m almost always creating a timelapse of my artmaking process (painting, mural making etc.). I think it’s important to document the process. I don’t think enough people realize how much time and energy artists put into their creations. I also believe that the process is just as beautiful as the product. I share this out quickly and often.
Filmmaking: I sit and brood on this a little bit longer for my filmmaking. Filming and editing takes so much time. I always get feedback from a fellow creative before a final export, which also takes time.
Writing: I sit and brood on this the longest. There is a reason why it took about 10 years for me to push my book Like the Sun Holds the Moon: A Novel, out into the universe. It was a deeply personal piece that needed to marinate. However, my kid’s books have come out a bit sooner, since I’ve been able to collaborate with folks on those.
Would you like to tell me about a project you’re currently working on, and why it gives you a little tsunami of excitement to think about it? (This is a non-lethal tsunami – no emotional beachgoers are drowned)
I'm currently working on Out of the Shadows: Spotlight on Deaf Artists in America: Then & Now! which is a docu-series in collaboration with Carol Finkle. It features archival video footage and photography from an era when Deaf talent in America soared for the first time. With the goal of universal access to an archive of footage from 1992 to 2008, this series aims to highlight and preserve the history, stories, performances, and interviews of deaf artists in America for current and future generations to acknowledge, celebrate and honor those who pushed open doors for accessibility, inclusion, diversity, and representation, previously closed tight to deaf artists and audiences.
Check out the one-minute trailer that I worked on with Carol when we first started collaborating in 2022 when we both signed up for PhillyCAM's Philly Video Shorties workshop with Sosena (Sosena Solomon). Looking forward to moving forward with this docu-series! Stay tuned for more updates!
What approach or tool have you found is most helpful in growing your community?
Authentic outreach and community support to fellow artists and creatives within similar fields have helped grow my community. Collaboration with other creatives and sharing networks has been helpful, too! Giveaways are also always fun!
J. Eliza Wall Newsletter:
Stay in touch about events, giveaways, and new creative projects by signing up for my newsletter! My goal with this newsletter is to help you move in the direction of your dream, make time for magic, and reflect. I share a newsletter for the Full Moon (to celebrate) and New Moon (to set intention) each month.
Throughlines and traditions are important to mark the passage of time and make order from the chaos. I also sprinkle in some astronomy and astrology to ponder and reflect on. Sign up for my newsletter today!
You’re given the opportunity to shadow a family of fantastical creatures for a week. Like Trading Spouses – this is gonna air on Bravo. What creature do you embed yourself with and why?
I've always felt part mermaid. I would love to shadow a family of mermaids or a Siren Pod, but a week would not be enough! The water is magic and healing! I had a few mermaid chance encounters this summer and early fall that had me questioning my day-to-day existence. To celebrate my 31st birthday, my husband and dad visited the Coney Island Mermaid Parade and felt at home amongst the scales, fins, and sparkles. While at the PA Renaissance Faire in September, I stumbled upon The Circus Siren Pod and met Morgana, who was featured in MerPeople (Netflix Documentary)! The following day, I saw an amazing performance by a mermaid dancer at The East Passyunk Music Festival!
Growing up, one of my favorite movies was The Secret of Roan Inish (1994), which was about a young Irish girl with an unusual family history. When she goes to live with her grandparents on the west coast of Ireland, she hears stories about her ancestors, tales that involve mythical creatures called selkies who can shift from seal to human form, Ireland's idea of a mermaid.
Describe a time when Life had you in a headlock giving you unstoppable noogies, and you threw it off and slapped it and told this Life bully fella to go eat poo.
Summer 2021 was an extremely hard summer. After the dust settled, I created a short film (COCOON) that helped me process. COCOON:
COCOON Synopsis:
Every summer, I wear a heart monitor for one week. Every summer, I become a cyborg. It's almost always during a heatwave, and it's always an irritating and itchy week that reminds me of the fragility of life and the delicate balance we need to walk to maintain health. My mom has a severe heart condition (Non-Compaction Cardiomyopathy) and has a pacemaker and defibrillator. It might be genetic. My mom and I both have a gene mutation (a variable of unknown certainty). They don't know enough about it, and their information is always evolving. I'm in the gray zone, the in-between spot, with a slightly abnormal heart without a super definitive diagnosis, so they have been monitoring me since 2013 when I had some symptoms. My right ventricle is not as strong. It is possibly from my ASD repair (open heart surgery) from when I was 13, and my left ventricle is just shy of normal. My mom and I are connected by this thing that scares us but also makes us more resilient and more appreciative of the time we do have—always defying the odds.
You need tools to face ambiguity of any kind but especially uncertainty of one's health. COCOON is a reminder to self-soothe, especially when life becomes unmanageable. It is an attempt to feel comforted and safe in hopes of transformation and healing to rejuvenate and restore mind, body, and soul. And after a year of cocooning because of the pandemic, it's important to find the courage to re-emerge from that comfortable hidden place with the right kind of support and with the right speed.
COCOON is a couple of months in the making. It deals with themes of wellness, transformation, aging, acceptance, vulnerability, intuition, and women's health while exploring the life cycle of a Painted Lady Butterfly. During the spring, I conceived of the idea and then went through some health and life changes over the summer that made the themes even more meaningful and vital. I had an electrophysiological study to check for dangerous arrhythmias, and I had an Implantable Loop Recorder placed for more comprehensive monitoring.
I didn't realize it was butterfly season when I bought some caterpillars on a whim for inspiration. I soon learned about the Monarch Migration that happens in the fall in Cape May County as they make their way to Mexico in time for the Dia De Los Muertos celebration. Nature and faith have always helped me through life's uncertainties.
Mental and physical health are so interconnected, almost inseparable. There are many different schools of thought about wellness. I've been working on making my body my friend. The body goes through cycles. We are always in transition. We are always in flux. It is important to love and accept each stage.
This piece features costumes and magic inspired by Bjork, Isabella Rossellini, and Janine Antoni. It is also inspired by Michel Gondry's film Mood Indigo. I dedicate COCOON to some resilient women in my life (my mom & my friend Renée) who have battled chronic illness and health issues, something I've struggled with myself. This is also for anyone who has faced their mortality earlier than they would have liked to.
A giant smoldering avocado is hurtling toward Earth, and it’s too late to do anything else. What is the line you utter just before it strikes and what song do you play?
Besides the most obvious song for a situation like that (R.E.M.'s “It's The End of the World As We Know It”), if I only get one song, I'm going for an extremely long song in an effort to prolong the time before the credits roll. After an entirely too-long internal debate between “Tubular Bells” by Mike Oldfield and “Impossible Soul” by Sufjan Stevens, Sufjan Steven's epic 25-minute song wins!
It's kind of striking how different both of these songs are, and I'm not sure what it says about me that they were almost tied, but I think Sufjan's magical ability to balance the epic and the intimate into universal and life-affirming music was the reason why I selected it. The song explores themes of love, loss, vulnerability, and self-discovery. It takes listeners on a journey through various emotions and introspective moments. "Impossible Soul" can be interpreted as an expression of the internal struggles faced by an individual navigating the complexities of the human experience.
I will say, though, that my ultimate happy song is → “When I'm A Kid” by Demis Roussos. It is a pure hit of nostalgia to take the pain away.
Sufjan Stevens - Impossible Soul:
Mike Oldfield - Tubular Bells:
Demis Roussos - When I'm A Kid:
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How deep into this world do you want to go? Read Volume 2 of Irreverently Vulnerable With 'The Books That Made Us' and 'Cosmographia' Creator M.E. Rothwell.
