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| When did you begin making art? | I
always enjoyed creating art while I was growing up however it did not become
a priority until I was 17 years old. Then, I started to realize my passion
for painting. |
| Have you formally studied your method of art making? | Yes,
I took a few classes at Lake Forest High School. During that time I took
a painting course at the Suburan Fine Arts Center in Highland Park at which
point I came to realize that this is what I want to do in college. I then
went to study at Kenyon College where I received my BA in Studio Art. |
| What inspires you to do your artistic work? | The
experiences I encountered in my life including (but not limited to) sexism,
racism, acrimony, ignorance, passion, generosity, faith and love. |
| Do you have any influences? | I
am influenced by Jenny Saville who is a contemporary British painter. I
love the way Saville expresses her ideas and emotions on canvas. Her work
is large and striking. |
| Do you feel there are social or political undertones in your work? Is that something you consider when working? | Usually
there are social and political undertones in my work. I believe that the
conceptual quality of my paintings are just as important as their aesthetic
quality. At firs, the sheep were merely a reminder of my time spent in Greece.
My ancestors in Vidiaki, Arcadia were sheep herders, while my ancestors
of Karystos, Evia rented their land to sheep herders, and that is why I
think I am drawn to sheep. Sheep are apart of the family! However, as I
painted the sheep, I began to personify them and now the paintings have
social implications. |
| What concepts of ideas are you currently exploring in your professional work? | In
my latest series, the paintings are a metaphor for a woman who is recovering
from a sexual assault. I am trying to convey the anger, the rage, the forlorn
loneliness experienced by an assault victim. By exhibiting a dramatic perspective
of the female figure, my large-scale oil paintings invite the viewer to
enter into the woman's world. Cropped, a mere sampling of her feet quietly
conveys what kind of emotions this woman might be going through while the
stylistic element of the contrasting, layered color tones scream the emotional
tension and disturbance she is experiencing. I try to capture the complexity
of emotional burdens within my latest paintings. |
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How would you describe your work to someone? |
I
create large, figurative oil paintings. |
| How do you articulate your artistic process and your sense of aesthetic perception? | My
process is very formal at first. I usually figure out the concept first
and then I think up an image that will properly convey the concept I want
to explore. I then have a photo shoot and I use pictures to find the aesthetic
quality of my work. I carefully draw the image onto the canvas. The process
is very formal and precise until I take the oil to the canvas. That is where
I interact with the paint. It's like having a conversation with the painting.
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What do you do in your life to achieve growth as an artist? |
Be
a sponge. I try to experience life and take it all in. Writing is an integral
process of my artistic expression as well. It is important to take note
of the experiences that I have and to understand how I feel about those
experiences. |
| How have students, teachers or mentors effected your professional work? | At
Kenyon College my work was critiqued almost every other week. The critiques
help me build a sense of why I do what I do. Hey assist me in explaining
myself and enable me to critically think about what I am trying to achieve
in a painting. |
| Can you talk about what you believe Hellenism is? | To
me, Hellenism is perpetuating our Greek Culture. Because my grandparents
(Antigone and Yiannis Lambros) spent the greater part of their lives promoting
Hellenism in Chicago, I have been taught that Hellenism needs to play a
great part in my own life. |
| How does being of Greek descent influence your work? | Being
Greek and growing up in the Greek Orthodox Church has given me a strong
sense of who I am. I know what my morals, beliefs and values are and my
art stems from these things. Without my heritage I do not think I would
have such a strong sense of self. |