Juliet Moradian’s lifelong passion for the arts began in a Yonkers, New York classroom during a sixth-grade art class. Moradian, an Iranian immigrant, remembers feeling empowered with the freedom of expressing all her thoughts and feelings with the stroke of a brush.
Now, decades later and across the span of the country, Moradian is hoping to instill that sense of empowerment into a new generation of budding artists. Moradian is leading art workshops through the Mar Addai Assyrian Church of the East. Her class of young artists will be holding an exhibit of their works at Larsa Hall at 5 p.m. Sunday.
The art workshops have covered everything from the basic principles of how to use the brushes and paints to preparing a painting for exhibit. But the lesson Moradian really wants to impart is one of fearless creativity.
“I want them to get over their fear of the blank canvas, because once that fear is gone, their possibilities are endless,” Moradian said. “I don’t tell them what to paint. I just ask them to be able to express to me what they are thinking and why they chose to paint what they did.”
Moradian’s own artistic abilities were encouraged at a young age. She returned to Iran to attend the Art High School in Tehran, but her need to explore her creativity would keep her on the move to locations around the world. Among her travels, she has studied at the Art Students’ League in New York; the French Beaux in Paris; and the Academy of Arts in Tehran. She also took fashion design courses in London.
Moradian describes herself as a follower of the Bauhaus school, a course of study that incorporates all the fine arts as a connected genre.
“For me, the choice to pursue art was a chance to meet all my desires,” Moradian said. “In art, everything comes together and everything is connected.”
As of late, Moradian has felt the calling to connect her artwork and her heritage and has completed several works with an Assyrian motif and theme.
“I love to work with my community on art,” Moradian said.
Some of Moradian’s own work will be displayed at the Sunday exhibit at Larsa Hall.
