Time

This year I have been busy preparing three exhibitions and if things weren't hectic enough, I decided it was time to follow my dreams. So, with my family's full blessing (and a lot of support), I enrolled in a Diploma in Visual Arts.
It's been a very challenging first semester but it ended in a high note. I have learned so much in only a few months so I thought I'd document the journey by presenting some of the projects I worked on so far. 

I absolutely loved our final mixed media assessment, called Play list. The brief called for interpreting a song of our choice and producing a mixed media artwork by using at least two techniques and two different surfaces.
My chosen song was Freddie Mercury’s Song “Time”. I started to map ideas and concepts and sure enough, (and ironically), time was a very hot commodity in producing such a complex piece in a relatively short interval. I always wanted to produce a body of work by using traditional Romanian Symbols and I knew this was the perfect opportunity.
Rather than interpreting Freddie's words, I chose to look at the concept of time from both perspectives: the immediate temporal and the atemporal dimensions.
Just like time itself, my work encompasses parallel narratives, taken on various levels. Drawing on Jung’s collective unconscious concept, I chose to illustrate my stories based on three widely known myths. According to Jung, the human collective unconscious is populated by instincts and by archetypes. Archetypes are seen as universal symbols and as such, my storylines employ 3 different universal symbols. Envisioned as a tryptic, this body of work follows three timelines:

1.” Three Wise Men”
The first story is the equivalent of an instantaneous daily snippet; a modern version of the Three Wise Men. Three men, (the most unlikely friends, coming from different environments with different life experiences and who under normal circumstances are unlikely to socialise), are brought together by fate and they embark on a mutual quest. Theirs is a journey searching for knowledge, or perhaps for the meaning of life. The meaning of their story is deliberately left unclear, through a short poem I wrote for this work. The audience can draw their own conclusions, just like we do in our daily exploits, witnessing random scenes on the street.
I chose to work with both abstract ideas and conceptual drawings.
For instance, instead of drawing the three wise men, I chose to synthesise their characters through their hearts. Therefore “a heart of gold”, “a hearty dream” and “a heart of stone” are rendered through stylised heart shapes I found in nature. (bark, leaf and rock).

And so, they met under those faithful stormy skies:

The Seer, The Seeker and The One Alone

The most unlikely pals and none of them the wise;

A heart of gold, a hearty dream and last, a heart of stone.

2.“Six Seconds”
The second story tackles the immediate temporality dimension, the cycle of life and the fact that nothing lasts forever. It is a personal take on this common belief that one’s entire life will flash before their eyes before passing away. I have always imagined that this takes 6 seconds.

This story depicts the last six seconds in the form of 6 leaves. They signify 6 important moments. Some of them have images on them and they represent precise memories. Some have the resemblance of a map. I have intentionally inked details resembling topographical elements to depict an individual journey through life. Some leaves don’t have much details because memories fade and because some periods in our life are just like blank pages. This segment of the tryptic incorporate the most techniques, as I wanted to illustrate how different one’s life experiences will be.

3.“Infinite Love Story”

The third story is illustrating atemporality through the means of an archetypal myth, the primordial pair. Man and Woman meet under the tree of life. They settle near water and they populate their space, setting the premises for a perpetual future through their heirs.
This primordial pair is depicted through symbols and drawings.
I was inspired by two things – cave paintings and traditional Romanian art. Taking inspiration from my Romanian heritage, I used imagery incorporating traditional Romanian symbols. Some of them date as far as Neolithic and they belong to the Cucuteni culture, where the Great Goddess (the feminine and fertility symbol) is depicted through the womb shape and the primordial water underneath. The male symbol in the Cucuteni culture is depicted through bull horns but I chose to use a more recent symbol in my work, the ram’s horns. Traditionally, Romania has a strong agriculture and sheep is a big part of it.
By drawing the symbols of water and seeds (fertility), my drawing suggests the growing family and the life journey of the pair initially depicted. 

Project stages:
My initial sketches were quite simple:

Next step, was finding the materials, surfaces and art supplies I wanted to work with and decide what techniques will be best to convey my ideas.
I knew from the beginning that organic surfaces such as wood, bark, leaves and tree branches would work best for this project; they provide that intimate connection between the onlooker and the ideas of time and of finite and infinite. 

Initially I didn't plan for so much to happen within the same work, but as it usually happens, each project has a will of its own and it shapes differently.
The techniques used are:
- Ecodyeing – to tie up the colour scheme
- Alternative photography (chlorophyll process)
- Linoprint
- Drawing (pastels, carcoal pencils and ink pens)
- Collage

These techniques are unified by the muted tones of the colour scheme, with only a couple of colour accents. Natural wood tones and the Australian landscape colours will be predominant.

I have given a lot of consideration to the best surfaces for this project and I chose to go with entirely organic surfaces. I feel that wood texture is most appropriate for the idea of time. I spent hours looking for the right bark with interesting textures that would connect with my narrative lines, for the right shaped leaves and thinking about the ways I could collage all these together. The most difficult quest was to source naturally heart-shaped materials for my 1st story.

When it comes to colours and art supplies, I have chosen Art Spectrum pastels for drawing on the bark – they have a special edition of colours matching the Australian landscape and they have a certain likeness to the cave paintings. For the finer lines and details, I used Conte Pastels (portrait colours box) and Derwent charcoal pencils. Fixing them with fixing spray did not alter their appearance too drastically.

 

No hazardous materials or dangerous techniques were involved, however in using encasing resin, glues, carving tools, eco- dyeing, etc, I took precautions and followed manufacturer’s instructions and safe working techniques.
I paid attention to the processes, minimising dust or chemicals contamination. I looked into ergonomics as well, such as posture and works space.

Project evaluation
This was a very complex project, requiring a lot of thought, lot of planning and the actual physical time for the works to cure properly before assembling them.
The initial challenge was to source bark that was thick enough to support artwork but still thin enough that won’t become too heavy when assembled.
I did not want to affect the trees around my grasslands therefore I looked only for bark that was already fallen off the tree.
My major challenge was given by the fact that most of the surfaces I used are brittle. I looked at various ways to extend their life. Even if their brittleness fits the time idea for this particular brief, I would like to be able in the future to work with these beautiful surfaces.

Experimenting with linoprints on leaves was a turning point.
I wasn’t sure how this would turn out and whether the leaves will disintegrate under the press. It was a trial and error process, repeating steps with leaves of various shapes, dried out leaves, green leaves. In the end I obtained a fair amount of printed leaves.

The next dilemma was how to preserve these leaves and if by using encasing resin I will achieve this. I also had to consider whether the resin will react with the printing inks. Fortunately, it didn’t, but it was a very time-consuming process, waiting for the inks and then for the resin to dry out. In fact, at the time of presentation, I have only managed to apply one layer of resin. I still have to allow the leaves to dry completely, before applying resin on verso.

Ecodyeing was also an experiment where I was guessing which leaves and bark to use and what papers is more reactive. I have done quite an extensive research online but at the end of the day, I am still inexperienced when it comes to obtaining a more refined variety of tones.

Assemblage was a new challenge, particularly the 2nd story. The tree branch is very dry and that made me reconsider my initial plans.
I was going to use tiny screw hooks to assemble the leaves but I soon realised that the screws will compromise the branch before I even had a chance to hang it on the wall. In the end I opted for glue and I think it is a better option.

I put a lot of time and effort in the initial planning and there weren’t any major surprises in terms of execution, i.e. drawing or collaging. Once the unknown factors have been gradually sorted out, the final work came out better than expected.
I didn’t have as much time as I would have liked for this assessment, but in the future, I would like to continue this project and produce a full body of work exploring the parallel between life cycle and the cyclicity of life.

I would like to learn more about working with wood/bark/leaves and any organic matter and about the ways to preserve them. While the fact that the surfaces I used will disintegrate is very fitting to this particular brief (the concept of time), I would love to explore more working with these surfaces and being able to create works that last.
I would love to learn more about the variety of trees I could use for ecodyes and I would love to refine my lino carving techniques, particularly getting my lines straight and crisp.
I am satisfied that I did my best, given the time constraints, the nature of materials used and the high number of unknown factors. It was very lucky that things worked out in the end.
I feel that there is always room for improvement and in the future, I would like to dedicate more time to polishing and refining the final work.

Not a Mail Order Bride

“Not a Mail Order Bride” is a manifest against pre-made judgement, biased labelling and discrimination. 

While the modern society has made progress in promoting multiculturalism, the truth is we are subject to our own stereotypes and we can see only as far as our own bias will let us. It's a daily reality for many: being seen through one's appurtenance to a nationality, race, ethnicity or minority group rather than being seen for the individuals we are.

Based on my personal experience as a migrant, this work aims to explore further the idea of belonging and living anchored at the confluence of two very different cultures.

General opinion tends to see the mixed couples formed by an Anglo-Saxon man and an Eastern European or Asian woman in a mail order bride type of relation.
But what happens when we focus beyond one's race or nationality? If we go beyond their skin, do we start to see the person and not the stereotyped projection?
In many cases, the wife is highly educated, has a career and dreams just the same like anyone else. What people don't realise is that by taking a conscious decision to move, she leaves a great deal behind, in her home country, to make the relationship work.

“Not a Mail Order Bride” is a metaphoric self-portrait, charged with imagery and symbols meaningful to me.

I have deliberately manipulated the portrait to a drawing and I striped off any likeness to myself, opting to fill the blanks of my wedding dress (hence the title) with images of things significant to me. They are meant to give the onlooker a glimpse into what makes my world. In particular, the traditional Romanian symbols speak of a culture that goes all the way back to Neolithic.

The human dimension - the flesh, is replaced intentionally with wood texture. It's a metaphoric question, challenging the public to see a person with different eyes. One cannot see through wood. Nor can we see character through one glimpse. But if we look more attentively, doesn't the wood have a beautiful texture, with an array of refined lines and tones? Just the same, if we start seeing people for what they really are and without labelling them before hand, I think we might discover a whole new world. 

This work was my final assessment in the Digital Techniques course but I intend to turn it into a series. If you are part of a mixed couple and you would like to share your story, please contact me. 

and to give you and idea of how big the printed image was, here is the scale. (Photo courtesy of my lovely classmate Sarah)

The Fence Sitter

 

El Arcoíris

 

Rojo - los labios de esos niños que ayer robaron las cerezas. 

Naranja, el amanecer de mis mañanas soñolientas.

Amarillo - la hoja que encontré corriendo con la lluvia

Verde son las briznas de hierba y los ojos de mi hija

Azul es el retrato tuyo que nunca tomé, pero lo recuerdo cada día

Índigo las noches desiertas, 

Violeta es el color

del dolor.



I'm Gonna Rain Tonight

That time when music speaks to you and you just keep on writing.

About the Eyes

About this poem:

We live in times of great turmoil; worldwide, we are divided by power, greed, discord and famine. I think it is most important than ever to acknowledge that we live under the same sun, that we are all equal. Unfortunately, I don't speak as many languages as I would like to.

I imagined 4 different characters, with different languages, different eyes colour and different life experience. They are made by the different memories each of them carries.

The black eyes remember storms, wars and their mother, trying to find her children's next piece of bread. Even when they found peace, living in a different country, a country of blue-eyed people, the memories come back.

The green eyes remember different kind of storms and Spring nights. The brown eyes remember the enchanted forest of their childhood. The blue eyes have never known famine and they reassure the black eyes that they will never have to worry about the bread.

I have always considered myself a visual artist primarily. That is not to say that I am not serious about my writing. I always knew I want to write - there was never a doubt. I just always envisaged the two getting along just fine. I couldn't imagine myself doing one without the other.
Recently, I have been commissioned to write. A lot. And I am thrilled to say, "Stories from my Grasslands" will soon have a home, airing from a local radio station. (I promise, all will be revealed soon).

Meanwhile, I want to talk about writing and about what I have learned about writing . Last year, I was fortunate to take part in a series of "Mother Tongue" workshops under the guidance of the ever amazing Jacqui Malins and Lauren Klinger. I admired their courage of standing up and admitting they only spoke English; yet their workshops were truly mind blowing. They taught techniques and emphasis, they made writing exercises fun, they made me see languages and their fusion in a totally new perspective. Each workshop was enhanced by the contribution of a special writer as well as the contribution of the other participants - so many ladies brought their knowlege: Anita Patel, Niloofar Fanaiyan, Vesna Cvjeticanin and Dunja Cvjetićanin, Christiane Vivanco de Savaris, Melissa Gomez, Karina Palomita. Thank you. I have learned so much in so little time. And I made some friends too, in the process.
So I decided to try fusion for myself. Here is my first poem in all the languages I love.
I get this question so many times, why do you write in other languages than yours? And I don't really know what the answer would be. Perhaps because my biggest regret is that I cannot make music, even if my life depended on it. So I play with the words, instead. I find music in their rhythm. I am (by far) not an academic, and I am sure that my grammar is poor at times. Perhaps the sense of what I want to convey is lost in translation at times, just like me. But what a fun adventure, to dance one's way through all these words.

Stories from My Grasslands

About the roundness of a circle

I don't do new year resolutions. I don't live in the spur of the moment promises, nor am I good planner. 

I do have a list with things I want to do during 2017. It's a hefty list, with the little things, as well as the bold and daring dreams. The key word here is "do". Not achieve.

They are all things that mean a lot to me; I want to do all these because they are things I believe in, or things that make others - and me - happy.

Whether I achieve anything by doing them, that is another story.

I haven't set that expectation of me, this time.

In fact, I haven't set any expectations at all for 2017. I want to look at it as a clean, crisp Canson paper where I can play with my pastels as long as I like, add the colours gradually and see what comes out of it. No rush, no pressure. 2016 has been a very challenging year for many. For me personally, it meant a lot of self-search and reflection. And at times, it felt like going around in circles.

Therefore It seems fit to leave you with this text I wrote a while ago, when a friend challenged me to think about a circle of reflections. I was never thinking of publishing it, but by the way our year has been hitting all the wrong notes, it makes sense to write it down again.

To all my friends in all four cardinal points: before the year leaves us, I wish you Love, Strength, Unity and Patience. May your circles stay round and may love reflect onto you.

About the roundness of the circle:
Nobody ever saw the face of God yet I am sure he is everywhere, at every step and can take any shape; in fact, I am sure creation has the form of a circle. Life starts in the roundness of a womb. Or an egg. Planets are round; we all live enclosed in a big round circle and people died for their belief in its roundness. 

I am sure as hell that lines and rectangles have been artificially made so we can be easily put in a corner, forgetting about our own wholeness and about the roundness of our circles.
We live in all kind of circles - and the most miraculous of all, we call it circle of life. We surround ourselves in more of these concentric circles: circle of friends, circle of trust, circle of love. The lucky ones even get to intersect these circles. Their tangents are a joke though; they are merely lines.
Coming full circle is not a coincidence either, is it? We start as helpless babies, learning everything and then we come around, forgetting, getting weaker and ending up just as helpless as we started.
We round up: our wealth, in rounding up amounts, we round up the cattle, the sheep, we round up the family for news. We gather around the table.

And all around and inside these circles, our world is made entirely of reflections. Each object, each colour is more or less defined by the amount of light absorbed, emitted or reflected. We are reflected - yet we are also reflecting.
I find it amazing that the English language gives the act of thinking the same word as the act of throwing back the light without absorbing or retaining it. And it is also amazing that the eye globe is round; the iris through which we filter these reflections has a circle shape too.
Unfortunately we are unable to retain the light but we are able to retain a thought. 

Sometimes we skip around these circles, without giving it too much thought or even without being aware of it all. And then again, we seem to come to a full circle. A circle of reflection.

 

 

 

Perspective

It is superfluous, perhaps to talk about perspective. But perhaps it's not. This morning, Mother Nature decided to remind me one of life's most important lessons, by putting things in perspective.
We get carried away and it's easy to forget this one,simple thing: always remember to see the whole picture.
We get to a point where we're stuck and we think we're going around in circles at a snail's pace,without achieving much. Look closely and it seems that way. But if you take a step back, perhaps your perspective will change. The snail is the most tenacious creature I know.
So, if you're ever feeling down, here is a timely reminder to please remember to look back. Always remember where you have started from and then you'll never overlook again how far you got on the way to your goal. You might be really surprised.

Traces of Green

Come closer. Lay your head. Now close your eyes. And listen:
These are the stories that you will tell when it's your time. 
Traces of green embedding winter's slow, hushed whispers 
And memories of amber skies in prime.

There's so much movement in this silence
And so much love lies in this solitude - just like a spell.
Listen: there is a tale in every fragrance; 
These echoes are the stories you must tell. 

Look past the end of rainbows and forgotten sorrows;
Feel all these blades of grass pushing your palm, 
And find the stories born from the despair of no tomorrows,
In all these hidden storms that live within the calm.