Subsign: First, can you tell us a few things about yourself?
Tijana: My name is Tijana and I am an illustrator from Serbia, living and working in Belgium. In my work I am very interested in mythology, old folk tales, fairytales as well as dreams and consciousness. I collect books on those subjects and have a goal to make my home into a big personal library.
Subsign: What was your childhood like? Do you think your childhood experiences have influenced your present creative endeavors?
Tijana: I do believe that childhood plays an important role in what kind of people and artists we become later in life. I had the luck to grow in a small town in a house very close to a big forest, small water stream and a meadow. I ran wild and free with my friends, inventing games from our imagination and in a connection with nature around us. I loved to read a lot and spent lots of time with my nose in the books, completely transporting myself in those magical fictional worlds. I was interested in anything mystical, magical or mysterious and my play was always revolving around it. As a child I was always drawn to paints and expressing myself through pictures I was putting on paper and that strongly remained into adulthood.
Subsign: What did you want to be as a grown up?
Tijana: I remember I had wished to become a biologist for a little while but always wished to become an artist.
Subsign: What does your workstation look like?
Tijana: I have my own studio room in the house and it’s a special sanctuary of mine. It’s really a reflection of me and my work and it’s a place where I can freely get lost in my thoughts, my work or a book. It’s full of books on the subjects I am interested in, nature finds, shells, stones, branches or special objects I get around (mostly flea markets) like mirrors, ceramics, crystals, candles. And of course all sorts of art materials! I love to surround myself with things I like and which inspire me. The moment I enter my studio I feel the inspiration growing and an urge to dive into my world and paint pictures I get from there.
Subsign: Do you have a work style? How would you describe it?
Tijana: My style is connected to my interests and the type of materials I like to use. I love to paint with watercolours or gouache and subjects I choose are witchy, mystical and nature inspired. For me it’s important that through my work I get in touch with something that is intuitively known but very difficult to be explained.
Subsign: Can you share with us how your creative process works?
Tijana: I often get this question and find it very difficult to answer as the way I work is very intuitive and part of a bigger process I call getting to know myself, my purpose and the reason I am here. The images I get in my head while on that journey of self discovery are mostly those that I later put in my illustrations. I almost see my whole body of work as a very personal diary that serves me to understand this infinite, full of mystery world we live in. It is also a healing process for me and my soul and something I feel called to do in order to feel more whole.
Subsign: What is your favorite work you have done so far?
Tijana: It is an illustration called Light in the Dark. I somehow feel it came from a larger consciousness than just my own. Like I got lucky there to bring something from what I call “the very deep deep down”.
Subsign: Who do you follow for inspiration?
Tijana: I follow many amazingly talented artists and admire their skill and personal worlds but my own inspiration comes from the books I read, documentaries I watch and overall diving deep into subjects I am interested in. Inspiration is always there if the amazement with the world around you is there as well. It comes together: being in awe with the mystery of the world and being inspired by it.
Subsign: What advice would you give to someone starting out in the creative field of work?
Tijana: I would tell them to get to know themselves, their inner worlds and then use those unique ways of being and seeing in their work.
Subsign: If you could have a super power, what would it be?
Tijana: To heal the planet that is our home.
Subsign: Can you recommend a book, a song and a movie, for our readers?
Tijana: With pleasure!
Book: “Foxfire, Wolfskin” by Sharon Blackie
Song: “Savage Daughter” by Ekaterina Shelehova
Movie: “Another Earth”
Tv Series: “Dark”
Subsign: If you could throw any kind of party, what would it be like and what special occasion would you choose?
Tijana: I doubt I would be the one to throw a party. I dreaded my own birthdays when I was little. I am very introverted and parties, especially with me as an organizer make me feel nervous and overwhelmed.
Subsign: What famous people would you invite to the party and why?
Tijana: So there would not be a real party but let’s say I invite this person for a coffee or a tea, that would be one of my favorite writers Haruki Murakami. I would love to talk about his creative process and the way he gets his ideas for books.
Thank you, Tijana, for being a part of our Spotlight!
If you know an artist that should be in the spotlight, contact us at teodora@subsign.co.
For more of Tijana‘s work, you can follow her work on the links: Tijana on Instagram, Tijana on Pinterest.
