Ox-Bow School of Arts - Saugatuck MI

In case you have not heard of Ox-Bow so far, I encourage you to make a trip to this beautiful Art School and experience all the amazing things they have to offer, Through its affiliation with the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Ox-Bow offers year around programs, summer benefits, workshops and so much more. 

As mentioned on their website, courses are a unique experience to work closely alongside artists from across the country with world-class instructors. The courses are diverse, ranging in focus from the functional to the sculptural; from traditional to contemporary; from representational to conceptual. During intensive and immersive one & two week courses, students delve deeply into their practices. Housing or commuting options are available. For a closer look at Ox-Bow's grounds and life on campus during the summer, visit their information page.

I was thrilled and honored to have been approached by this amazing school to teach a one week workshop. I wanted my students to learn as much as possible throughout this week. Designing the sessions and what to do on each day took a while but it did worth the time spent on it as by the end of it I was sure that no matter the level of my students, they will either become inspired or add on to their current creation process. 

The location is stunning, located close to the beautiful town of Saugatuck and Douglas, once you get to the campus, you are immediately captured by the beauty and greenery around you. The campus offers Artist Residencies in many fields. Each studio is filled with art enthusiasts creating Art with different mediums. 

If you intend to teach a class for few days, I would suggest considering below points:-

• Design and map out your teaching strategy, what are you going to teach each day, give time to your students to practice. Whatever you do, you want to make sure the last days of the workshop is rewarding for attendees. 
• Get the full list of attendees in advance and familiarize yourself with the level of students if possible. You will then have a full picture to help you map out the sessions better. For example if you have a mix of beginners and experts, your sessions will be planned differently whereas if all are beginners. 
• Check out with the location to ensure they have all you need, prepare in advance by sharing the list of materials as well to make sure you have enough for everyone. 
• Patience is very important throughout the workshop, to ask every question and help those who might need more assistance, make sure everyone try out their learnings at their own time.
• Give everyone a chance to use their own imaginations. At the end of the day, you want them to create what they want based off the knowledge they gain from the workshop.

I can not wait to go back next year. This experience was so rewarding for me as well. I connected with the art of teaching in ways I never had before. 

OxBow School of Arts is located at : 3435 Rupprect Way, Saugatuck, MI 49453

View from our class...

My amazing students...It was such an honor to teach them.

Saved by "Love" once again...

With our amazing friend Anthony Ponce who gave me a ride back from O'Hare in his BackSeatRider Lyft Car. 

As you might have heard by now, I was one of those affected by the Immigration Ban which took place few weeks ago. My husband, Andy and I were visiting my family in Melbourne, Australia at the time. Since Andy had to leave due to work reasons, the plan for me was to spend more few days with my parents and then go back home to Chicago. Late in the day on Jan. 27, President Trump issued an executive order instituting a travel ban on seven countries. There was no specificity to the order so as advised by my immigration lawyer, I decided to stay put till we get more details on the order. We were hearing all these stories about Green Card holders being detained, some were sent back to the countries of origin and/or were questioned for hours before being let in to the U.S.

I was heartbroken, sad and insulted. Wasn't sure if I could even come back to at least pack my bags. Andy started an amazing campaign to bring me back home and our story got a lot of attention due to the help and support of may friends, specially with the support of my amazing friend Anthony Ponce. He has a podcast called Back Seat Rider which I highly recommend. He shared our story and we got a lot of coverage and managed to raise awareness on this issue. I truly believe by putting a face on the problem, people really could relate more and could see this could happen to any normal couple like us.  Every night I was going through all the things I used to do and places I usually go to in Chicago, thinking I might not have the chance to enjoy our life in Chicago. Few days later we got to know that Green Card holders were not included in the ban but still they were being detained for hours on their port of entry to the U.S. Phones and laptops were confiscated, etc. We decided the best for me is to go through Chicago to have access to my lawyer if need be. Therefore, I was booked on my flight from Melbourne to Dubai and then to Chicago (two back to back 15 hours flight). Nothing like being on the plane for that long going through whats going to happen once you land, but thankfully once I landed in Dubai, I got to know that the whole EO was put on hold. Once I landed in Chicago I was sent to another room and the officers asked me few questions and I was out within 20 minutes. Happy but still shaking I got to see my amazing husband and some of our amazing friends. I got a ride back home with my lovely friend Anthony Ponce in his Lyft car and got to experience being a passenger on Back Seat Rider. 

I am back now, I am still heartbroken as I am not sure what future holds for me and so many others in similar situation, when will I be able to see my family and where? Banning a whole nation is wrong in so many ways, painting everyone with the same brush is just unacceptable. I am proud of my country, my heritage and I will not let this bigotry and hatred dominate the rich and beautiful culture of my country and its amazing people. I will continue to raise awareness through my art and share the message of Love through Rumi and my pieces, I strongly feel its needed more than ever and that is why I am here now living through this interesting times.

I am grateful for all the support and love we got form everyone as I am sure this is the reason why I was not hassled as much. Our wonderful friends, family from far and near as well as those who became family throughout this time. A big shout out to the amazing people at Moveon.org, and ACLU for all they do. We all need to support them as they are really trying to protect the constitutional rights of those in hard situations, so please donate, volunteer or help them in anyway you can.  Our amazing team of lawyers were so supportive I could never thank them enough and of course my amazing husband who showed the world that true love exists and it is not just in fairy tales. LOVE TRUMPS HATE! 

Feel Free to read some of the articles on our story. Let's keep on raising awareness to hopefully help those in need of our support. 

Chicago Tribune Article

Chicago Tonight - WTTW

DNA Info - Chicago

ABC Melbourne - Australia

"Underneath my skin" Solo Exhibition - North Central college, Naperville

For many artists, one of the best ways to end the year is to have a Solo Exhibition in an amazing location and that's how I aim to say farewell to 2016. I got referred to host a Solo Exhibition at Schoenherr Gallery located in North Central College in Naperville-IL. The referral came through my good friend, great mentor, amazing artist and curator, Sergio Gomez; I couldn't be more grateful. 

Schoenherr Gallery is located inside the North Central College Find Arts Center in Naperville/IL and it exhibits work from professional artists. Like many other exhibition, the planning came with its challenges. I was not allowed to write directly on the walls of the space and therefore with the full support of Nickole Lanham, the amazing Schoenherr's Gallery director, we came up with another way of doing this installation. I literally created wallpapers filled with the word "Love" for this exhibit which  covers the whole back wall of the gallery space. 

By the time we confirmed the details I had only few weeks to prepare for the exhibit, since I already have planned for a trip to visit my family in Australia, I had long hours of work ahead of me but that is a kind of a challenge any artist would embrace with open arms. I had the wallpaper done in the gallery space prior to my departure.

The pieces in this exhibit are once again showing my hybrid reality like many others who have chosen to call this country their new home, I am trying to adjust as much as I can but still cherishing my roots and culture with pride and hopefully that is also reflected in my pieces. The word you see on the wall and most of my pieces is the word "Love" in Farsi. I grew up during 8 years of Iran/Iraq war and I remember seeing a lot of negative graffiti decorating the walls of Tehran. I believe in power of writing and affirmation and strongly believe in circulating energy by the messages sent out to the universe. By writing "Love" over and over again I aim to showcase the power of this word and circulate positive energy for viewers once they walk in to the spaces I exhibit including my studio at Zhou B Art Center in Chicago.  

I was honored to be featured in Chicago Tribune. Really enjoyed being interviewed by Jen Banowetz. You can read all about it HERE. 

The opening reception happened on a snowy night and I was so grateful to see the crowd who supported the event. I had a shot talk about my journey and my works in the exhibit followed by Q&A from the viewers. There will be a second talk on January 20th at Schoenherr Gallery with more Q&A so follow me on social media for more details on that event. 

Schoenherr Galley is located at 171 East Chicago Avenue, Naperville, IL 60540

My talk during the opening reception - Stay tuned for the second one on January 20th 2017.

"Underneath my skin" solo Exhibition - December 2016 North Central College Fine Arts - Schoenherr Gallery