AILENE ZAMORA

Painter, Graphic Designer, Textile Artist & Sewist

     I am an oil painter by training, a textile artist by whim, and a sewist by intention. Chaos follows me and inspires me while on a rollercoaster of creating art about the self-conscious nature of my life and how it manifests in overcorrection of confidence or masked hubris. The human form pops up in my work and makes itself known by representing my own self-consciousness and insecurity. I aim to pull the chaos out of my life and ground it on the page, in the fibres of my tactile creations, or burst forth on the canvases that riddle every nook and cranny of my living space.

   My technical training in painting was within the walls of Queen’s University Fine Arts program. I track my artistic prowess further back in my life though. I truly fell in love with art in the textile form when my grandma taught me how to sew in the last year of her life. Creating for others and establishing a self-learning structure after she passed was what ignited my urge to create in other capacities and other mediums. Art has always been there, but not at the forefront of my life. I never wanted it to become a chore. So I went to University somewhere I could tap into my social justice advocacy and study while also pouring myself into my artistic practice. I learned to love the differences in my work and what I had to share through my paintings there, but also recognized that my brain is different from others and needs kinetic and intellectual stimulation to be at its healthiest.
When faced with the unknown threat of the big-person jobs and looming questions of choosing a career, I simply wasn’t ready. I decided to further invest my time and money (which was non-existent) into a Masters of Cultural Studies to further explore my self-created notion of what it means to be a GATHERED INDIVIDUAL. I focussed on Art, Activism & Academia. I tried to parse out what my purpose was and I tried to understand where my chaotic version of being an artist, an academic, and an activist fit into the societal rhetoric. I still don’t have the answers, but I am coming to peace with that. I still return to art when in doubt, and mainly have had to return to “play” within art to let go of the perfectionist inside. Create for creation’s sake.
My winding road will likely wind on. I wear a lot of different hats. Call me a small business owner, a pastry chef, an arts administrator, an artist, a graphic designer, a commercial painter, an amateur carpenter, a house painter, or a cake decorator. All of those are true, and will likely remain true throughout the chaos of my life. Just like the swirling storm inside my brain, my art will forever fluctuate. I am proud to accept that now.
Feel free to join the chaos. It’s wild out here.