November 2012 Cover Cover Artist: Zeina Cook                 

 

 

 

Zeina was born in Lebanon and immigrated to the US in 1978. She has studied college level art for years in California, Nevada and Virginia but now is specializing in jewelry. She moved to Texas with her husband and two dogs in 2005 and loves it here. She is active in the local arts community and shows her work in galleries.

thalo: Can you tell us the story behind your featured photograph "Heart of the Canyon"?

Zeina Cook:  I was on a tour of the famous Antelope Canyon in Navajoland and, believe me, there’s a scrum of photographers jammed in the open areas shooting the beautiful walls. I decided to look up and saw the wonderful shape of a heart straight above my head. I used an infrared converted camera and made a hand held exposure. This is a true example of seizing a moment to capture a wonderful image as opposed to, for example, taking hours to plan a shot.

th: How did you get interested in photography?

ZC: My husband and I are both artists. He paints and does fine art photography. I do sculpture (steel and stone carving) and, increasingly, jewelry. I started borrowing his camera and the rest is history.

th:In addition to photography, you also sculpt and create jewelry.  What do you like most about each? Do you prefer one over the others?

ZC: When I was a girl, I loved art and was drawing all the time. But in recent years, I found that I preferred and was probably better at, three dimensional creations. I also love what could be termed “heavy” technique: welding, forming, carving, polishing, soldering, enameling etc and you can’t do that with a pencil. My current emphasis on jewelry making is, in large part, owing to the fact that’s it’s easier to sell

th: What inspires you as an artist?

ZC:This may sound surprising but I often dream of an approach or project and when I wake I get out the tools.

th: Do you have any advice for people considering art school?

ZC: You need passion and resolve. If you just want a good career out of your college experience, go for accounting or become a lawyer. Choose art when you can’t live without it.

th: Is there anything else you would like to share with us?

ZC: It was wonderful to have my work chosen for the cover of thalo.