Check Out May Yang’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to May Yang.

Hi May, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for sharing your story with us – to start, maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers.
My name is May Yang, and I’m an artist, painter, designer, muralist, and business owner based in Tulsa, OK. I was born to immigrant parents (from Taiwan and Cambodia). I grew up feeling torn between the very traditional Asian background of my family and the shiny new appeal of American pop culture. This thread continues in my artwork today. Some of my earliest memories are of me trying to draw the cartoons I was watching on TV. I was never without a crayon or marker. I got more serious about my artistic pursuits in high school, where I learned darkroom photography, drawing, and painting. I was fortunate to have art teachers active in their studio practices. They were incredibly encouraging in my desire to experiment with different techniques and would often encourage me to think critically about the work I was creating. I attended the Maryland Institute College of Art, majoring in graphic design. However, I couldn’t stay away from fine art and earned minors in printmaking and book arts. I had a brief flirtation with collaborative printmaking when I attended the Tamarind Institute of Lithography in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Ultimately, I decided this path wasn’t for me and moved back to Tulsa.

Throughout this time, I have been experimenting with ways to incorporate printmaking techniques into my more fluid paintings. I participated in several group shows locally and within the state of Oklahoma while continuing to develop my visual language of mixed media pieces built upon abstract lettering and typography. My life changed in 2012 when I founded Flash Flood Print Studios, a screen printing shop here in Tulsa. I didn’t have a background in business and found myself dedicating all of my time to learning how to keep the shop afloat. My practice took a major backseat to this new endeavor. I was still producing limited work and thinking about new pieces, but I didn’t have the time to create consistently. It wasn’t until the pandemic hit in 2020 that I rededicated myself to art and carved out specific time for art. These last few years have been filled with much exploration, sketching, and mural painting. I’m happy with where I am and where I might be going!

Can you talk to us about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Early on, I faced a lot of resistance from my family – both for the decision to pursue art school and an art career in general and to start my own business. I was lucky to find a supportive group of friends and fellow business owners who made going through the bumpy times better. Beyond that, I feel my struggles are the same ones that many working artists face – finding affordable space to work in, funding for larger projects, and maintaining a balance between art and work, and art/work and personal life. Now, I have a better understanding that balance is a practice, and that means that I have to be intentional with the time I set aside for myself, whether painting or relaxing.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar, what can you tell them about what you do?
I work primarily in acrylics and create vibrant abstract paintings, which in the past have also incorporated collage, photocopy transfer, and screen printing elements. My visual vocabulary is built on elements of typography and calligraphy, cutting up and reassembling these letterforms into entirely new compositions. My work is heavily informed by the cultural juxtaposition I experienced growing up in Oklahoma as a first-generation Asian American in a household where my parents and I weren’t fully fluent in the same languages. Over the last few years, I’ve been given a handful of opportunities to paint murals, allowing me to explore the same themes in my work but on a much larger scale. Initially, the scale was something that intimidated me, and I resisted the idea for a long time. I’ve learned so much with each mural project, and I’m proud of my progress.

How do you think about luck?
While trying to gain more business knowledge, I read a book that stated what you do with luck (good or bad) is far more critical than the luck you got. This bit has stuck with me ever since. I would say that I’ve been extremely fortunate in the friendships I have made throughout my life and that the support I’ve received has gotten me through both bad times and good.

Contact Info:

• Website: mayyang.com
• Instagram: http://instagram.com/electrofervor/
• Other: flashfloodprint.com

Image Credits
Headshot: Molly Thrasher