ZEMKA CARRA

Olive Tree As Me

 Living for some time on the island of Dugi Otok on Dalmatian Coast, the artist started first by learning to care for and cultivate Olive trees.

This has since developed into a sense of personal identification with the symbol of the Olive tree as a force of Nature: it's ability to endure and bear fruit for hundreds even thousands of years.

The focal point is her ink drawing the Olive tree surrounded by a stone wall which dates from the Roman period.

The drawing consists of organic chapes with bold and thin-lines placed slightly off-center. Color dominance is bold-vibrant with light and darks arranged in many different ways to achieve broader categories of design. These in turn consist of balance, order, proportion, pattern and rhythm.

The artist employer each of these symbolic elements to represent strength and endurance. The growth of the tree is mirrored by the artist's own life as being examples of thriving and perseverance.