Phresha was born with a crayon in her hand. This mischievous child of bright colours that grew up in Toronto, currently resides on the Canadian Wet Coast, in beautiful Vancouver BC. Her artwork can be described as vibrant and playful organic flows with seductive female forms and whimsical undertones. Sultry, mysterious vixens are often found frolicking with feral kittens and other wild creatures.
Currently Phresha has expanded to featuring her art on leggings, shirts, hats and other weareable mediums. Phresha has also started a jewelry line called On the Prowl Designs that features hand-crafted creations from upcycled materials and custom wood lasercut designs.
“As a visual artist, I am fascinated by the female form, as the embodiment of Mother Nature and her many manifestations. She is the divine goddess, an ethereal warrior, the seductress and the mistress among her many incarnations. A creature of mysterious beauty and allure, she frolicks with whimsical creatures in the planes of my imagination. “ -Phresha
Phresha's showcase will be featured at Liquid Amber Tattoo & Art Collective from Jan 4 - April 30, 2017. All pieces are for sale.
Artist interview:
1) When you are creating a particular piece of art, do you look for inspiration or does the artwork usually transpire organically from your mind?
"Usually it's a combination of a variety of elements. I feel very blessed to be surrounded by an incredibly array of creative individuals that inspire me through their various visual and musical art forms and colourful lifestyles. I am also fortunate enough to live in one of the most beautiful places in the world and I've always loved seeking out the strange and unconventional. All these exterior elements combined with my own weirdo mind make for some interesting and unusual creations."
2) Your work is very whimsical and often surreal. Has this always been the type of art that you wanted to create? Was there a point in time that you feel your work started leaning more in this direction?
"I think that my artwork was always a little bit trippy and strange, and I've also been very influenced by my environment and the different phases of my life. Growing up in Eastern Europe, raving in my teens and 20s in Toronto and Montreal as well as getting involved in the hiphop/graffiti scene there, then relocating to the West Coast 8 years ago and getting involved in the festival community here have definitely shaped my views and choice of visual communications. Back out east I loved the beautiful urban decay of the concrete jungle and the gritty city life but since coming to the west coast I feel that I have started developing more of a connection to nature, spirituality and started connecting those themes with surrealistic elements such as cosmic spirit animals and with more of an emphasis on feminine energy and forms."
3) Do you have any rituals or practices that help with your art process?
"During the day i try to regularly practice yoga and spend time outside, while night time tends to be the most conducive time for me to delve in creative explorations."
4) You recently started a jewellery line. What was the transition like for you, merging into this new medium?
"I've always enjoyed incorporating 3d elements into my work, building sculptures and creating wearable art pieces, so working with jewelry seemed like a natural progression. I have an ongoing fascination for repurposing found objects so I unexpectedly embarked on this jewelry project when I got a flat tire on my bike. Bike inner tubes are notoriously hard to recycle, so I thought it would be cool experiment with making some earrings from my busted tube. I liked how they turned out so I made more, I started with experimenting with more shapes, adding bits of bike chain and other little scrap metal bits from the local Vancouver OCB bike store up on Main St. There was a positive reception to what I was creating, and it felt good to make use of such an unrecycleable material so I got hooked on this unexpected new medium of creation.
Since then I've experimented with making bracelets, belts and wallets from bike tubes but I've found making jewelry from them the most enjoyable. I still make them, but now I've also started working with laser-cutting layered designs from salvaged wood and other materials for earrings and necklaces. I really enjoy working with honeycomb patterns and other geometry and sometimes I incorporate that with the bike tube bits into my designs. They have this leather, feather tribal gypsy vibe and in the future i would like to learn more about metal-smithing and casting."
5) Do you have any specific goals for your artwork in the future?
"I want to always stay open to learning new things and experimenting with new mediums, while not getting too distracted by all the different possibilities of fun things to create. I also want to get better at regularly documenting all my creative endeavors and being more active on social media. :)"
You can find more of Phresha's work and adventures at www.on-the-prowl.com
