“Last year was all about learning new things. The COVID-19 pandemic has taught me how to “let it go” when I am not able to control everything and instead try or invent alternative ways.”
How are you feeling today? This week? This new year?
Ziba Rajabi (ZR): I am feeling good. I am happy that summer is coming, and I can paint outside of my studio in Mount Sequoyah.
Painting with a Woven Piece (2020)
Acrylic on canvas, thread, grommets
24 x 72 inches
What are you looking forward to doing this year in your art practice?
ZR: I plan to explore more color, space, and scale in my work and figure out ways that the art piece can interact with its surrounding area to create more of an experience than as individual objects.
How can people continue to support artists in their communities?
ZR: Showing up at exhibitions and seeing art in person is invaluable support that a community can give its artists. As an artist, I love to share my art and experience with the community. Besides, visiting local galleries is free and can be an excellent cultural activity for families.
Seeing Through (2020)
Acrylic on canvas, grommets
30 x 30 inches
Do you have any #protips or things you have learned in the past year that you would like to share with fellow artists?
ZR: Last year was all about learning new things. The COVID-19 pandemic has taught me how to “let it go” when I am not able to control everything and instead try or invent alternative ways.
What is your go-to food of choice these days? Any new recipes that you have tried that you are excited to make again?
ZR: My go-to food of choice is homemade bread (that my partner bakes), feta cheese, and avocado sandwiches these days. I have also tried a new beetroot curry stew, and I am pretty satisfied with that.
Persian Garden and the Gate (2019)
Acrylic on canvas, grommets
72 x 92 inches
Artist Bio:
Ziba Rajabi (b.1988, Tehran, Iran) received her MFA from the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, and her BFA from the Sooreh University, Tehran. She is the recipient of the Artist 360 Grant, a program sponsored by Mid-America Arts Alliance. Her practice as a female Iranian artist is focused on abstraction and its conceptual relation to Islamic art and architecture. She has developed this through drawing, painting, and fabric installation. Her work has been included in a number of solo and group exhibitions, nationally and internationally. In 2019, she was an artist in residence at Vermont Studio Center.
You can learn more about Ziba Rajabi’s work on her website and by following her on Instagram @zibarajabi
