The Oakville Beaver (interview)

http://www.insidehalton.com/what's%20on/article/841792--artist-dimitrijevic-is-a-rare-talent

Scott Stewart       Jun 30, 2010 - 4:13 PM

Artist Dimitrijevic is a rare talent

Artist Dimitrijevic is a rare talent. Theodora Dimitrijevic and her 2009 painting, The Kiss. This and other pieces are on display at O’Connor MacLeod Hanna LLP on Kerr Street until July 16. Scott Stewart

NORTH OAKVILLE TODAY – At the tender age of 20, Theodora Dimitrijevic has already seen and done a great deal in the art world.
 

In late June, Dimitrijevic debuted her first solo show, which is being held through July 16 at O’Connor MacLeod Hanna LLP on Kerr Street.
 

“I was nervous in the days leading up to the exhibit, but on the morning of the 19th I was very relaxed,” she said. “It was actually better than I expected because my mom decided to decorate the place with roses at the last minute and when we were setting up, two roses fell of their stems and Maria Weir came up with the idea to decorate the place with rose petals.
 

“I would like to especially thank Maria and Grace Cluff of Artworks for going out of their way on countless occasions to make this exhibit a success,” she added.
 

Dimitrijevic has enjoyed a life-long relationship with art.
 

“I have been drawing since I was in a high chair, so painting became an extension of my internal desire to create,” she said. “I fell in love with the freedom of expressing what could not be seen, which lingers in the soul.
 

“My piece ‘Rhapsody of the Heart (2000)’ which I had named ‘Wonder Yonder’ when I created it, expresses this perfectly,” she added. “In life, there are many ‘boxes,’ even in childhood, and painting is so pure and unconstrained.”
 

The York University student has dabbled in many mediums over the years, and has definite favourites among them.
 

“I enjoy oil painting a lot, acrylic and lithography,” Dimitrijevic said. “I have yet to try some mediums, including encaustic painting and sculpture, so nothing is set in stone yet.
“I tend to prefer the painting mediums,” she said. "I haven’t created anything in watercolour lately, and I desire to return to it soon.”
 

While proud of all her work, Dimitrijevic admits a fondness to three specific pieces.
“‘The Kiss (2009),’ ‘Blood Diamond (2007)’ and Rhapsody of the Heart (2000)’ are three of my favourite pieces,” she said. “They each surprised me in some way and revealed a part of me that I hadn’t been completely aware of.”
 

Dimitrijevic said that ‘Blood Diamond’ is a very important piece to her.
 

“It’s an important piece because it is a combined expression of pain (the blood) and beauty,” she said. “It expresses that the two are often one and cannot be picked apart. The diamond in the piece is in the air and as it is shot, it bursts with blood.
 

“The piece was inspired by the movie Blood Diamond (1999) starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Connelly. The movie Blood Diamond is set in the backdrop of the civil war of the 1990’s in Sierra Leone. My hope in creating this work is that people will be informed of blood diamonds and ask for a conflict free diamond when purchasing a diamond.”
 

In addition to painting for herself, the enterprising Dimitrijevic has opened her own studio.
“I opened my art studio in March of 2009 for March Break art classes,” she said. “The students loved the classes and currently have work they made during the classes hanging in their homes. I am very proud of them.”
 

Even with everything that is keeping her busy at the moment, Dimitrijevic has been able to keep an eye towards the future.
 

“My goal is to become an art professor,” she said. “But because I get so many projects offered to me, I can’t consider them goals.
 

“I was recently approached to paint some pieces for an art sale Jackie Webb of Story Book Farm Primate Sanctuary is arranging in Toronto.”
 

It’s just another day at the office for Dimitrijevic.