TribeLA Magazine Acrostic Interview with artist Outi Harma
Tagline: Give yourself and your work a tagline.
Outiart – The sacred feminine journey with whimsical twist.
Rest: How do you spend your time off?
I have three other loves besides painting:
- Dance. Ecstatic dance. It’s a free form dance where you listen and follow the body’s desire and how it wants to move. It ranges from moving meditation to wild booty shaking. It’s incredibly creative and healing for practice. Just like making art.
- I am also part of a theater group called TOHUBOHU! Extreme theatre. We have a workout session once a week and perform for two nights once a month. It’s fully improvisational, ritualistic, visual and movement based theater. Customs, sets and music, improvise all in the moment.
- My third love is a meditation practice called Continuum Movement.
Also taking walks with my doggie Dino, getting together with dear friends, and practicing the art of napping.
Influence: What effect do you hope to have on us?
I really don’t think about how I want to affect people with my art work. I do it for very selfish reasons. I paint for my own well being, but I hear it has some good side effects on others.
Back: If you could choose a past literary/art/music movement to be a part of, which would you choose?
I am sure it would have been interesting to learn from the tormented expressionist painters, but if I could choose from anything I would have loved to hang around 13th-century Persian poets/mystics Rumi and Hafiz.
Energy: What fires you up?
Anything that brings me fully alive. Here are a few: divine, dance, theater, art, music, being around creative people, intimate conversation, kindness, sex, nature, rest, coffee.
Los Angeles: Where is your favorite place in Los Angeles? Where would you take visitors? If you could defend the city in one sentence to someone who doubts it, what would you say?
Almost anywhere in LA at 6 am on Christmas morning is great! You can drive around and have the city for yourself. See the sunrise from the different parts of the city. Take great pictures. I also love taking a walk on the beach or in the mountains in the early hours. Los Angles has so much to offer. You just have to find it.
Advice: What is the best advice you’ve received? What is the best advice you can give?
Don’t blame and be the victim. Take responsibility for your life. Outer world reflects what you are not giving to yourself and others.
Aura: How would you describe your energy, style, etc.?
Clear aura and very stylish!!
Room: Where in your house do you work? If not in your house, where do you feel most compelled to create?
I can feel that something in my psyche opens up in spaces with high ceilings and lot’s of light. I am just moving into a new place with a studio in the backyard. I also have outside studio/gallery on Pico Blvd. They both have high ceilings. Feeling blessed with my spaces to create!
Tools: What do you prefer to work with, physically and otherwise?
I mainly use acrylics. I love painting on wood but have moved back to canvas on larger pieces because of the weight and shipping cost of the wood. Lately I have been exploring charcoal, collage, gold leaf and working on paper. Love trying new materials.
Indulgence: Do you cook? What is your favorite food indulgence? What is your favorite restaurant in LA where you indulge yourself?
I have to admit food is an area of my life that I could be more creative in. I often eat in a hurry or totally forget to eat while I am painting. The ideal food situation would be having a handsome man delivering me great healthy lunches while I work and I would never have to think what to eat next.
Special: Who or what holds a special place in your heart? How does this factor in to your process?
Love holds special place in my heart and I think the process of painting is sacred in all of its messiness and tranquility. It simultaneously connects me to deeper places in my being and something bigger outside of myself.
Time: What is your all-time favorite piece of writing/art/music you’ve created?
A painting called Journey. I sold it. First painting that I really miss. I felt good being in a same room with her. I could make a print for myself but there is nothing like the original. It holds all the energy.
Outi Harma
Outi Harma is originally from Lapland, Finland. Over twenty years ago her move to the warm, multicultural city of Los Angeles was the catalyst that catapulted her creative expression. Her images create exciting worlds that merge the visible and invisible. Her years of exploration in movement, dance and performance art, brings a wide variety of characters, fluidity and emotion to her paintings.
http://outiart.com
http://outiart.etsy.com
http://facebook.com/OUTIART
https://tribelamagazine.com/art-today-08-13-17-week-meet-bold-earthly-whimsical-artist-outi-harma/
https://tribelamagazine.com/art-today-08-14-17/
https://tribelamagazine.com/art-today-08-15-17-journey-by-outi-harma/
https://tribelamagazine.com/art-today-08-16-17-between-the-worlds-by-outi-harma/
https://tribelamagazine.com/art-today-08-17-17-healing-by-outi-harma/
http://tribelamagazine.com/art-today-08-19-17-meeting-of-the-visionaries-by-outi-harma-with-entire-acrostic-interview/
http://tribelamagazine.com/thank-outi-arriving-opening-healing-journeying-worlds-art-todays-artist-week-8-13-17/