Smaro Botsa 05/28/2010
 
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Smaro Botsa is a wonderful creative person that I’ve had the honor to meet in real life. A genuine dreamer at heart. Graphic design, handmade accessories and photography are the main fields of her interest. Today she lets us in her nostalgic and inspiring world of arts and crafts. Enjoy!

Hello Smaro and welcome to EyeCandies! Give us a brief introduction of your creative activities and your background

Hello Eye Candies!!! Happy to be visiting..! :D

I started as a graphic designer, probably because as a child I kept cutting and pasting images, dressing everything in photos and having a great interest in fonts … At the same time I was constantly working with my hands, making (or destroying, it depends) various things. So, after some years in the field of visual communication, I decided that in order to keep my love for graphic design alive, I should stop practicing it professionally and thus, I took a turn towards the other part of design I loved, handmade creations!
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Where do you find inspiration in your daily life?

There is a saying that goes: “I’m amazed by life when it manages to overcome me”. So I also believe in the idea of the daily miracle, in the surprise that awaits you just around the corner – that’s why I named my tag {flu:k} as Fluke means “sudden turn of fate”. Beyond this belief, I find inspiration in light, music, travelling, poetry, both images of nature and the urban element, my young niece’s drawings and the people I love!
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Talk to us about your handmade accessories. What are your favorite elements and how could you describe the style / essence of your creations?

I constantly experiment with materials so I can also refresh my interest on work. This exploration led me to a material for which I’ve discovered a special process procedure that differs from what is commonly used and I have been evolving and working on for the last 3 years. It is the material my collections are mainly based on. It’s transparent like a crystal but unbreakable, appears as a sculpture but it is very light and I can “trap” within it various heterogeneous elements: images, words, sea shells, metal. After all, don’t all these resemble to woman’s nature?

I like to think that my jewelry are loved by women with humor but also sophisticated, with culture but also comfortable with leaving life surprise them, women that are seeking for experience but are also down to earth when it comes to their values and identity …
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As a member of the Whitebox creative team you get the opportunity to meet and interact with various designers. What is your opinion about the contemporary craft / art scene in Athens?

WhiteBox was loved very quickly and evolved to a core, a meeting platform for creative people. I feel very lucky and proud for being part of the Whitebox team! The thing that I notice in most artists is that all of them are having a difficult time by the same system that is supposed to promote them … The market, the trading system treats everything born with art, almost in an obscene manner, depriving in this way the creativity and inventiveness of artists, often overpricing creations during sales, while when it comes to the artist, rarely and with very few exceptions, does the system comply with its obligations.
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You also have a passion about photography. What kind of thoughts / emotions are you trying to express through this venue?

Photography amazes me! It is yet another language of expression … It’s magic, comprehensive – with an image you can tell a whole story that can either be a fairy tale or a nightmare … capture the essence of raindrops … a big city’s pulse. I usually don’t prefer portraits. I’m interested in the person as part of a wider context and, I may repeat myself, but I feel a constant amazement for anything random, the poetry of the moment and especially the play of light. Think about how many different images of the same subject can one capture within only a few minutes! I love contradicting images and dislike the use of direct flash! :)
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What was your latest most challenging and exciting project?

Recently, within the context of a collaboration between WhiteBox and TAF (The Art Foundation) I was invited to present my basic collection through an installation and a performance, referring to the type of woman (which I believe my work represents). It was an amazing experience. I got to work in many creative fields, from styling to photography and video projection!
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Who is your favorite designer / artist / crafter and why?

It’s always difficult to directly answer these kind of questions as the list is very long … I respect many designers but I will mention some classic names in the art scene that are major references for me: the grand, magical, mysterious Gaudi who in my opinion is also a pioneer in graphic design. Gustav Klimt and the humanitarian, esoteric, poet Modigliani. I admire many people from other fields as well, like the unbelievable mind and talent of Zaha Hadid. Japanese culture in all of it’s expressions also amazes me.

Any future plans you’d like to share with us? Or anything else you’d like to add?

INSIDEOUT: A mixed media / mixed emotions view...soon opening @ Whitebox!!
;)

LINKS: […]

-  http://www.blogbywhitebox.blogspot.com/
-  Smaro Botsa (Facebook)
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