Birds, Orbs, & Art
Interview
Miles Zitzer is shy and unassuming, but his passion shows when he talks about his art and the things that inspire him. His drawings and paintings have a dream-like quality that speaks to an ancient spirituality found in Nature and her inhabitants. Each piece carefully tells a story, often biographical or from observations of his family and friends.
Birds and avian/serpentine forms are recurring subjects in his work. Miles says that the smooth lines of a snake are less intimidating than a human form. He is drawn to the details of the scales. Birds are a natural extension of the reptilian lines and pattern, but they have the ability to fly and embody a mystical spirit. Currently Miles is working on a series that looks into significance of birds to humans through mythology of historical cultures around the world.
Orbs and circular shapes also show up in many of Miles’ pieces. He sees a certain nobility and knowledge in wild animals that humans may have forgotten or are unable to recognized. Orbs and abstract circular shapes appear in several of his pieces, embodying the age-old intelligence of his subjects.
He says that most of his compositions are born of dreams. Once a vision comes to him, he searches through books for accurate images of the subjects of his dream. He researches and learns as much about them as he can so that even though his work is highly stylized and abstract, his birds are clearly identifiable specimens from the real world. Miles learns the habitat, characteristics and behaviors of the animals he selects as well as the stories and cultural significance to tell a well thought-out story.
Miles likes to mix at least two different media in his works. The softened hues of water colors and chalk pastels in combination with the crisp lines of ink pens are Miles’ preferred medium right now. He calls his work over saturated, but he blends color with line and space to give his work a strong personality. His works, especially the more recent bird series have a rich imagery created by layer up on layer of watercolor, ink and gold highlights.
Miles says he has always doodled, but it wasn’t until study hall during his freshman and sophomore years that he started drawing seriously. In the imposed quietness, his sketches and drawings quickly filled multiple sketchbooks. One day, someone looking over his shoulder told him to make his drawings larger and expand them beyond sketches into works of art.
A family friend and artist, affectionately referred to as “Bow Lisa” gave Miles a set of water color pencils for his 16th birthday. Through experimentation, he discovered properties and effects of water-color that blended well with his linear pen and ink style. Miles remembers as was impressed by the fact that “Bow Lisa” hand-made her Christmas cards each year. Inspired by her talent and thoughtfulness, Miles has continued the tradition of painting Bonsai Christmas tree cards and personalized Birthday cards for his friends.
Miles discovered the works of Alex Grey through a book of his Aunt Jackie. The concept of being able to draw something that you cannot see, such as a human heart or brain and connect it with an energy in a visual form is something that has stay with Miles and is evident in his work. He is hoping to follow in Aunt Jackie’s footsteps as a massage therapist after he graduates from high school this spring. He finds the physical healing communication of massage therapy supports the spiritual exploration and healing of his artwork.
In addition to art, Miles is passionate about plants. He says his house is full of house plats. He shares his bedroom with a huge ficus. He has gardenia, mango, and jasmine plants; a crown of thorns, orchids and a jade plant in his care. He and his father built a greenhouse last summer, and for the past two years, he helped his school plant and maintain a pollinator garden. He is working toward a perennial garden that attracts endangered natural pollinators and provides his family food.
He counts a visit to help his uncle work his farm in Belize as one of the greatest things he’s experienced. The lush vegetation and the abundance of exotic birds on the farm appear in many of Mile’s works.
He displayed and sold his artwork at the Downtown Art Walks all last summer and has been showing his work though various artists shows and venues around town. He is currently working on a picture of a hooded merganser for submission to the Junior Duck Stamp Contest sponsored by the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service.
He is looking forward to traveling with the high school Art Club to Seattle.
His work will be on display at Rockford Coffee in May, 2014.
email Miles at Mzizzle73@gmail.com