The New York record label manager making baseball-inspired art [inside my journal]

New York based artist, record label manager, and baseball fan – Siena Edwards – shares her journalling journey and how her love of hardball has found its way into her artwork…

Tell us about your work at the LA Record Label.

I've been working at a small independent label call Danger Collective Records based out of Los Angeles for the past five years or so. We mostly release indie rock music. We also have artists that delve into electronic stuff and more experimental pop too.

I manage the label on a day-to-day basis and sign new artists so part of that is attending live shows.  I use my paper republic planner very heavily for organising the artists I want to listen to. I have to set up meetings with new artists, and I use my journal or the planner to work out how their project or release might fit into our schedule, and all the logistics surrounding that.

You are also an artist. What type of art are you creating?

I do mostly painting: oil and acrylic, and sometimes multimedia stuff as well. I’ve been preparing for a show which consists of a few older pieces that I made for a book released a couple years ago and some new material.

But recently, my artwork has centered around the New York Mets baseball team, where I now work as a host. I help guests find where they need to go and find stuff they need. It's been a really interesting and fun job in ways that I didn't predict.

I like the movement aspect of the sport, and how beautiful it looks; it’s almost like a dance. And I really like some of the visuals of the sport too, like the diamonds and the different shapes that it consists of. So I was interested in exploring that visually, and bringing elements of the baseball game into my artwork. 

Were you always a baseball fan? 

Yes. My dad grew up in Long Island, and his dad was a fan of the Brooklyn Dodgers when he was a kid, but when they left New York and the Mets came to replace them, he became a Mets fan. It feels like a generational family interest, growing up watching it and going to games with my dad and my brother, and just feeling like I could be part of something. 

As I've grown older, I've become more interested in some of the nerdier aspects of the sport; the stats and all the weird superstitions. Strange anomalies happen all the time; things that have never happened before. I love how deep they go into that. It often feels quite magical.

How do you use your journal as part of that process?

I have a couple of different notebooks that I use; my planner, which is my go-to for all my regular day-to-day planning. And I have another notebook which I use for brainstorming new art. I take it with me when I am out and about. I use it for little sketches and make notes about different things I observe and want to remember visually. It’s for my ‘train of thought’ stuff, random sketches, doodles; whatever comes into my head.

I have an xl olive green grand voyageur and I attached a little piece of an old necklace to it. I also use the card and cash holder, which I use for pictures and other things I want to keep.

Why do you like to use pen and paper rather than a laptop or phone?

I prefer to write things down by hand in general. You'll find a few things on my phone’s notes app, but these tend to be short, random notes rather than deep thoughts. I also just love stationery. I love going into a stationary store and trying all the different paper and pens and markers.

There's just something really satisfying about writing and drawing by hand. And I like being able to flip through a book and look at something without technology getting in the way.

I do some sketching and digital art with a tablet, but it’s not my go-to medium. With paper, I can lock in a little more and ignore the distractions around me. I just love the tactile experience.

If I'm traveling, I take it with me, and I put little memories in there; photos or museum tickets, things like that. I like to make collages out of bits and pieces of things that I collect along the way. 

My journal is a very frequent companion of mine throughout my day. If I go to a coffee shop and want to do some work, it'll be there with me. Or if I go on an excursion where I might find inspiration, like a museum or park or botanical garden, it comes with me. 

And finally, have you tried lots of other journals and notebooks in the past? Why did you choose paper republic?

I've become very particular with the things I use every day. I have used lots of different brands of notebooks and journals over the years but what I liked about paper republic is firstly, the variety of options: different paper weights, sizes, and notepads. I like the smaller notebooks.

And I love the refill concept; it’s really clever and economical. I like the idea of being able to use my journal for the rest of my life, watching it age and develop this patina and this change of colour over time.

It feels like I'm really getting value from my purchase, and that it lives with me like a companion. So I can carry it with me and when inspiration strikes, I just grab it, rather than scrambling around for something to write on. It's just right there, ready to go.

Siena Edwards is a multimedia artist and record label manager born and raised in New York City, where she currently resides with her partner and a black cat named Anton. See her work at SienaEdwards.com or on Instagram: @sienagedwards or @bysienag