on a
CHOCOLATE
high
Life is moving at a crazy pace these days, and the $5 Art Contest has almost been canned a few times. But every time I get a fantastic entry or trip across another great artist, I remember why I do this. This month’s artist is no different. With my frenzied pace, it is no wonder that I picked an artist’s work that mirrors the same frenetic energy making my life a wonderful roller coaster this summer. Hang on…
This month’s artist works in a mix of media–drawing, painting & collage. I find the work has a pulse. You can look at a piece and both identify with the subject and have concern about the sort of mind-bending mania that created it.
The work seems,
above all else,
self-aware.
Self-awareness isn’t necessarily the highest and best that we can want from ourselves or our art; however, nothing of true value follows where self-awareness has not preceded. Don’t just LOOK at this work, I need you to SEE it.
On behalf of ArtAndArtDeadlines.com, I am proud to announce the Featured Artist chosen from the May entries to the $5 Art Contest is Sima Schloss. I find her work to be…so much more than a pretty face.
FEATURED ARTIST:
Sima Schloss
Sima Schloss grew up in a suburb on the south shore of Long Island and studied art at Roger Williams University in Bristol, Rhode Island and graduated in 1993. Sima moved to New York City soon after. Where she says,” My life really began.” Her work is in a number of private and public collections including those of Tina Tang Studio, Miss Sixty Inc., and various other arenas. She has shown her work in different venues all around New York, Portugal and Spain. From The Yes Gallery in Greenpoint, NY, 3RD Ward in Williamsburg, NY to a group show at The Colorida Gallery in Lisbon, Portugal.
Schloss was also featured in NY Arts Magazine, Top Websites Annual Art guide to the Internet. In 2013, she will be featured in the e-book about Artists As World Changers by Renee Phillips.Her work was also at the Fountain Art Fair in Miami, Florida. Currently she works with The Metropolitan Museum of Art in their education department teaching art to ESL and GED students. Sima is also an adjunct professor at Hostos Community College in the Bronx. She is currently working on a series of independent projects.
Are you self taught or formally instructed? “If ‘Taming the Beast’ is self taught, then, that came with age. I went to art school and was a whirling dervish at 18 w/ my attention unfocused. It’s only now that I really appreciate everything that I learned there.”
Your work is
NOISY.
NO really, I had a hard time concentrating on any one piece because my eye was always skipping ahead to another. I love it. Is the process for you as frenzied as the work comes across? “Yes,my process is as frenzied as it comes across. Many times when I am creating with the subway being my favorite studio, I get so many ideas. The sensory overload comes out in my artwork. One person said that looking at my artwork is a workout in itself. If we could only create muscles at the same time!”
The connecting aesthetic in your work seems to be portraiture and color. How do they work together for you? “I love to study facial expressions and observe the colors the person is wearing. Both are so telling about who that person is.”
Tell me about the collage process for you. Are you attracted to the materials first or do you start work and then search for the right material to fit a piece? “‘Process not product…if only we could remember that in our love lives, too! I love to make a huge mess when I am creating; I love the layering process. A friend once said that you could shoot a bullet through some of my works and it wouldn’t penetrate.
“Like consciousness itself, the medium of collage is cumulative, aggregate, constructed through the mind’s desire to see itself reflected in chronological process. It stacks, rips, defaces, and replaces. Its memories are writ scatter-shot with the voices of others and with communiques whispered from within. It is polyphonic. Collage wears every other medium across its face, like the great grandparent of art, rendering the act of thinking material, with paint, print, ink, swaths of photographs, fields of color, Letraset and adhesives.”
What style or school of art do you think your work fits into and why? “My work is a combination of surrealism and abstract art.. I don’t make pretty pieces of artwork, I want to make people think. I want to evoke a feeling.”
“If you want to see
a calm piece of work,
look at landscapes
and fluffy flowers.”
You know we have to talk about food. What is your favorite? “God I am a seriously a chocoholic–preferably milk or white. My mom keeps telling me to switch to dark chocolate because its healthier. Hell no!” I am fairly certain that I have ranted on this blog (more than once) in the past about white chocolate not really being chocolate, but I am going to set that aside. I simply want to suggest that you switch to dark chocolate…because it tastes better. 🙂
What about snack foods? “I am addicted to white chocolate. I keep stashes at my apartment, studio and at work. My students even tell me that I eat too much chocolate. This is coming from certain individuals who choose to eat Doritos® and a Coke® for breakfast. Again, is there anything beyond white chocolate? If we must get particular…Green & Black’s White Chocolate.” Really? Chocolate and chocolate? Those are your food answers? hehehehe. It is refreshing to meet someone that throws restraint to the wind, but I suppose your work should have been the first hint.
So, what’s coming up next for you? “Currently, I am working on a series of drawings only using shades of grey and black in pencil and pen WHILE using the same photograph of a mouth. I have been using the same sketch, enlarging, shrinking it into the collages.this new series is a journey back to basics with mostly drawing, my first love.” Thanks for waiting to the end of the interview to let me know you are temporarily abandoning color, ha. It is a good thing interviews are my primary job, eh?
Sima, thank you for reminding me that my frenzy is not singular…
Learn more about Sima Schloss online!
This was such a fun interview!!! I am so honored to be in it!! Thank you!
Schloss’ work does exactly what she strives for; evokes feeling, and more importantly, poses questions and calls for intraspection. A rare talent, utilizing unique concepts that come deep from within.
Great interview! Work speaks for itself.
Sima is an amazing artisan; her work is so evocative. It’s passionate, vibrant, and alive, just like the artist herself!
I absolutely love Sima’s work which is why I did a show for her in my store. Her art is as sensitive and in depth as the woman herself.
I have a few pieces of Simas that hang in my home.
Sima is a true talent beyond the imagination. I am mesmerized with her work. Her talent and motivation is going to drive her to become a legendary artisit of her time.
Great interview. It’s light and fun. You let the reader get a little closer to the artist, her work/ process, and her great personality. Love your work Sima!
Her work is amazing!
I love your work and I wish you can show it and have the credits you deserve. I miss you! Filo
Another Hag! Love this small blue marble.
Nice work! Well done! Chocoluck!
Sima, I love your inspection of your inner self through your work. It is so difficult revealing your emotional soup to yourself and others. Keep it up!
I love Sima’s work; it’s never easy and you never EVER look at it and just go, “Oh, that’s nice.” I like to look at her pieces that at first glance look alike, and find the differences. And then look for what’s left the same and wonder why that one thing (or things) was kept consistent.
Thank you for a great interview. Any interview that includes chocolate AND Sima is a great interview 🙂
Awesome to hear about your work & process!
Amazing interview!! I love Sima’s work…she is beyond talented and I can’t wait to see more!
Nice answers Sima! I love the thing about white chocolate and Im looking forward to see your upcoming grey and black drawings! x from Copenhagen
You are so wonderfully expressive and produce such emotional work. You inspire me.
A friend of mine introduced me to Simas art works. Thought provoking, Intense and Amazing! A true artist on a mission!
A wonderful interview with a fantastic artist. Congratulations Sima! Few artists like Sima Schloss have the innate talent, discipline and courage to create art that expresses their unique unedited vision. She is one-of-a-kind and one of my favorite artists.
Sima Schloss is an INSPIRED artist! I’m excited she is finally getting the recognition she deserves. I met her (and her work ) 10 years ago and she never ceases to open my mind.
I am trying dark chocolate out – Its not quite the same as milk or white, but its growing on me.. The white sugar= white death is settling in- I gave up white flour and slowly I am giving up white sugar… AHHHHH
Some of the most interesting mixed media pieces. Each one is filled with great emotion. Sima is a wonderfully talented artīst. Bravo!
Bravo Sima!! Well done!
I love Sima’s work. The colors and emotions jump off her pieces and have such life.
Sima, I love your expressive surrealistic abstract works. Real art. Your works invite to stay and reflect, and return back. Time after time. Thanks!
Sima your work is not only beautiful, you are a creative genius!
The more I see of this artist’s work, the more I think she is a major talent.
Sima your work is beautiful, you are a creative genius. Unbelievable how talented you are and your art work is a breath of fresh air..Thank you!
I have known Sima a long time, and her work, like Sima herself, is both thought provoking and full of life! She is a truly talented person and I am so proud of her continued artistic success…
I have seen Sima’s work mature and gel into distinctive style and message. Women are simple and complex, beautiful and raw in our culture.
Sima’s art has been an inspiration to me my entire life. My daughter (age 7) often will be found collaging and she says that she is “creating a Sima.” That’s pretty impressive in my book!
Sima’s work intrigued me at the first sight. I think that one of her strongest qualities is her fearless introduction toward a distressed world. When I say fearless, I mean, her ability of not being afraid to captivate someone’s inner world caused by anything in this brutal life. Pain is not a taboo for her either. And her work strikes you like a knife directly on your well hidden phantoms. The heroines are though, not defeated, which for me is the best part of Sima.
I’ve been a fan of Sima’s work from day one. I was so inspired and impressed by her art the first time we met, I had her exhibit her paintings at an upcoming event I was producing. From that point on, I’ve had the distinct pleasure to watch her talent blossom and art work mature into awe inspiring pieces that I’m excited and honor to have hang on my walls. She’s one to look out for.