My name is Saina. I am an Iranian artist based in Seattle, WA. I lived the first 23 years of my life in Tehran, where I started my career under the supervision of well-known local artists with a focus on drawing, painting, and graphic design. I graduated from the Graphic Design School of Tehran, then left my hometown to study Fine Art at Ecole des Beaux Arts in Rennes, France. After graduation, I moved to the US in 2013 and have lived in Seattle since then. I am a full-time artist, and I mainly focus on drawing in my art journey. I think drawing as a medium is accessible, super dynamic, and provides the immediate freedom to give life to your ideas. In my last project, “I Wish I Was a Dancer,” recently presented in XO and partially supported by a grant from 4Culture, I try to visit my childhood and draw a personal forbidden wish on fabric. “When tragedy strikes or injustice occurs I feel compelled to express myself through action and art. To clarify, I respond critically by making art like a journal where I paint to record my emotional reactions to events.”

“I usually get inspired by personal memories, especially from my childhood. As a kid, you are pure, creative, and untouched; exploring how the environment changes us as we grow is extremely interesting. I have a strong memory; I can dig into the past and find clear images, sounds, and smells. I can also clearly feel the effects of these elements on my personal life. Even though childhood memories are personal and depend on the environment we were raised in, there is something basic in them that people from different cultures can relate to. These common experiences/stories in memories are what I am most curious about.”

“Art can be a transformative experience, especially during the process. It is not just about the initial idea or the final outcome. You need to study, research, practice, and live with it. It needs solitude and thinking. Anything can go wrong at any moment, and you need to start over. Any risky practice like this can be transformative, and I have felt it too in my artistic journey. Starting a project, I usually have strong opinions about different ideas and plans, but the process usually helps me see things from different angles and change my mind. It’s not easy to say it in words, but the transformation is clear if you go through my sketches and memoirs. The knowledge I gain through this process often gives me new ideas for the next project.”

“Social and political issues consciously or unconsciously have an impact on us all. Artists are no exception. Artists can be inspired by political and social issues and bring those directly into their work, when they live in that environment, and can directly impact the issue. As an immigrant, the story is a little different for me. I often get inspired by my childhood memories in Iran, where I was born and raised. The social and political issues that unconsciously find their way into my work are naturally about that space and time. But I am no longer there. As an immigrant artist living in Seattle, there are more opportunities to discuss these things directly in your work. I prefer to tell a personal story and hope people relate to it. I think you can allow the audience an opportunity to have their perspective and interpretation and maybe create something timeless and universal. Who knows? Perhaps someday, in a way that I didn’t directly plan, my work can have some effect on my environment. I am not sure if I fully achieved this goal in my work, but my north star is best described by one of my favorite artists, Bahman Mohasses, in an interview he had many years ago: "For an artist, and I mean a highly rated one, there is no local responsibility. The message must be universal. When the message is universal, form and language won’t be obstacles. It makes sense to everyone, just like laughter and tears.”

Saina Heshmati

Norman Lundin

Julian Peña