We asked Zilia: What are your sources of inspiration in the following areas?
Her home country of Brazil: the sun
France: the culture, the gardens, the romanticism. I have always loved France because of its art and culture, and I have always dreamed of studying here
The arts and making sculpture: films, dreams, exhibitions, nature, love, music (I always listen to Chopin when I sculpt – this really transports me - but I also enjoy Bach, Beethoven and Mozart), Oriental paintings, Camille Claudel, Rodin, Antoine Bourdelle, turning my sculptures into “paintings you can touch”
Travelling: nature, discovering the history of new places (especially from the 19th century)
Hobbies: cinema, going to museums
Friendship: altruism
Love: dedication
Family: union with my children; the respect and admiration I have for them
Her fellow human beings: the vulnerability and sensitivity I see in others
A current project: being an art therapist. One day I read a book called The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat: And Other Clinical Tales by Oliver Sacks and there was a case study about a woman with cerebral paralysis who had never used her hands until the doctor give her some clay to model…and she was able to make such marvelous sculptures. I was absolutely amazed and it inspired me to study art therapy. It made me realize that art has another function: helping and healing people.
For more information about Zília’s work, please contact her at [email protected] .
By Tess Nurman
Photos courtesy of Zilia Nazarian
© Christina Rahm Galanis
100 Art & Inspiration Art & Inspiration 101