Meet Seda Sevada Grigorian

Today we’d like to introduce you to Seda Sevada Grigorian.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Seda Sevada. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
My “story” doesn’t begin with me. It began long before I was even a speck, before my own parents even knew what they were molding with their own lives. Coming from a long lineage of artists and creatives, it was no surprise that my father, Samvel Sevada, took on to drawing and painting at a young age. He lived in Gyumri, Armenia, which at the time was one of Soviet Republics.

Gyumri is known for having produced some of the most talented people in my people’s history. My father attended a prestigious art school in the city which gave him opportunities to learn technical skills and be introduced to art history. Being fully immersed in his love and passion for the arts, he personally visited known and respected artists working in the city who encouraged him to pursue his passion. At a young age, my father was illustrating books for poets in the city and doing decorative work for the city. In college, where he met my mother who was studying to be a teacher, he spoke up for the artists and requested a studio space for art students and was given a small bathroom space to convert into his studio. He worked tirelessly, creating some of his best work.

At the age of 22, he was the founder of the first art school in the town where I was born, Abovyan, Armenia. I remember attending the school as a kid and seeing all the easels lined up, with his students working in paint. He was soon offered a job as a curator/director of an art museum in our town. It was called the Armenia and Russia Brotherhood Museum. My childhood was spent in the halls and galleries of this museum. My mother also worked there as a docent at some point. My brothers and I would walk there after school and be surrounded by art and artists, listening in on their conversations, not knowing it was leaving an impact on our young souls. My father also had his own studio, separate from our house. That was rare in those Soviet days. I remember the smell of oil paint in his studio, the colors and the brushes, the music and the textures. It was always comforting to be in that environment. We had a grand library of great literature and art books so reading was primary at home. One of the benefits of living in a communist country was that education, and I mean GREAT education, was free and available and encouraged to everyone. We had access to cultural centers, music schools and dance lessons.

We immigrated to the U.S. as a family in the early 90’s. It was a huge culture shock for me, personally. I was a fourteen year old girl who had grown up in the Soviet system of education. Family and friendships meant a great deal to us so leaving it all behind and finding new friends, in a foreign land, was not easy. One of the first things I remember loving about being in the U.S. was that I could drive for ten minutes and be standing in front of an original Picasso painting, something I’d only seen in old books as a kid. I remember my first experience in an art museum full of Western European art was overwhelming. My father and I were walking around LACMA and he was showing me works by Matisse, Modigliani, Gorky…… that was a magical day for me. That was the day I accepted my life in the U.S. I was eager to see more.

As soon as we were settled here, my father opened his art school/studio in Glendale, CA. After graduating from high school, I went to Paris for a couple of months. I spent most of my days in the museums, the greatest museums in the world. Upon my return back to the U.S., I went to college and choosing Art History as a major was a natural choice as if it couldn’t have happened any other way. I took my first art history class with a wonderful professor, Dr. Georgias, who sent me on my first ‘mission’ to research. I knew then I wanted to study art history, I wanted to know more. I wanted to know the history of these great artists and the impact they left on the world. My first research was on a painting by Rembrandt called ‘Titus’. It’s at the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena. I stood in front of that painting for a long time and it talked to me. The mastery of this Dutch genius overwhelmed me so I started my first art historical research that day. I was seventeen years old. Rembrandt opened the door. I continued my studies and deepened my love for this beautiful field. Some amazing art historians inspired me with their lectures, lessons, and passion. I learned different research methods, spending hours, days, weeks in libraries. I spent an entire semester at the Getty Research Library, working hands on with ancient texts. My focus in art history was on 19th Century European Art and Women in Visual Arts. Nothing compared to being in a room with passionate art historians giving lectures on topics that you’re dying to learn and know more…and more. Starting from Classical Antiquity to Baroque to Modern Art, it’s all part of the same, beautiful movement, flowing through time. Studying it, respecting it, and knowing its placement in the history of humanity is essential to life. Without arts and artists, life would be unimaginable.

Once I finished school, I got an internship at the Getty Museum for nine months. It was a dream gig and I didn’t mind the two hour drive there each day. I loved research and art history but I was curious to learn the world of the artists of today, to work with living artists so I decided to apply at an art gallery in Pasadena. I was hired right away to manage del Mano Gallery, one of the leading galleries in the world for turned wood and sculptural art. I was only 22 years old and given this amazing opportunity to learn a new field. The owners of the gallery fully trusted me to take on this position and introduced me to the Creative Director of our Brentwood gallery, Kevin Wallace. Kevin singlehandedly played one of the most important roles in my life. We both shared a love for the arts and great respect for the working artists. Kevin helped me curate my first show, work on catalogues, and go through artists’ submissions. After years at del Mano, Kevin left the gallery to pursue his career as a freelance writer, curator. Today, he is a published author of several novels, an author and co-author of a dozen art books, and one of the most sought after experts in the woodturning field. Kevin still continues to contribute articles to numerous international publications, guest curates exhibitions for leading museums and art centers and best of all, is the Creative Director of the Beatrice Wood Center for the Arts up in beautiful Ojai, CA, which is where my story continues and leads to today.

The art world, which can seem harsh and not necessarily on the side of the artists but the dealers and the gallery owners, soon revealed its face to me. I managed a few other galleries, representing painters and sculptors from across the country. I realized that the gallery world was all about the deals and the ‘who’s who’ and the money than about what I loved about the arts. It was slowly killing my spirit. The end of the gallery management world came at the most perfect time for me – just when I decided to start having a family. I had been married for a couple of years, so at the age of 25, I had my first son Enz0. Two years later I had Dante and another year later, I had their little sister Maya. These kids changed my life in so many ways. I was a young mother, passionate about life and art and family. I didn’t separate these things and didn’t put them into categories. I lived my life with my kids immersed fully in the arts. We visited museums together, did art projects, wrote about them….made films and wrote poems and shared everything with my friend Kevin, who at the time was polishing the programming at the Center.

One day, he called to tell me he had an idea for me. He offered me the position of Director of Children’s Arts Education in their Education Department at the Beatrice Wood Center for the Arts. It was a wonderful offer, one I couldn’t refuse. I put together a lesson plan, created a workshop model, took my kids and we went up to Ojai for a weekend. I had over twenty kids show up. My lessons had to start with art history, something which I feel is lacking in schools and homes. Introduction to an artist from history and an art projects based on his/her work is what my art workshops are focused on. The workshops were scheduled once a month, for four hours, on the weekends. I’d grab my kids, who were so little at the time, and together we’d enjoy Ojai, the arts, the kids…..life. Through this programming, I was offered several other educational positions in various museums and art institutions. I was invited to be a guest educator at the Norton Simon Museum, at LACMA, at the Armory Center for the Arts. Through all these great opportunities, while taking my kids along for the ride, we continued to create, inspire and love. When my kids started school, as a parent, I always volunteered in the classrooms, I guest taught and helped with designs for school events. Then Principal, Dr. Sarian, offered me a job as an art teacher at my kids’ school. Again, incorporating art history in my lessons, I continued to teach and lead workshops in my city.

Over the last ten years, my lessons have spread throughout the community and I’ve been teaching at various schools in Pasadena, San Gabriel, and Ojai. I have over one thousand students a year, ages five to seventeen. Since I am also teach kids yoga, I often introduce meditative methods to kids in class. Understanding that each child is different, I give them their space and allow them to merely feel comfortable in creating. The arts offer us perspective. They teach us to see, to notice, to feel, to listen. They give us an opportunity to simply BE. Kids love BEing and they love to create. They love to be happy and laugh. They love to question and find answers on their own. They love to feel, to express, and to share. What better way for them to be themselves than put aside all expectations, offer them the tools, and let them….create. Their own creations often make them smile. That’s all that matters at the end.

Has it been a smooth road?
The road is the road. Labeling it smooth or rough doesn’t mean anything. It is what it is, it is the only road that’s taken us to where we are today. I’ve been fortunate to always know what I love and love it wholeheartedly and so when we allow that to lead, it can’t help but create a road that’s beautiful, whether it’s textured, smooth or rough. My greatest gift in life has been my family, my parents, my grandparents, my aunts and uncles, my cousins, and most importantly, my three awesome children. Sure, there have been ‘difficult’ days and times but when you have a strong family, nothing is impossible. My brothers have been my rock. They have loved, inspired, given, and continue to give unconditionally. My mother, well, she’s the angel in my life. So has it been a smooth road, I’d say it’s been fun and an adventurous one full of love. I have no expectations and I go with the flow. The flow creates the road.

So, as you know, we’re impressed with Art Through the Ages with Seda Sevada – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of and what sets you apart from others.
I’m not in the business of business. I never have been. I am fortunate enough to spend my days with kids, talking about art, creating art, and hopefully, allowing them to have the space to find ways to express themselves through whatever medium they best connect with. Artists inspire. Learning about masters and seeing that what they created hundreds of years ago can still ignite something in someone, and… well, that’s beautiful. Allowing kids the freedom to live life artfully, to see that art is life and life is art is the best way I can describe my approach in arts education. I’m merely a medium and don’t take much seriously or personally.

Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
I absolutely LOVE Pasadena. I love everything about our city. This is the city I’ve lived in most of my life. I love that it’s full of culture, diversity, love. My kids attend public schools in Pasadena and I wouldn’t change that for anything. Having them be exposed to different cultures, different perspectives, different opportunities is key to my way of “parenting”. Together, we are very active in our city. We volunteer, teach, perform, attend performances and take advantage of the fact that Pasadena has three major art museums, amazing hiking trails, science centers, JPL, CalTech, theaters and much more. Pasadena is a gem of a city. It’s our city of Roses with the Rose Bowl and the Rose Parade….and much more.

Contact Info:

• Phone: 8187487388
• Email: sevadaseda@yahoo.com

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