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Mira Papadatos
AUSTRALIA
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“My art is influenced by the beauty and vibrations of each of the places I have lived.”
“Mira has lived many lives.” She was born among the Caucasus Mountains. There she led a life of innocent youth and adventure. In Russia she learnt through trials and tribulations the lessons of young love and family. In Lithuania, she learnt lessons through the collapse of the Soviet Union, single motherhood and surviving off the land while surrounded by beautiful lakes and forests.
Explosion | Acrylic
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When Passion meets Thunder..
In America, by the beach, she learnt what it means to start a new life with no support, and with little knowledge of the language. In Australia, there were more lessons of starting a new life, and letting go of an old one. During her journey, Mira learnt to understand and respect different cultures, people, and customs.
Dandelions | Acrylic
NFS
We came to this World from the Earth.
We grow.
We bloom.
We fly away
Mira has experienced love and heart break, fear and excitement, hardship and success. She has experienced hopelessness and hope, connection and disconnect. She has experienced domestic violence, and now, what it means to have a home and family in which one feels safe and secure. Mira has lived through war, but she has also lived through some moments of bliss. Some lessons are easier to come to terms with and accept than others, but she never gave up.
“Through working with paint, I was able to heal some wounds that go all the way down to the soul.”
Sometimes her art is influenced by the happy, peaceful moments as seen in the paintings, and sometimes her art is influenced by the deep complexities of the inner psyche and hurt. Mira has always found a way to surround herself with art. In her youth, she would use charcoal and pencil to express herself, as she matured, she would write poetry and played the piano. She surrounded herself with musicians, artists and creative types.
Time | Acrylic
NFS
Travelling through the time that never ends...
Every mind has their own space.
Sometimes we just got lost...
4 Rooms | Acrylic
NFS
Mira designed clothes, made dolls, and created intricate floral arrangements. Interestingly, Mira always stayed away from paint – that is until she experienced a serious health diagnosis. There were so many pent-up emotions, fears and worries. She felt alone and felt like she would burden her daughter or friends if she let them see her inner state. This was the catalyst for Mira. One day, her friend came over with some paint and canvas, and told Mira to just offload what she felt onto the canvas. What came out was an awful grey/brown mess, but it felt so good to transplant what she was feeling internally to the external, without words, explanations, or logic.
“I don’t do commissions - because I cannot channel other people’s experiences and emotions. But in my work, other people see their own stories.”
“My soul had love, the smell of forests on sunny days, and laughter that needed to be expressed, and so I started painting all over again.”
She found this to be the greatest therapy, not only for her dealing with her diagnosis, but for all the other experiences she had not fully processed. The homes she left behind, the people she will not see again, the times she was hurt, or hurt others.
Secret Garden | Acrylic
NFS
Secret place where magic happens.
Life has taught Mira to be resourceful and make use of what she has. She doesn’t have any special tools for her painting, just her creativity. Her main tool is an expired credit card. Sometimes a string, balloon or plastic cup.
Dance 1 | Acrylic
NFS
When two becomes one its all about passion
Wild Ones dance
Shifting forms
Flesh melts
Flowing away...
As long as she had paint and a canvas, she can make magic happen. Mira channels her feelings and emotions and brings them to life. Sometimes she will start on a painting, and the next day she will choose to go into a different direction with it. Just like emotions ebb and flow, her creative process is the same.
Night dance of my Soul.
Dance 2 |
NFS
“The culmination of all my experiences, lifestyles and influences started to come alive on canvas.”
July Morning | Acrylic
NFS
Take me into your garden
So I can feel the grass beneath my feet
Smell the perfume of your flowers
And kiss those dewdrops
hanging from the leaves
Sometimes a painting is done over months, other times in a matter of days. Often the finished product is completely different to what it started out as. Just as with life, sometimes we want to go in one direction and end up in another.
The sea is like music.
It has all the dreams of the soul
within itself.....
Carl Jung.
Blue Rhapsody | Acrylic
NFS
They see a reflection of their own feelings and that resonates with them. This is Mira considers that her biggest achievement as an artist. The connection that can be evoked from many people, through a piece of art, even though they all have had different experiences and perspectives.
Vision | Acrylic
NFS
I guess I'm just a riddle
Wrapped up in mystery
Something that
naked eye
Just simply cannot see
“There is something that has an essence, it comes through and touch your soul."
Mira Papadatos
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