Today we’d like to introduce you to Afroza Imran.
Afroza, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I am originally from Bangladesh, a country in South Asia. I came to the USA in February of 2002 and have been living in Dallas area since then. I attended the University of Texas at Dallas and earned my Bachelors degree in Business Administration with an honor in 2007. After my graduation, I have worked as an accountant for Girls Scout of North Texas and Habitat for Humanity. I believed in their causes and work was great. However, after becoming a mother of a precious boy, I decided to spend more time with him and take a break from work. It gave me an opportunity to get back to my childhood passion for arts.
During my early childhood, I was always fascinated with nature, vivid/exotic colors, landscapes, different objects, shapes, and movements. My father was an architect and he had his design papers in our house which were basically my canvases to draw/paint on. I spent my young age exploring different mediums like pastels and watercolors to express my imagination. Sometimes I didn’t even have paint brushes at home but I would still manage to paint using Q-Tips, forks and my fingers. I would paint but then I’d be too embarrassed to share them with anyone.
After coming to the USA, while I was pursuing my Bachelor’s degree at UTD, I took a course on History of Arts. It was then; I started reading about works by renowned artists at a different era and got my introduction to different styles, mediums, and techniques of arts.
Over the years, I started hanging my paintings around my house but didn’t let anyone know they were mine except for my family and close friends. It was always my hobby, my passion, my way of expressing myself without drawing attention. However, over the last couple of years, I have created more than 50 pieces of arts for my home and I could not keep it a secret anymore. Friends and acquaintance started to take notice, place orders and encourage me to take arts more than just a hobby.
That’s how I have started to participate in local art exhibitions held in local communities, public art programs and different galleries in Dallas area.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Not at all! Without a formal degree in fine arts, I had to teach myself. My only capital was my love for art which was necessary but not enough to launch a career as an artist. I had to spend months learning about different concepts, tools, and techniques of painting – burning a lot of midnight oil. I experimented with a large set of media – how to use them safely and how they react to different materials, colors, and pigments. Currently, I work with Oil, Acrylic, and resin. This has been challenging but I want to embrace the new mediums of arts while still preserving the classical media.
While the journey has not been easy, it has been educational and encouraging. There is an incredibly gracious global art community who has helped me in my journey over past several years. I am a life-long student of arts and I hope it continues to be.
Another challenge for me would be, trying to network and attend various art events which I would love to. However, I have to balance my time between doing arts & taking care of my family. Which I guess is a challenge for every working mother. I try to connect with my audience as much as I can through social media.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Abstract Art Studio by Afroza & your website afrozaimran.com – tell our readers more, for example, what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
I am an abstract expressionist and a nature person. My works are deeply inspired by nature, music, poetry, fairytales, astrology or emotions. I love to create a world where each of my paintings has its own story. It could be a story I read somewhere, heard from someone, from a song or a poem. Every piece that I create reflects my dreams, my thoughts, emotions and my memories from past. My art is my story, my diary, my biography and a glimpse into my soul.
I love working with acrylics, resin, and oil, however, I incorporate other mediums to bring different textures & effects to my works. I love using gesso, modeling paste, polymer clays and other gel mediums to bring intricate details into my works which shows the story I am trying to tell my audience. As I start working on an empty canvas, I just start with a background inspiration or story I have in my mind. I use my imagination & get lost in the movement, patterns of the paint.
Currently, I have been working with a number of interior designers for custom made art projects. I am looking forward to work on more residential and commercial projects with interior designers /design firms. Also, I am doing a lot of commissioned works requested by clients based on their given color pallets, styles. Other than that, I have been participating in exhibitions held locally. Currently, I have my works hung in City Hall of Frisco at George A. Purfoy Municipal Center. I was very happy that this is the second time my arts have been selected for City of Frisco Public Art Program. So far, I have participated in group exhibitions held at TVAA (Texas Visual Arts Association) gallery downtown Dallas, Beaudry gallery in Dallas design district, VAGF (Visual Arts Guild Frisco) Artrageous show, The Roots exhibition, Fresh Start-juried exhibition. I am looking forward to doing more in coming years.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
1. I want to work with galleries to showcase my artworks.
2. I want to continue to work with local and international designers to grow as a professional artist.
3. I also want to work with philanthropic organizations to benefit communities in need.
4. I would like to volunteer to assist local art communities and promote a culture of arts in locally and internationally.
Contact Info:
- Website: afrozaimran.com
- Phone: 940-268-0598
- Email: afrozaimran217@gmail.com afroza.imran@outlook.com
- Instagram: afrozaimran217
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AfrozaAbstract/
Image Credit:
Afroza Imran
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