Lyse Dzija

More of Lyse Dzija's work can be found at www.lysedzija.com 

"My favorite artists are, Rembrandt, the impressionists, Hopper, and so many more...

My 2 words to describe myself are "not mellow"
My studio is tranquil but stimulating.
I like getting tgether with friends, and walking nearly every day at boyd with Rich (husband) and dog (Happen) to check jout the daily seasonal change. That way the seasons don't go by with you wondering what happened to TIME, as one grows older. That's my latest formula to happiness.
My transformers are at 4th at the Depot Restaurant. A mythical peice called "Kalila and Dimna" from the second century, made up of fables. My second is at North Park, called "Conference of the Birds" which is about every day life memorialized around a transformer. My my most recent is on first and Boise, called "Trains at Monroe"."

Transformation Project or “What I want to do on my summer vacation”

That Loveland’s ferocious drive toward bringing art awareness in our community is speeding ahead gives me impetus to share new worlds and art that’s not usually seen out here…or maybe anywhere except in the musty halls of museums as tiny Persian miniatures. Bring them out! Last year’s image I did featured fable images from circa 200 AD. This one is more modern-it is 700 AD. It is a Persian miniature called “The Conference of the Birds”. The original is about 3” x11” and I want to blow it up to transformer size.  Why?  Because I want to immortalize our daily lives filled with miniature or gigantic moments, experiences of happiness, surprise, old friends, new friends, latest news, old news, birth, reunions, meeting in the grocery line, hurrying to get the kids ready for school, smoking a cigar and taking it easy, solving the world’s problems on a lazy weekend afternoon over ice tea.… The birds in my painting have spilled over from the original painting to a life of their own, inspired anywhere from the character “Smithers” on the Simpsons, or a delicate fawn on an old Disney cartoon, or a very weird bird from National Geographic. Maybe this tiny painting from the year 700 has managed to find its way and settle comfortably on a transformer in Loveland Colorado. Maybe it will make you rest for a moment, and nod and grin a little while waiting at a long red light  during Christmas rush or in 90 degree heat. 

I used to brisk walk by this mundane area on Madison, but when I looked around for something historical to submit for the transformer project, the trains and the depot became endearing to me. I noticed the dignity and grace of this historical Loveland train yard its tracks and ties, some abandoned, cushioned by calm snow and fanned by the gold hay of the West. I felt wonder at what this barren field must have felt like for the early settlers, who diligently built the beet factory and the feed and grain in an effort to survive.
This everyday scene of working trains on the track next to the abandoned but none the less regal depot station caused me to clearly feel a connection to the history of this town-that that I continued to feel even more so after the JC Penney’s and the Home Depot were built behind it. I wanted to convey this feeling, hence the purpose of art. And indeed it did. The older folks stopped by at a busy intersection to tell me that were it not for the Great Western, they would not have had jobs to feed their families. The kids on bikes said they did’t know ugly old trains could look this way. Sot the purpose of the transformer, art and history. Perfect combo.
There is inspiration in these old train yards. It is part of our short cultural legacy here in Loveland, and deserves attention and appreciation next to the older cultures of Mesa Verde.  The trains carried supplies to and from this town and through the labor of hard workers, the town became born and lives in full vitality. The trains work daily, and have  for the last hundred years.
 For me this was about transforming a barren lone landscape into a fertile vibrant one. I think this concept plays an important role in the community’s appeal. Aesthetics are extremely important. Humans crave physical beauty and  look for it in the things around us as we stop at 4 way traffic lights. In the increasing clone like buildings around us, painting this transformer project was a testament to some form of life nearby a neatly groomed lawn and the 4 way stoplights.So  I hope I can inspire a higher level of thought about this town’s soul, and for that matter, art in general. " Lyse Dzija