Interview

Jun 29

Shahar Halperin

Shahar Halperin is an Israeli born artist, who creates empowering macramé with gemstones and crystal jewelry.

Painting and drawing has always been a part of her life, and has led to Shahar participating in various group exhibitions, as well as one solo exhibition.

She loves to express herself with art, words, colors and shapes. Creation is a way for her to bring out her inner visions, ideas, feelings and emotions.

Shahar’s artistic education includes attending a semester course of renaissance art – Van Eike technique, at SCAD Savannah, USA, where she received an A+, and the chance to exhibit her work for two semesters. She also studied for one year at Avni Art College in Tel-Aviv/Yafo, Israel.

Currently, Shahar is a practicing artist and healing therapist for body, mind and soul.

What is your background and how did you start your journey in the art world?

“Since a very young age, painting has always come natural for me, and I had no doubt that I’ll be an artist one day. I used to draw for hours, practicing the objects I imagined in my mind, only sometimes drawing actual objects. It was my 10th birthday when I was introduced to surrealism by my mother.
I then discovered Dali, Magritte and Escher’s art, and learned about the ideas and methods behind their art. I used to observe the everyday area I was in, and let my imagination see different things that appear when I change the way of my inner translation to the shadows and light, interpreting colors, lines and shapes.
A few years later, I started creating intuitive drawings with a pen, which in later years provided a series of shamanic spirit animals that were revealed intuitively.
Life has taken me through some circles and difficulties, but the dream was always with me. Art is as familiar to me as my home. Books of drawings and paintings were great stories and teachers of creation to me. Nature, my favorite place, teaches me what art is, in every day and moment.”

What inspires you most?

“I am inspired from both outer and inner nature. For most of my life I have lived close to nature, and I like to travel often. Also, I've been meditating since I was ten years old, traveling between worlds and dimensions, and with the years have gained professional education as a holistic healer, therapist and yoga teacher, which taught me ways to travel inside the body, mind and soul.
I love to observe lights and shadows, colors, tones and movements. For example, the wind in the grass and in the hair, people and animals, stars, and all these little things and moments that the eyes catch, are an inspiration for me.”

“The themes I’m pursuing are emotional – the elements that build the world, fractals, physics, other worlds and dimensions, and the many things that interest me.”

What themes do you pursue? Is there an underlying message in your work?

“There’s an underlying message that can be very clear, depending on the viewer, and it is the awakening of the mind, body and soul to our own nature, and to open ourselves to new thinking and ways of lives; different perceptions from those we’ve been taught from our cultures. My art can serve for meditation and empowering themes in the observer's life, in which I believe that everyone has their own very unique vision that can be opened from this experience.”

How would you describe your work?

“Colorful, detailed, intuitive.
My work is based on a kind of spiritual, emotional intuitiveness. Bringing out the unseen worlds and ideas creates a new flow of mind, that opens us up to experience new ideas and possibilities.”

Which artists influence you most?

“In my youth, it was Dali who influenced me, and some work from Magritte.
But through all my life, styles such as impressionism, realism, and renaissance, including many different artists, have inspired me to find my own style.”

What is your creative process like?

“Nature plays a large role in my process, as well as observing and reading information about the psyche, astronomy, astrology, different ways of life and living, body mind and soul, and also doing meditation and yoga.
When the passion to let creativity out occurs, I then decide which material would feel right to express it with, and start preparing the materials. Each work can take a few months or even years.”

What is an artist’s role in society and how do you see that evolving?

“As I see it, we have to be close to our uniqueness, and stay open to life force, which can be hard in some cultures. I do think that artists, like others in life, have to find their own way to alchemize their own life and all of the creations that come out. We can do this by listening to the little dot in our heart, being gentle and loving ourselves, and radiating these thoughts to the community and the world.”