Elior Z.
Where are you from?
I am 44yrs old, from South Africa. My wife and I made aliya, immigrating to Israel, in 2013 with our daughter who completed army, a daughter who is in the army now and a son who is now in Hight School. My wife and I converted to Judaism. We started the process of conversion in 2012 when my wife came across a kosher cook book. As she delved into it, she discovered what was behind it. One thing led to another – we discovered truths that spoke to us.
What does Art mean to you?
I lost my leg making icecream cakes for parties. I had a kitchen accident. I climbed onto my kitchen counter to retrieve something, fell and passed out. My foot and lower leg fell into the box of dry ice I had been using to freeze each layer as I created the cakes. My wife found me 4hrs later and rushed me to the hospital. I lost the lower part of my leg in Jan. 2018. A year later, I had a hiking accident and had to have another surgery, amputating above the knee. I became depressed. The hospital offered art therapy. I found myself getting lost in color. Art lifts my spirits. Pleasure, lifts me. Art is communication to the world, and communication to my wife. My wife knows me through my art – my mood is reflected in art. Days of irritation the lines are very straight. On my good days, the lines flow. Art is like a dance – a waltz or a foxtrot.
What else does art bring you?
I feel that the paintings I create show people with disabilities that there always hope. Painting returned my sense of self-worth. It showed me that I am not nothing just because I am disabled. My art shows that you can always go higher from where you are. Whatever life delivers, you can do more. I am often inspired by photos or remembering a trip or some experience I had pops into my head. Feelings drive me and inspire me.
What is Your Art Style
I paint with acrylic on canvas. I have been painting for just over 2 years. I never studies art but now I do it about 3times a week for 3-4hrs a day. I never knew there was such a thing as art styles. I was just painting because I loved the colors and how it flowed. Then one day I got a message on facebook from an art expert saying she was impressed with the naïve art I was painting. So it seems my style is naïve art.