Times of Youth: For those who don’t know about you and your work, can you tell us a little about yourself?
Ariadne: Born in Germany to Portuguese parents, I was brought up in a small south-German town, surrounded by nature. My family moved to Portugal when I was 9 years of age. I have studied languages and literature from a multicultural school in Lisbon and, afterwards, graduated in fine arts.
An important aspect of my background, as a person and as an artist, is my interest in philosophy and metaphysics, history, anthropology and also natural sciences. I have always had a very inquiring mind, and this has fueled many emotions and questions, for which I sought an expression.
Times of Youth: How would you describe your work to someone who has never known about it?
Ariadne: To be honest, my current work is more philosophical than artistic. Its main goal is not to innovate the plastic expression of a drawing, or to create new angles of aesthetics, but to meditate on specific universal questions such as “how did the Cosmos come into existence?”, “what is the nature of Consciousness?”, “what is the purpose of complex human behaviours such as religion and art?”, “what is Love?”, “what is God?”, “what is Truth?”, and so on.
Times of Youth: What sparked your initial interest in arts?
Ariadne: As stated: all the mysteries of life.
Times of Youth: At what age did you start doing all this work? Has your family always been supportive of this choice of career?
Ariadne: I have always expressed myself by drawing and painting, since early childhood since I managed to grab a pencil, as my mother says.
At first, my parents didn’t consider it to be a career choice, but they encouraged it and were always proud of my little creations. After I grew up and decided to study arts, they were concerned about the difficulties I would face in future as an independent worker, which are very real. Nevertheless, they were always supportive.
Times of Youth: If not this, what else would you have taken up as your 2nd career of choice and why?
Ariadne: I have a number of other careers at the present: teacher, student (yes, that’s a career, too), counselor, poet, silversmith, translator and even a gardener. It’s quite impossible to fit more occupations into my schedule but, if I could, maybe archeology! Why? It’s just interesting!
Times of Youth: Do tell us how your experience has been in your current field so far.
Ariadne: With regards to human relations and my personal growth, it has been a very rewarding path. Not so much in the monetary aspect, since I kept all my work to myself for a very long time. It was only in recent years that I decided to display it in a coherent way.
Times of Youth: On a scale of 1 – 10, how would you rate yourself as an artist, honestly?
Ariadne: Considering that the scale does not go from 1 to 10, but is actually infinite in both directions, an artist is always in the middle: point zero. If I consider the scale to be only from 1 to 10, then I must say 5.
Times of Youth: Which of your projects are you most proud of and why?
Ariadne: The project I cherish the most, at the moment, is still unfinished. It’s a big-scale drawing called Panta Rei, which is a graphic description of my ideas about cosmogony.
Times of Youth: Where do you see yourself in next 5 years?
Ariadne: Hopefully, still living in Sintra, where I love to be, and continuing my work.
Times of Youth: What is one question nobody has ever asked you, that you wish they asked you?
Ariadne: I don’t know, and probably would not know the answer.
Times of Youth: Any message to your fans or followers via TIMES OF YOUTH?
Ariadne: Whatever you do in life: always keep an open mind. There is nothing more elusive than the truth, and nothing more slippery than the certainty of having it. In case of doubt, act with compassion.
Times of Youth: Do tell us how fans & followers can contact you to share their appreciation/feedback/suggestions.
Ariadne: Visit my Facebook art page: https://www.facebook.com/AriadnesArt
