Deema Bayrakdar is a mixed media artist and textile/surface designer living in Brooklyn. Her work finds inspiration in both urban and natural landscapes, and Bayrakdar’s keen interest in energy and movement is reflected in her playful collages, prints and textile designs.

JF: First, I’d like to say thanks, Deema, for agreeing to this interview! Your images are lovely, so ethereal and light. Have you always been an artist?

DB: You’re very welcome, and thank you, too.

My mother is an artist so I was surrounded by art and as a kid, I was always doodling or working on some art project. As an undergraduate, I considered majoring in art but at the time didn’t really trust my capabilities as an artist. I switched my major a few times and in the end was an English major with a minor in Art History/Fine Art.

After I graduated, I did a dance with art where I attended a foundation course in London and enrolled in an art course in Chicago, and it was during this time that I started to believe that if I wanted to pursue art I could. I just wasn’t fully convinced that art was the right course for me, so I turned away from it and instead did a number of different things in the non-profit world. I taught art at after school centers in DC, I was a dramaturge and ran art education workshops for young people at a theater. I also taught adult literacy at a community college, and trained medical interpreters in Chicago.

As I  experienced these different gigs in the non-profit world, I noticed that teaching was a common thread. During this period, each experience informed my next move, so by paying attention to this pattern, I decided to give classroom teaching a shot. 

I moved to New York and taught high school English at an alternative high school in the Bronx for 2 years, and middle school Humanities in Brooklyn for one.

Teaching seventh grade Humanities quickly burned me out, I was pretty miserable. All the physical and mental signs told me to step away from teaching. I had to do something creative, and commit to art.  I took a leap, resigned from the Department of Education, picked up a temp gig, and enrolled in an etching class at the Art Student League in New York.

Making a turn towards art, I felt like issues of survival were staring at me in the face-I had to figure out how I could make a living as a creative individual. I remember talking with a photographer friend of mine at a wedding, and she suggested some textile design courses at the Fashion Institute of Technology, given my interest in color, pattern, and texture. So I enrolled in screen-printing and nature studies, and followed up those courses with Photoshop and Illustrator. At the time I wasn’t sure about becoming a textile designer and didn’t know if I wanted to be an artist who sustained herself by working in a studio and selling prints; I had to keep reminding myself that not knowing is ok. I would say to myself, ‘I’m just trying this out’. All I knew was that I was honoring my creativity, and I had to keep myself open to possibilities.

JF: What do you like most about teaching?

DB: I really love the theater that takes place in the classroom. I’m fascinated by human behavior and the interactions that take place between students, and looking at the nature of those interactions. I’ve recently decided to teach adults again, a population I really enjoy; I feel like I’m teaching with new eyes. Stepping away from teaching for a couple of years, and listening to my artistic voice was crucial because I feel as though I have been able to build a container where teaching and art coexist. It’s been a journey getting here, nonlinear and organic. I’ve listened to my instincts, and this is where I am right now.

JF: Nice! More of us should do that. Can you talk a little bit about where your inspiration comes from?

DB: From so many places-I am really inspired by maps and physical structures in the landscape, movement, how we move through spaces, and the shape of our movements. I am struck by movement markings that slice landscape such as subway trains or birds in flight. I pay attention to the geometric structures found in the city such as the side streets, bridges, old and new buildings and their facades, and how they define or redefine spaces that are seemingly connected or disconnected. I am also inspired by colors, organic shapes, and textures found in nature, such as water, branches, and rocky formations.

JF: From a layperson’s perspective, can you talk some about process, for instance, how a collage like the one on our cover comes into being? Do you start with an image? Texture? 

DB: For my decorative fabrics class, we were assigned to complete a documentary design for an interior space. Initially I considered Joseph Cornell’s collages and theatrical boxes as a source for inspiration. I then visited an exhibit on Renaissance portraiture at the Met and noticed a portrait by Ghirlandaio where a woman is seated in profile with curiosities placed on shelves, which somehow spoke to some of Cornell’s assemblages. I noted the damask pattern on the woman’s dress, which inspired me to research and create a design that drew upon Renaissance patterns and symbols, and the natural or scientific elements found in Cornell’s work. My objective was to bring together elements, such as pomegranates, quince, shells, maps, and birds found in either Renaissance portraiture or Cornell’s assemblages, and juxtapose them within the same space.

I created a concept board reflecting different damask patterns and inspiration for the collage. Before painting the different pieces and assembling the collage, I did a number of sketches, scanned them in, and used Photoshop to organize my layout and repeat pattern. Drawing upon the Renaissance, I decided to screen print a damask pattern onto which all the other elements would be placed. I used coffee, dye, and ink to paint the globe like formations. I love playing with line, so I used pen and ink to draw the pomegranate plant and flowers. I referred to antique drawings of plants and fruit, and tried to draw clean lines with an etching like quality. The quince, bird, shells, and hoops were painted with dye and ink, and the moon or egg-like shapes, with gouache. Once drawn or painted individually, I cut out the elements and layered them onto the damask background.

JF: Are you still insecure about your work?

DB: I’m still very young in this exploration-I’m trying to find my way forward. I think that there will always be an element of insecurity when creating artwork. I guess being honest about my ideas and listening to my inner voice without the kind of judgment that just gets in the way-which is different than a critical eye that challenges or motivates me-and being present with where the work is, and just allowing things to unfold [all of these things] help ground me as an artist. It’s an ongoing process.