Amina Burloiu, artist and graphic designer, will be an essential part of our unsichtbar retreat “Embracing all of your Body: What true harmony, self-love and healing can achieve” geared towards people who have experienced trauma through sexualized violence or assault. The retreat will take place on November 26th 2022. Here is what Amina will contribute to this unique retreat:
Amina, can you tell us a bit about your artistic journey?
My art journey started when I was only a kid, ever since I am creating my own worlds. I am a fine observer of this world and I am putting it into paper through my own filters. It’s been a journey where I experimented art as „occupational hobby” and also as a professional, because I ended up finishing a master in arts.
The human being was always in the center of my artistic observation, sometimes more linear, other times, more defined, contoured and colorful. I am inspired by human diversity, and I embrace all the differences, as for me, they are a huge source of inspiration and particularity.
In the upcoming retreat, how do you see your participation? What contribution do you hope to make to ?
Freedom and joy are often lost as we grow and begin to self-consciously evaluate the quality of what we can create.
Too often, we become viewers of others’ art rather than being active creators, and we lose the many benefits of creative self-expression. My presence will bring a restorative practice that allows people to transcribe their traumas more than in a verbal way. Adults in general are ashamed about their own lack of artistic skills and my goal is to create a safe environment that allows the participants to express themselves and communicate without worrying about whether they have great visual arts skills. I will be their hand, their tool. I will observe them, I will empathize with their trauma and emotions and together, we will transform that into ART.
So your presence and art can be considered as one more tool to evolve beyond trauma, to give our participants relief and to make them feel better?
I am a sensitive person myself – we all experienced traumas on one level or another, conscious or subconscious. I rely on being so human and empathetic and due to my passion to observe people, this art therapy can influence a range of human functioning, including self-perception and interpersonal interactions. It’s even proving that coloring can help reduce stress and negative feelings. I aim to be a tool and an inspiration. Every person has a spark of creativity, maybe it’s not drawing, painting or coloring, but creativity lies in so many directions. Let’s say, I can bring ease, lightness in finding your way and making you feel comfortable.
So how did you come to portraying mostly women in your artwork?
It came very naturally to me, I started with angels and really fashionable ladies, I did not have a plan to start drawing them I just felt it somehow. In my master thesis I started reacting those childhood angels out of discarded electrical wires and as 3D models, later on when I became more focused on illustration I was obsessed with powerful, colorful, bold face expressions. I would say it’s been some diverse phases, but I always kept my motive – the human being and particularly “The Woman”, as a central piece of my interest. Women, are all beautiful, divine and inspiring creatures.
Do you perceive art as a tool to heal trauma?
Through art, I slowly begin to communicate more openly about previously unsayable, shameful, or even taboo topics. I became able to define my emotional experiences and personal traumas. Creative expression changed perception of myself, my relationships, and my life situations. A deep sense of grief and loss underlies trauma, and art provided a metaphorical way to address the complex inner struggles in a world where nobody judges me, where only I can understand the symbols without telling them out loud. Art always had a role to release different emotions, to heal trauma. Art is my friend, my partner, my family, my emotions and my thoughts, my wildest dreams and sometimes my fear.
What makes a person an artist?
Sometimes you are born with it, sometimes you have to work a lot to be one. However, starting from the premise that we all are a God’s creation, I believe that every person has creativity within themselves. Your emotions, your brain, your spirit, it’s all a sum of elements that can define you as an artist. You have the talents but you need to educate that, to elevate it, during your lifetime experiences. Every person whether it’s an artist or not can experiment. Consider art as your voice. It will never be right or wrong, successful or unsuccessful. Imagine birds would stop singing only because they think their voice is not worthy, what a sad world that would be. Leave misconceptions behind, it’s time to explore what your creativity trait is. Every person is an artist and creation itself.
We have noticed that you are mostly choosing very bright, intense colors, do they symbolize anything for you?
Colors are my primary language when it comes to creation, it is the motor of my inspiration. In the first years when I developed my style I started with more earthy, organic color tones but as I was evolving, growing and becoming more mature I discovered the power of a good saturated primary color. I definitely can tell by looking backward to my art, which phase I was in, was I emotional, was I fragile, was I aggressive? Color has such a powerful meaning, not only by what it transmits and its symbolism, but also by the rawness of the materials the colors are made of. Ever since artists used a combination of soil, clay, animal fat, burnt charcoal, chalk, crushed flowers, and more to produce different shades.
Further infos
Want to hear and learn more about Amina? Follow her on Instagram @amina.burloiu
Want to join our retreat “Embracing all of your Body: What true harmony, self-love and healing can achieve”? You can find further infos here.
