Margarita was born with obstetric paralysis in her left arm - She unfolds her talent on the Offsite website.
She is a teacher, a painter and a woman who has made pain her "friend".
Margarita Marti was born with obstetric paralysis in her left hand and due to a metal implant she faces various difficulties in her daily life.
This, of course, did not stop her from pursuing the profession of teacher while she is engaged in painting and has in her assets the writing of a special fairy tale entitled "It is okay to be different".
Last March, she presented her first solo painting exhibition at the Municipal Museum of the Ayia Napa Sea, entitled, "The Escape of Pinolino…"
How do you combine the quality of teaching with painting?
I do not know how important this would be if I was not a teacher, but there is a childhood in the paintings and of course the strong influence of fairy tales.
From teaching art I usually choose to teach artists with bold lines of colors and colorful patterns.
A very good example is the art of the Brazilian Romero Britto but also the personalized cheerful buildings of James Rizzi.
It also contributes to what I want or do not want, my children bring out my own childhood.
I think it is happiness in life to feel like a child and get excited about life, because otherwise the routine will drown you.
As you have told me, your daily life is quite difficult due to an issue that you have from birth.
I was born with obstetric paralysis in my left arm.
This pushed me to use my right hand too much.
This had its pros and cons, because from an early age I sought to do things in which I was good and to avoid dealing with objects in which I had weaknesses and had to improve such as exercise.
At the same time, the bad habit of avoiding using my left hand helped me to develop severe scoliosis from an early age, for which I had to undergo surgery in America. (I also had hand surgery when I was a child but to no avail).
Pain is part of everyday life, (because of the metal implant) especially as you grow older so many of my decisions are preventive.
They are about what I need to do to avoid pain.
I have dramatically reduced the painting hours and unfortunately immobility increases the pain.
My big paintings were made with a lot of sacrifice, since I had to sit for endless hours to finish them in front of the easel.
Nevertheless, because I wanted so badly to see his finished paintings, I kept going.
Now I deal with smaller and simpler projects.
What do you do in your projects?
It depends. My weakness is to make ethereal female figures.
However, I can deal with a variety of issues, depending on the phase I am in.
From the worn woods on the bow of a ship to the twisted carvings of a gold frame.
I also use local elements such as windmills and churches and render them in a more childish way.
The appearance of mythological beings and buildings from different eras is also characteristic.
I mix many elements together as if to create a dream where logic seems to have no place.
However, through the connection of the scenes, there is a dominant theme, which is sometimes the escape, sometimes the abundance, and so on. I do not want to be limited.
Where do you get your inspiration from?
From many sources. Although I have always been involved in art, I was initially interested in the pop surrealist movement.
It is a movement that draws popular elements from the culture of street art and comics.
Of course I got elements from Greek mythology since it is something I loved as a child.
The heroes from the fairy tales, the movies and the gothic element are also an inspiration.
I like Tim Burton's movies because they are eerie. Weird.
We are very lucky to live in an age where we can easily travel to the past through movies and the internet.
How easily time changes, how many people walked and lived on this earth, buildings were demolished only to be built in their place new higher.
This to me is the miracle of perpetual motion that until now only an immortal and nature itself could experience.
The alternation from antiquity, to the Middle Ages, to the present is characteristic of my works.
You have written a very interesting tale. How did you get inspired, what is its theme and what is the message you wanted to send?
Well, the fairy tale "It's okay to be different" is my first writing attempt made with the support and illustration of my good friend Antigoni Adamou.
I wanted to go through the process of publishing a fairy tale in both Greek and English and I saw it as an experiment.
One reason that pushed me into this is the sensitivity that many children have.
I wrote it with children in mind who are not like everyone else and who feel bad about it.
I wrote it with their parents in mind.
The book just reminds me that it's okay. Many times we go through a phase of denial, one because we are not like the others or because our child is facing this difficulty.
Without wanting to, we pass this frustration on to the children.
The message is as simple as a reminder. For its size it is a rather difficult booklet and touches on sensitive topics. In the future we will publish the second book in the series.
More information about the fairy tale HERE
More works by Margarita HERE