‘Expressing yourself in a peaceful way is more useful than in an angry way’

La Jolla artist Zari Albanese Namdar thinks of herself as a friend of nature. Albanese, 30, e m phasizes beauty, goodness, and nature in her acrylic paintings. She takes discarded glass, eucalyptus bark and leaves and incorporates theminto her artwork. She wants viewers to have positive, not negative reactions to her works. Her life was not always so calm, though. Born in Iran, Albanese came to the United States when her father, then the Iranian ambassador to Austria, sent her here to a boarding school. But revolution broke out in Iran, making it impossible for her to return. Albanese, who earned a bachelor’s degree from an art school in Northern California, says she has found inner peace in her artwork. Albanese was interviewed in her home by Times staff writer Terry Rather and photographed by Vince Compagnone.

I was born in Iran. I loved to paint. When I was a child, I never asked for toys. My father said my paintings were my toys. Since I was a little girl, my father always encouraged me to become an artist. He told me the best thing for a woman is art because women are very sensitive. Art is so satisfying yet challenging.

My father sent my brother and me to the United States for school in 1977, but then the revolution broke out in Iran, and I couldn’t go back anymore. My father went back to Iran when the revolution started. He had to hide underground until he could leave the country. He’s in Napa Valley now with my brother. I got political asylum here and went to art school in San Francisco.

I went through a lot with the revolution and everything. I have not been in my country for 13 years, and I have relatives who are still there. The world still is not at peace. And I expressed myself in that manner, in a negative way, in my art.

That didn’t work for me, because then I realized everyone has problems. Rich or poor, everyone has problems in life. I put myself in the shoes of the audience. So why should I remind you of sadness of life? My paintings had bad, ugly, negative feelings. Why should I do that to people? When they come to see my work, they should feel good, not bad. So I started to become more secure in myself and started doing peaceful things.

Expressing yourself in a peaceful way is more useful than in an angry way. If I’m angry at you, I’m more effective if I tell you in a soft, gentle way than if I scream or hit you. Also, art is going in unpeaceful directions. You go to museums and most of the art expressed is unpeaceful. Everything right now is unpeaceful. The politics, human rights, child abuse, the world is becoming corrupt. We need something peaceful, we need peaceful music, we need peaceful art. Not necessarily cutesy things, nonsense things, but rather than showing the angry, ugly side, artists should start showing the real beauty of the world.

Nature is very important to me. The older I get, the more involved I get in nature. I collect mirrors that the glass shops throw out and include it in my artwork. It’s a shame that they just throw it out and don’t try to do something with it. I’m also doing some collages with things I collect in nature. I do it so I can show people how beautiful nature is. It really bothers me what is being done to nature, how it is being destroyed.

I think you have to have a goal in your artwork. You need to say something to the world. It’s our duty as artists. If you are born as an artist, you have that responsibility. I think it’s selfish to just do it for your own enjoyment. As for me, I want people to be aware of the beauty of nature and not take it for granted. Our real mother and father is nature, and I don’t see where we’re respecting it. And we have to respect it.

My art makes me realize why I’m here. Everyone has asked that question to himself or herself at one time. My art gives me such a feeling of satisfaction, it makes me so calm and peaceful. It balances me out. It’s like a natural high. I hope through my art people can realize the beauty of nature.