Art has been part of my life ever since I had the motor skills to put crayon to paper. I attended the High School for Performing and Visual Arts in Houston, Texas, where I was able to develop my technical skills, and begin a serious exploration of my artistic interests. When it came to a decision about college, I ultimately decided to pursue my academic interests, studying Cognitive Linguistics and Philosophy as an undergraduate, then Developmental Psychology as a graduate student. With an MA under my belt, I decided once again to focus on my art. The greatest lesson I learned from these swings on the academic pendulum was that dichotomies - science & art; body & brain - are an illusion. My studies in cognition, language, and philosophy supplemented and enriched my artistic interests, and my art provided another avenue by which to examine life and the mind. Now living in Los Angeles, I continue to use introspection and reflection upon my experiences of nature, physicality, language & music, to name just a few, as inspiration for my art.
Artist's Statement:
Analogy-making is the essence of all that we do, from perceiving the world, to using language, to creative acts. My fascination with analogy is intricately linked to the awareness that rather than having a body and brain, I am a body, of which the brain is a part.
Through pen and ink I explore and celebrate the relationships between bodies, thoughts, things, language, music, and art. Both the external world, brimming with excitatory stimuli, and the internal world of perception, emotion and thought, are analogized into physical, sensual experiences. Once one notices the unifying physicality of all experience, the distinction between the external and internal becomes blurry at best. Through my artwork, I explore the connections between my physical and mental experiences.
I generally start each piece not with a planned outcome, but as a stream of consciousness - Letting my current mood and physical state direct the flow of ink until a final image emerges. The female form and ink both are infinitely expressive and full of nuance, which has naturally made them my preferred subject and medium. Other animals and natural forms also make frequent appearances in my work, as I find inspiration in what can be communicated by their physical forms, as well.
To view more works by Derya, please visit her website at: http://www.artbyderya.com/
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