I like to define myself as a contemporary artist with an abstract style, but on this occasion I wanted to do something different.
October is a special month for me because I was born and got married. October is also the month of the dead with the well-known Halloween, a holiday for which I have created numerous looks during my career as a Makeup Artist. Last but not least, October is the month that reminds me of my grandparents' house.
I spent my childhood in the countryside with my cousin, in Mileanca during all the summer and winter holidays and also often many weekends because in Romania we don't go to school on Saturdays.
Grandma always got up early to pump milk for the cows and sheep. Grandpa also cleaned the stables and fed everyone: horses, cows, sheep, chickens, ducks and turkeys. It was our job to feed the dog and the cat had to eat little to be able to hunt mice.
In October it was always nice to return to grandparents. It was the time to fill the pantries for the winter. For me it was a time to learn both how things were made such as shape, structure and colors but also to understand how nature gives but if not preserved well it also takes away.
Mileanca's great-grandmother, my grandfather's mother, also lived with her. She had been a teacher who became a widow after the war. She had an old house made of earth and straw that no longer exists today. We went there every day to bring water from the well that was a little far from her house and to lend a hand if she needed it with the housework. She had a raised area around the house, always made of mud, where you could put things to dry and keep the animals away. And this is exactly what is depicted in the painting: the corner of the great-grandmother's house during the month of October with so many good things including the cat that was never missing.
I was lucky to grow up in the countryside, for the connection with nature, space and freedom of movement, to be able to live simply with a slow pace, excellent quality food, clean air and most importantly spending time with my grandparents and the great privilege of being able to know my great-grandmother.