As I prepare to write about my life, I am sitting on the patio outside of my studio in a quiet neighborhood in Bratislava. I find this a most pleasant place to work as well as relaxing and imagining my new art projects. Of course, not every day affords me the opportunity to be on the patio. My studio is small, but it serves my needs very well as it also is a part of my living space. I will show you photos in the blog from time to time of where I work and live. Welcome to my small world from which I hope to communicate and express myself through my art to those who love art as I do.
When I have an image in my head, I often close myself in the studio and work long hours without stopping. I block out all distractions and focus on the details. I often worry that this is not so healthy as I neglect to eat and exercise as I should. But once I have transferred an image from my head to paper it gives me a great sense of accomplishment and motivation to return to my normally good habits of eating healthy and exercising. I’m sure many artist neglect their normal routines in favor of a flash of creativity as I do.
The first run around my neighborhood after finishing a new piece is exhilarating. The early morning air is inviting, and the trees seem to wave at me as I pass. Once I’ve finished and sit on the patio with a cup of hot tea, the sounds of birds chirping carries me back to my childhood at my family’s home in Obyce, Slovakia. I think the exhaustion of running and the sound of birds are triggers to my childhood memories. What instantly transports you back to old memories?
My life’s journey began in Obyce which is a charming little village in rural Slovakia. Our family home lies adjacent to a forest, so I grew up surrounded by nature. She has always been my muse and my first inspiration to draw. I grew up having a wonderful family that includes an older brother and loving parents. While I’ve grown up and moved away, I still visit my family often and join them for vacations, special occasions and family celebrations. I always look forward to returning to enjoy the surrounding nature. It believe that we can take ourselves away from nature, but we can’t take nature out of our soul.
My first journey away from home was for college in Bratislava to study Economic Politics. While I didn’t think so at the time, looking back it became my path to self-discovery. I joined a dance school and more importantly I met incredible people that exposed me to a life filled with joy, excitement and creativity. During my childhood I was surrounded with a community of supportive and loving people. However, it was not until living in a larger city environment that I learned there were many cultures and races of people who grew up with very different experiences. It was during this time in college my view of life expanded beyond family, beyond neighborhood, beyond country to finally a world view. I became hungry to learn of new cultures and peoples, especially how they interacted and associated with nature. While it may seem a bit strange given my background, I became particularly fascinated with the Native American cultures and their unique embrace of nature. I think you will see this reflected in my art.
After finishing my degree, reality soon struck! I needed to have an income to live this new independent life I had come to cherish. I faced the usual choices I’m sure many of you may have had as well. The path I chose was an office job in Bratislava.
With an office job and the confines of a small room in a large building I soon developed the feeling of being unfulfilled and experienced anxiety. I knew after several years I had to change something. But how do I find my opportunity to move on? Where should I look? Who should I talk to? What should I do to prepare? A wise man once told me that opportunity finds us. We must have an open mind and not a predisposed idea of exactly what the opportunity will be. And so, it was with me.
Telling about these times of my life brings back some memories of those anxious times. I think I’ll take a short break and have a cup of tea before I continue...
Ok, I’m ready to continue now, from the comfort of my living toom :).
The new direction of my life developed in the most unexpected of places; in an empty apartment. I had just moved in and wanted a piece of art to add a little decoration to my new home. I decided to draw one. And so, after a several year break, I created my first drawing. No emotional story, just one drawing on the wall and I knew this was the direction I had to go. What followed was great feedback from many people and my first commissions from friends and family. Soon I realized creating art made me happy once again.
Next I needed to find an outlet for my art, so I wouldn’t need to return to an office job. This is when my support team began to form. First on board was Sarah, who is a fellow dancer. She takes care of the website, marketing, social media, making photographs, designing ads and whatever that is necessary to allow me the time to create art. I have known and admire Sarah for her excellent taste, board knowledge and sharp business skills. What is even more important is her invaluable support and motivation that helps me focus on my career. My friendship with Sarah is such an integral part of my story I must tell you more about that in future blog messages. You will get to know Sarah and like her as I do. Like me, she is very close to her family which I find compelling in a friend.
With Sarah’s support I soon decided to take a risk and quit my office job; hoping to just dance and draw. Sarah introduced me to Stephen, my first international client. I would never had anticipated what followed from that introduction. He liked my work, so he gave me a commission for a logo and soon suggested a business collaboration between the three of us. This became the birth of Deni Minar. Without Stephen I would never figure out how to take my project into a whole new direction. So now, I create the art, Sarah allows you so see and read about it and Stephen manages the business. Just three friends, from very different backgrounds combining their skills and experiences hoping to share my art and the joy it brings to the world.
That pretty much sums up my life to this point and I’m glad I could share some of it with you. If you want to learn more about our team, I will be pouring my heart out in the BLOG section.
Why do I share all these details about us on the website? Simply put, I hope if you chose to purchase my art it will be more that just an image on the wall. It will represent a story and a friendship between us. To complete that friendship, I would be honored if you would share some of your stories and background with us. I want to know about who owns my art and what meaning it has for them. I can have no greater goal in my life than to use my art to foster personal friendships with people of all races, all colors and all cultures from everywhere in this great world we live in.
