Get to Know... Daria Tessler

OOAK:  Describe your work.

Daria:  I work primarily in screen printing as well as watercolor and gouache to create unexpected images.  Recently I have been using graphite to produce dense velvety landscapes teeming with tactile forms wrapped in patterns, peopled by creatures of all shapes and sizes, and littered with odd bits of detritus from the more familiar world we inhabit every day.

OOAK:  Who or what inspires your work?

Daria:  I listen to 60's sci fi audio books, poke through vintage children's book illustrations and get lost in the library.  Medieval manuscripts and textiles from Africa have been big sources of magic for me this year.  It's easy for me to be inspired by a bajillion things from around the world, but it's much harder to sort through.

OOAK:  If you weren't an artist, what would you be?

Daria:  I studied physics and math in college and thought I would be a physicist!  I still have a deep love for science and the beauty of math.

OOAK:  What makes you happy?

Daria:    I love Busby Berkeley dance routines, the sound of a good synthesizer and photos of microscopic creatures, the uglier the better.  I saw a fireball race across the sky at night about 2 weeks ago.  It was probably a meteorite or satellite debris but because it was not identified by scientists--it was technically a UFO.  Having a solid UFO sighting under my belt made me really happy.

OOAK:  What's the best gift you ever received?

Daria:  I once got a red rock found on the beach as a valentine gift.  Best gift ever.

OOAK:  What's your favorite holiday tradition?

Daria:  Halloween is my favorite holiday and almost everything that goes with it!  Costumes, gross-out food, masks, ghosts, witches and spider webs.