My Story, My Homecoming!

Early Life

Born in London (1979) to Greek Cypriot parents, I came from a warm background of sunny immigrants whose shine was not dulled by the circumstances of war yet maintained a hardworking and authentic ethic. My father ran a car dealership and my mother a connoisseur of Arts & Crafts and entrepreneur in her own right, without all the bells and whistles.

My life was filled with love and I was raised in a simple manner without excess or pressure to make a mark. I learnt at a young age to value the little things and was fortunate to have been graced with many an inspiring family member, notably my grandmother and sister in terms of Artistic practice.

Inspiration

My grandmother rose above refugee status by taking on a job as a potter in the late 70’s-80’s. She simultaneously created fine needlepoint work endemic of her village, Lapithos, and demonstrated the importance of maintaining cultural heritage. As she filled our cabinets and hearts with her work role modelling love from tragedy.

My super talented sister demonstrated passion for the Arts as she created the most awe-inspiring figurative paintings and sculptures from a very young age. Although our work is what I would describe as polar opposites, I cannot help but feel influenced by these particular key figures who kickstarted my appreciation of engaging in a creative practice.

Education

Yet, it was not until the age of 14 that I started to find my own way towards creativity. I became obsessed with Escher’s drawings and prints, finding through his work a passion for nature and eventually Turner. My transition was fast. I took an A’ Level in Art and Design where I thrived painting impressionist landscapes and a further A’Level in Printmaking at ‘Hampstead Fine Arts College’ which I passionately completed in 6 months, largely inspired by any scenes of nature that surrounded me. I was convinced I wanted to be a printmaker. I also took an A’Level in Theology which helped me develop a position on faith and art combined.

Entry into higher education was straightforward. I attended ‘Wimbledon School of Arts’ for my foundation where I specialised in ‘Graphic Design’ and ‘Central Saint Martins’ where I graduated with a BA (Honours) Fine Arts. My route however, was far from it! Whereas Wimbledon was exciting and helped me to broaden my horizons in abstraction and conceptualism, the multitude of possibilities left me confused - I soon broke the rules painting my way through Graphics and won entry into ‘Kingston University’ against the judgement of my tutors and school head! I found the practice soulless and was subsequently unhappy, quitting in favour of Fine Art.

Unfortunately, as a burgeoning Abstract Artist, I did not feel as though Central Saint Martins’ emphasis on conceptual art was suitable either and I fell out of grace with the arts, rebelling and almost getting kicked out! A tutor told me that I could ace it if I wanted but I was not ready to hear it! Realistically speaking my visual acumen was advanced beyond my years - I still had some growing to do!

Career

Yet my passion for the arts and becoming a practising Artist still lived on and after graduating, I exhibited internationally till I could no longer see my career as financially feasibly. Without any business knowledge I was lost and without an awareness of what I needed to do to succeed I decided to teach Art within the Post Compulsory Sector.

I silently maintained my resolve and simultaneously pursued Art as a hobby. A friend introduced me to Stock Photography and I thought it would be a good chance to enhance my photographic skills whilst making some money, because photography is always useful to know about! Little did I know my images would have been snapped up by the likes of the BBC, Microsoft, Wiley-Blackwell and more and this would lead me to getting my Fine Art work accepted into Bridgeman Images’ Contemporary Library.

Back to teaching, attending the ‘Institute of Education’ at the ‘University College of London’, was a steep learning curve and the transformation from an introverted Artist was extremely terrifying yet rewarding. I thrived due to a love of people and taught in many different contexts over a period of 10 years. However, my health started to suffer massively and when my father passed away in 2017 it only got worse. I quit teaching for good and returned to Art - it was the best decision I ever made.

Today

The years practicing Stock Photography had not been lost as I developed a niche outside of it in Creative Landscape Photography. The work focussed on simple forms and colours within nature. I took my images and started tracing the forms to develop colourful cutouts of the scenes. The scenes soon descended into abstracts and the abstracts took on a life of their own to resemble patterns. And this is where I find myself again, back where my initial interests lay but this time with an understanding of how to pursue my interest.

The moral of the story is that it’s never too early or too late to find one’s true calling. All paths can lead back home to our authentic selves and desires but sometimes we just need to go through a process of discovery and rediscovery to bring us back to where we are meant to be! This is just the beginning of my journey back home to myself and I look forward to expanding upon and sharing further. Until then please enjoy the bits and bobs up on my socials and should you wish to purchase anything, my web store is open for a limited time period. Have no fear though, new products will be released periodically.

Until the next time,

Kika reporting from another ‘Thoughts on Walks’.