Mila Rea

milarea2@silhouetteartgroup.ca
100% Silk, Batik, Pictures, Scarfs, Kerchiefs

Personal Statement

From my earliest memories as a child born and raised in Russia, I have been interested in visual arts. One of my earliest memories was standing under the kitchen table in my grandmother's house, drawing on her walls.

Seeing my interest and wanting to protect her walls from my masterpieces, she took me to an art school where I was evaluated and accepted. In spite of my diligence and good grades, I was forced to withdraw owing to the cost of tuition that my parents could no longer afford.

However, my childhood love of art projects, though temporarily put aside at different times in my life, has survived and grown into the central focus of my time and energy. I have experimented with a variety of artistic media such as oil painting, drawing (sanguine, pencil, ink), watercolour, batik (painting on silk and shibori), and stained glass. I enjoy all of them.

Most recently I am happiest with a brush in my hand. Painting offers so many satisfactions; the moment when an image starts to emerge and take on a life of its own; the opportunity to lose oneself in a process that is both stimulating and calming; the pride and personal satisfaction when a painting turns out well and even the "teachable moments" with the pieces that go disastrously wrong. Even when not painting, the close observation entailed in learning to "see like an artist" enhances my awareness and appreciation of the visual world. I see potential paintings most everywhere I look. Ultimately, painting and other forms of art offers the opportunity to create and share something uniquely my own, reflecting upon and expressing the way I see the world.

Mila Pestova
March, 2010