Zara Adriana Bachratá

You grew up in a small village in Slovakia. How has your environment influenced the was you see the world and create art?

I have to admit that I used to complain about living in a small village-no shops, restaurants or cafés and I didn’t have any friends nearby. But looking back, I realize that growing up in a small village was actually a great advantage.

I grew up in a house surrounded by my family, and my cousins lived very close, so we spent most of our time together. We were always outside in the garden, using our imagination and inventing our own games. My parents always encouraged me to create. I started in the morning and finished before going to bed. I didn’t grow up with a phone or spend my childhood in front of television. Because of that I learned the value of real life in a world that has become increasingly virtual.

The environment I am in has a huge impact on the way I think and create. When I’m in a busy city surrounded by people and constant noise, I often feel overwhelmed. That’s why I’m always excited to come back home, where I can simply sit in the garden, observe the beauty around me and listen to my own thoughts in silence. That’s when most of my ideas come to me.

My grandma’s garden has always been a special place for me, even now when I no longer play there with my cousins. It is full of blooming flowers, fruit trees and vegetables and all you can hear is sound of the birds or insects. For me nature has become the greatest source of inspiration. Nature is art itself. I especially enjoy drawing and painting flowers and other natural motifs. Recently, I also created a kimono dress using the eco-printing technique, dyeing the fabric with flowers collected from my grandma’s garden.

I know that many people in Slovakia see growing up and living here as a limitation. It is a small country and perhaps not as developed in certain areas, so people often believe we don’t have the same opportunities as those living elsewhere. I decided to see it differently. I believe that if we truly believe in ourselves, have goals we want to achieve, and consistently work towards them, there are no real limitations. The only limitation is our mindset, not the country we live in.

Growing up in this kind of environment taught me to appreciate even the smallest things and to find beauty everywhere. I think that the simplicity of my childhood, strong connection with my family and the freedom I always had laid the foundation of who I am and how I create.

You started taking art classes just three years ago, yet you already draw and paint almost every day. What keeps you so motivated and disciplined?

I’ve started taking art classes mostly because I always wanted to study design. My art teacher always told me to draw every day and then during our lesson we went through my work. Firstly I did it just because I believed that only with hard work I will be able to get the results I want. I had a goal that I wanted to achieve. However, later on it became a passion. I started to experiment with different media and different techniques. I simply started to enjoy the journey instead of working towards one goal.  What is the life without a passion anyway?  I still believe that hard work is important, because only with that I will be able to have freedom to do what I love, but it is not the only thing that matters.

It doesn’t mean that I am always in the mood for drawing or painting. Many times I lack motivation to do it, but I always remind myself that I was gifted with a talent-the ability to create art and therefore I should work on myself. Also sometimes when I feel like my work is not good enough I take my previous sketchbooks and compare them. I remain motivated when I see my improvements and that my hard work actually paid off.

For me drawing also became a habit. When we repeat something everyday it fixes into our subconscious mind and it becomes part of ourselves. That is me with drawing. I dedicate an hour to drawing a day, because I was taught to do so right from the beginning. Now everywhere I go the sketchbook goes with me.

You mention that art helps you to enter the state of flow. What does this feeling mean to you?

For me, a state of flow means being in a moment when there are no external factors disturbing me. It happens when I forget about the time, people and noises around me and I just concentrate on the present moment. This always happens when I do art. The world around me seems to disappear, and nothing else matters except what I am creating. I can spend hours drawing, and I don’t notice how quickly time passes. It helps me to focus and immerse myself in what I’m doing.

I think it is important for everyone to have something like this — to disconnect from everyday life and take a break from the outside world. This state also makes me feel good and perform at best of my ability.  For example, once I had a terrible headache, but when I started painting and became completely absorbed in it, the pain suddenly disappeared. The same thing happens when I feel overwhelmed or when I can’t process my thoughts.

Your work often feels very emotional and intimate. What emotions or thoughts do you usually try to express through your art?

With my drawings, I usually try to capture real life—what I see around me— which is why I prefer still life drawing. I like the idea that ordinary objects can come to life through art. Through my drawings, I tend to express peace rather than chaos. I like precise, clean lines and a soft, muted color palette because they reflect the calm atmosphere I want to create.

When I’m creating a piece as a gift, I always try to make it personal so that it resonates with the person receiving it, but in general I usually don’t focus on specific emotion or thought. I  enjoy the fact that people interpret art in their own way. Every person is unique, so the same artwork can evoke completely different thoughts and emotions depending on who’s looking at it.

On the other hand, when I design fashion my approach is different. It’s more about storytelling, self-expression, and communicating a message. This is also because the process involves many stages such as mind mapping or research before I come to the final outcome. I believe that art can often have a more powerful voice and create a greater impact than words alone.

Recently you have been experimenting with pastel and charcoal. What attracts you to these materials?

I really like these materials because they allow me to be more playful and experiment more. Unlike pencil, they feel less meticulous, because they allow me to use the whole surface, not just fine lines. They also help me to mimic different textures so that you can feel whether something is wood, stone or fabric…Especially pastel comes very natural to me. Even though, I only used it a few times, it feels as if I’ve known it for years. I love playing with the colors, mixing them and discovering unexpected shades. Also for me with pastel it seems like the painting never has to be finished and still looks good. I also enjoy getting messy when I make art. When I use charcoal or pastel they are literary everywhere 🙂

You said that traveling gives you freedom and inspiration. Is there a place or culture that has especially influenced your artistic vision ?

As I started to travel more I realized that I see art in every single place I visit. Every experience leaves a mark on my work. I feel like my artistic vision is still developing, but it is not shaped by one place, it is a combination of my personal experiences, the people I’ve met or the art and cultures I’ve observed. I really like to get to know new people and the way how they see the world. It extends my perspective and often helps me to come up with different ideas.

Especially in fashion I like when my work is influenced by a certain place or culture.  As I mentioned before nature is one of my biggest sources of inspiration. I was especially captivated by the landscapes of Bali or Mauritius. Not only they are filled with beautiful flowers, but those flowers have a deep cultural meaning. In Bali I saw how people prayed with flowers in their hands and placed offerings in their temples. I also found fascinating how each flower carried its own symbol. My recent project-the kimono dress was also influenced by Japanese culture, but in general in this project I examined how different people perceive flowers and therefore multiple journeys influenced my work.

What kind of artist or designer would you like to become in the future?

I would like to be a fashion designer. This has been my dream since I was a little girl. I like so many things and I feel like in fashion everything combines together, whether it is art, business or history…It is also the way I can express myself.  It’s not just about the clothing, it’s about the whole journey behind it-the supply chain, the story or the craftsmanship that goes into creating it… For the last years I’ve been also researching more about sustainability in fashion. I know that the world behind the fashion is not as beautiful as it appears from the outside.The impact it has on the environment, animals, but even us humans is terrifying. Therefore, I would also like to study this topic further in the future.