Art & Life with Shakiba Hashemi

Today we’d like to introduce you to Shakiba Hashemi.

Shakiba, please kick things off for us by telling us about yourself and your journey so far.
I was born in Iran, in a strict and oppressive environment. I witnessed the war between Iran and Iraq when I was a child, and that experience influenced my yearning for freedom throughout my life. Living in a country full of restrictions, especially against women, forced me to search for an outlet to express myself.

When I was a teenager, I discovered art and poetry. Being able to express myself through these two mediums was a magical and liberating experience. After receiving a silver medal in an international children’s art competition, I decided to pursue art more seriously. In 1998, I migrated to the United States and shortly after I attended the Laguna College of Art and Design in Laguna Beach. I received my Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in 2004. I still write poetry both in Farsi and English, and I am currently in the process of combining my paintings and my poems in a visual poetry format in my new series, yet to come.

Can you give our readers some background on your art?
I use oil paint, acrylic and oil pastel in creating my mixed media paintings. I used to only paint with oil, but over the last two years, I have become more interested in mixing different mediums together. I paint on wood panels because I find the concrete nature of wood more suitable for creating texture, especially for mixed media.

Most of my paintings have an abstract background, and the only realistic elements found in them are birds which represent freedom and peace. The birds transform the abstract backgrounds into a surreal world where abstraction and realism merge. The birds might be more realistic in some paintings and more impressionistic in others; however, they are always present in some shape or form.

I believe that art making is a spiritual experience. In order to create something, the artist has to connect with another realm. It is in this unearthly dimension that creation happens and the artwork is the result of this fantastic journey. I would like other people to have this spiritual experience through my paintings.

How do you think about success, as an artist, and what do quality do you feel is most helpful?
I believe that successful artists can inspire and move the audience through their work. This may not always result in financial success. The ultimate success is when the audience responds to the work and supports the artist at the same time.

The most essential characteristic that leads to success is perseverance. We have all heard success stories of others who despite failure, did not give up. Those who look at failure as an opportunity for improvement will triumph. Like an alchemist, turning lead into gold.

What’s the best way for someone to check out your work and provide support?
I will be exhibiting a poster that I designed for the North American Review writing conference on the campus of The University of Northern Iowa, April 19-21, 2019. The theme of this exhibit is The Open Space of Democracy.

For the past four years, I have shown at Art-A-Fair which is a summer show in Laguna Beach. I will be taking this summer off, but my work can always be seen on my website www.shakibafineart.com

Contact Info:

• Website: www.shakibafineart.com
• Email: artbyshakiba@gmail.com

Image Credit:
Shakiba Hashemi

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