Mobile Photography Intimate Interview with Lisa Cirenza from the US, Currently Living in London, UK

It sounds like a cliche, but there’s strong evidence I had artistic aspirations from infancy…

My parents loved to recount the story of how they had to move my cot away from the wall, because I’d often dig into my nappy and use the contents to paint or draw on the adjacent wall—a precursor to the works of Chris Ofili?

Solo piano accompanist for my school play the Mikado, playing original Gilbert and Sullivan Score at age 11. Too young to know I was supposed to be afraid of such an undertaking…

Cleaner and Receptionist at the local Racquetball Center, so I could earn money, but also free court time and coaching…hitting those balls saved my sanity in my teen years…

State.

University— My parents, who’d never been to university told me I could become a lawyer or doctor and go to Harvard, Princeton, or Yale (I grew up in the USA). They were worried art and/or music would lead me to an early Bohemian demise. I always sought solace in the outdoors, escaping every summer to an inexpensive—sleep in tents—summer program in the woods. During the equivalent of my first A level summer I was accepted as a National Science Foundation Scholar to spend the summer on a glaciological research expedition on the Juneau Icefields in Alaska (ok, maybe this was taking that seeking solace thing a bit too far??? But hey, it was fully funded, and it sounded amazing—my parents thought I was nuts and asked why I couldn’t be normal like my friends and go to the beach like all normal Jersey girls??)

That lead to my applying to Stanford University to study Geology, as the field research was done in the Sierra Nevada mountains and at the beach. Who could argue with that?? When I arrived, I asked to double major in geology and French. (This was my scheme for getting to Paris to study art without anyone knowing about it.) My geophysics advisor thought it was the strangest request he’d heard, and yet, he helped facilitate connections in Paris for me. However, the Overseas studies program didn’t buy into it—study geology in Paris??? So I applied to do a Master’s congruently in International Policy Studies to fortify my application. The geophysics advisor had connected me with someone at L’ecole des Mines de Paris, and off I went to study Mining Engineering, the Geopolitics of Energy, and—in secret—art in Paris…

As a young teen,my art, choral, and theatre arts teachers. As an older teen Dr.Maynard Miller, he ran the Juneau Icefield Research Program and truly be­lieved in me. Countless others since then, and I’d do a disservice to all, by mentioning only a few—but I believe the ones who influenced my teen years had the deepest of influences.

I’m a passionate open water distance swimmer, it’s my form of meditation, and I find it imperative to stay in shape to carry, hang, is manipulate large artworks. I’m also a downhill ski-a-lic, a bit of an adrenaline junky, who is increasingly turning towards yoga to find the Yin for my Yang.

I’m strongly committed to opening minds and hearts to kindness & empathy across cultural, societal, and political divides. I believe the human species is stronger as a species when we pool our resources, our knowledges and experiences, and help each other. Kindness and open spirited-ness should not be affiliated with any” tribe” nor political leaning.. but I’m pretty certain some people reading this might ascribe those characteristics to a political tribe—how very sad…

Ambition! I see too many hyper-talented artists waiting for discovery. Ambition allows everyone a chance to hone their creative destinies. But I don’t like the word ambition, I think it has more to do with mindful focus…and having a compelling sustainable ‘why’

A more coherent spiritual understanding of why exactly we exist

Umm, let me think about that, well maybe I need to go answer some emails before I can answer that..as I open the computer I remember I forgot to finish that image, and to finish that image I need to go look at the inspiration, but I can’t find the inspiration without a wee bit more coffee in me, but I’m out of coffee, gotta run to the store…umm what was the question again?  Oh! My biggest extravagance has to be… (drumroll please….) …..Procrastination!

The mountains, preferably in the water—a mountain lake– or on the snow, a glacier or ski slope, I’m not too particular…

To use my art as a vehicle to inspire creative endeavours, problem solving & empathy in an increasingly tribal and, dare I say, self-centered world.

I grew up in an environment where nothing I did was ever quite “good enough. Art was not an option, and yet for me, internally it was never not an option.  When I chased and achieved my dream of becoming an artist, some of my drive was to prove the naysayers wrong. I’m past that now as it’s not a sustainable source of positive fuel. I’ve reached a point where I am truly driven by the need for more creative, positive, open-minded, community-minded thinking populations;  and by the unique role artists can play in achieving these societal aspirations.

Limiting self-beliefs that confine them to being victims, & victimising others in the process.

My four amazing grown children and the adults they’ve become. There isn’t a single aspect of being a parent that doesn’t require some form of creative thinking acting and/or being. They truly are the high points of my life’s creative achievements

A body that didn’t ache quite so much, and a memory that didn’t go on holiday so much.

FEAR-It leads to fixed mindsets, tribalism, and the ability to be easily politically manipulated.

Do you believe in a past life?

10+ What hasn’t killed me, has made me stronger…except for my memory, I can’t quite remember if that’s any stronger???

Tweet: @ArtCirenza

Facebook: Lisa Cirenza Fine Art

Instagram: Art.LC

www.cirenza.com

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