Ethnic Crush... by Seema Z
Artistic tales of two Continents!
Salaam & Hello... and welcome to my/our blog!
My name is S. Seema Z. I am an artist, writer, designer, photographer, blogger, solopreneur, traveler, contemplator, and full-time dreamer.
I have always been fascinated by Islamic art,Islamic architecture and design. I am passionate about my religion, enjoy traveling, writing, reading, and love creativity.
I started this blog primarily to share my travel experiences, to express my heartfelt thoughts on my work, my passion for creating art, and writing about life in general. I have diverse interests, hobbies, and pursuits, not to mention that I am a pardesi a 'Desi' survivor in the Midwest.
I look at the world and the people around me with deep gratitude.
I believe that as a global community, we have vast differences that are greatly inspiring, just as God intended. We were made into different nations and tribes, and this diversity creates a fusion of curiosity, respect, awe, love, and interest among all cultures, which is amazingly unique and beautiful.
In today's world, the United States is known as the melting pot of the world, embracing people from different countries. They all come to fulfill their dreams and goals while still holding on to their cultural backgrounds.
Living far from home for decades might not provoke any sentiments for some, as they may have buried their emotions of nostalgic ruminations deep within and moved on with their lives.
But for emotional souls like me, who cherish pleasant memories, family, heritage, and cultural enrichment, these yearnings and longings have been inspirational.
It is a weaving of a visual yarn—a tapestry of cultural essences born of my past and present, and sharing my heritage by telling the tales of two continents. Some may find it rather ordinary, but perhaps that is the point—what we miss might be considered ordinary back home.
My life has been an interesting journey of many shades. My great-grandparents migrated to the Indo-Pak subcontinent from the Arab and Afghanistan/Persian world, and I migrated to the United States many moons ago to finish the quote, "...and they lived happily ever after."
I brought with me lavish, intricate remnants of my Indo Pak, cultural heritage—chikankari, suzani, ikat, gota work, phulkari, sindhi kaam, shisha work, block print, ajrak, tie and dye, and many more—to introduce them to my family and friends in the Western world.
I tried to incorporate them into my artwork too, .....as time evolved I incorporated western, minimal, sleek modern art and abstract forms into my art and products too.
And thus, this style evolved as my new design adventure.
So here I am with my online presence, ‘Ethnicrush,’ which combines my traditional love with my newfound passion...modern art.
"I’d like to consider myself, along with artists, writers, visionaries, historians, scholars, designers, poets, and architects, a savior and guardian of human heritage and a preserver of our beautiful, rich heritage."
No matter how far we wander, we are reminded time and again that many truths are universal. We all laugh, cry, and love our children, our childhood, our parents, and our heritage dearly...
No comments
Post a Comment