Heba Barazi: Syria is a rich land of natural beauty and culture

Heba Barazi, an Arab-American artist currently living and working in Abu Dhabi, UAE, gives us a glimpse into her life as research scientist, University academic and artist.

Her recent work, "Syria...told through rings", is inspired by the desire to bring balance to the mainstream impression of Syria.

"Syria is not just war, it is a rich land of natural beauty and a people with a long history of literature and culture."

What are you presently inspired by?

What inspires me to make art is my desire to express myself. I am not good with words so I choose art to say what is on my mind or what I feel. I chose jewelry as the medium of my art because I very much enjoy the challenge of constructing a 3D object and figuring out how to make it fit a body and withstand the ware that comes with wearing it. More importantly, jewelry unlike a painting that you hang on a wall or a sculpture that you put on a table is something you place close to your body and carry with you. People develop strong feelings towards their jewelry. In fact the practice of early human wearing objects on their body began with the idea of holding something dear close to one's body. For that reason I find that wearable art is a perfect medium for art that is meant to make an emotional or intellectual connection with the owner.

I created the "Syria... told through rings" collection because I wanted to remind people that Syria is no just a war, it is in fact a beautiful country with gorgeous nature and cultured intellectual people with a long legacy in art and literature. The collection is all rings because it is inspired by poet Nizar Qabbani's verse "I am a ring jeweled by Damascus..." Each ring design in the collection is also inspired by a poetry verse describing the beauty of Syria.

Is there something you are currently working on, or are excited about starting?

My current muse is the Sheikh Zayed grand mosque in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE) where I recently moved to. Like many Americans, I had an image of the Gulf countries as fairly conservative and somewhat intolerant to others' culture. After moving here, I was surprised to find that the UAE has been so successful at creating a welcoming and tolerant culture while preserving their identity and their religious customs. The importance of bridging the cultural and religious divide has been put forth since the inception of this country by its Founder Sheikh Zayed. One of his legacies is the establishment of the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque dedicated, amongst other things, to the enhancement of cross cultural and religious communication and promoting mutual respect. This beautiful notion along with the spectacular physical beauty of this mosque inspired me to create a collection of wearable art that celebrates the design aesthetics of the mosque and it's beautiful message.

You have a background in science. What led you to art?

Actually it was a journey with twists and turns and my mother at the center of it.

I loved creating art in all its forms since I was a child, especially crafting with my hands. When the time came to go to college my mother thought I should nurture my talent and go to art school. I, on the other hand, also loved science and was fascinated by the process of discovery. I strongly felt that science is way more important than art to people's well being and I wanted to play my part in that. I decided, despite my mother to take the science path and ended up going all the way through that track earning a Ph.D. and becoming a research scientist and a University academic.

My twenties and thirties were very busy time for me establishing my science career and having my three wonderful children. But, the love of art and craft never left me so despite how busy I was, I still dabbled with art teaching myself and jumping from one medium to the other. One day I realized that art is just as important as science. It is true that science is what helps us be physically healthy and control our physical environment to our liking but how useful is a healthy physical being without a soul and mind nurtured by art. Art is so fundamental to our well being that if you trace our civilization back to the cave man, you'll find that we created art before we created agriculture. How incredibly telling is that? We thought it is more important to us to beautify our world with art before figuring out how to feed ourselves. So, I decided to pursue my art seriously just as mother suggested years ago. Maybe I should have listened to mother!

I still maintain a science career. I feel that the two paths complement and inform each other and I find that each is rewarding to me in different ways.

Who taught you the most about art?

Because I am self taught through books, workshops and the Internet, I can definitely tell you that I would not be where I am without the incredible generosity of artists who take the time to share what they know. From a technical perspective, I owe most of what I know to Dan Cromier. He is so creative and so incredibly thorough in his teaching style, it is so easy to learn from him. I also feel that Kathleen Dustin has big influence on my art, not so much about how I do it but how well I do it. I have not yet gotten the privilege of taking workshops with her but I follow her writings and I've attended lectures by her. Her perfectionism which comes through so well in her own work and her constant strive to elevate her work to be worthy of the label "art" resonates with me.

Words to live by . . . a favorite quote or motto?

Imagination is a force that can actually manifest a reality-James Cameron

Heba Barazi is one of the fantastic artists you'll see at uBe Art and the juried exhibiton, From Where I Stand.

Opening Reception: Friday, November 6, 6-10PM