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Ilay Karabay Solakli
185 Plays5 years ago
Turkish artist, İlay Karabay Solaklı graduated from economics and spent her former years working in corporate companies and government institutions. Realizing that this lifestyle isn't satisfactory enough for her she decided to follow her childhood passion, which is painting.
The self-taught artist mostly uses acrylic and nail polish in her paintings. She believes that paintings should give people positive and calm energy, thoughts, and feelings therefore she states that color composition is the most important aspect. Started from drawing doodles and comics, eventually, she ended up doing abstract paintings. “It’s more freeing and limitless, you can use any type of medium and draw what's inside your mind and heart without any limit,” says the artist.
She also believes that talent itself is not enough to achieve your goals in the art industry. You need dedication, hard work, and most importantly creativity, so you can be original and stand out from the rest.
"Basically, I paint my feelings. :) All of them. All the time. And i like to share them with everyone. Enjoy."
https://www.arteilay.com/
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Transcript
Introduction to the Podcast
00:00:01
Speaker
You are listening to something rather than nothing. Creator and host Ken Volante. Editor and producer Peter Bauer.
00:00:17
Speaker
This is Ken Vellante with the Something Rather Than Nothing podcast. And for this episode, we have Elle Karabai Salakli from Turkey. And she is a painter, an amazing painter that I encountered on Instagram. Really love her style. And I'm going to ask her about her technique and about her paintings.
Elle's Artistic Journey Begins
00:00:40
Speaker
But Elle, welcome to the show. Hi, thank you for having me.
00:00:46
Speaker
I'm a little bit anxious and excited. I can't tell from my voice. Well, it's a good feeling. And I think everybody, whenever you have to kind of chat about things or it's a new experience, there's always a little bit of a nervousness.
00:01:07
Speaker
So happy to have you. Ellie, what would you like? A question I ask all the time on the podcast is what would you like when you were younger? Were you an artist? Did you like the paint or what would you like?
00:01:23
Speaker
like always. I was like that kid in school when anything art or craft related has to be done. It was me and my best friend just jumping into every project and doing everything. I was like that kid. I would never wanted to stop painting ever. We were just having so much fun.
00:01:48
Speaker
I was like, yeah, I was always painting. You do remember a time when I stopped painting, to be honest, and drawing and doodling. It was always like that. And did, um, was that in your, was that in your family or is it something you kind of just picked up on your honor?
Family Influence on Elle's Art
00:02:07
Speaker
I mean, the materials were available and something like that. Actually, my family is, I mean, we have a lot of talented people in my family, but no one does like professionally.
00:02:18
Speaker
But I have some relatives doing like crazy watercolors. And my mom loves crafting. And she's very talented. My cousins, they were talented as well. Some of them plays piano. Some of them draws and does stuff. So it was like always a part of my life. So I never felt like, no, let's go and get this. And my mom or dad would be like, no, we can get this.
00:02:48
Speaker
or you shouldn't paint, you should be concentrating on your lessons and stuff. I was always in that area. It was always in the house. That's great. I was wondering, Ellie, it was great to hear that you had that experience when you were younger and you're always painting.
Elle's Intuitive Painting Style
00:03:12
Speaker
So you've been painting for a while.
00:03:14
Speaker
I love your style. I love the flow. The colors are amazing. There's so much energy in your works. And for the listeners, I'll be posting some images of your work. But I was wondering if you could take the time to just talk about your style of painting, how you go about it, and what that looks like.
From Economics to Art: A Career Transition
00:03:40
Speaker
Well, first of all, if I have to go like way back, I didn't start like painting my cameras with like brushes and this colorful stuff. My, my first interest was in drawing doodles. And then I start drawing these like crazy mandalas, you know, mandala? Like, yeah, yeah. Yeah. Like painting and stuff. I don't like to paint, but I like to draw them on like a big blank papers. And
00:04:10
Speaker
Then eventually I start, you know, I would always dream about like having brushes and doing colors, but I was never confident enough because I'm originally an economics graduate that works, who works in government and corporate company. So I wasn't confident enough and I didn't, I was like scared to be judged.
00:04:40
Speaker
So one day I was like, OK, I'm going to try this because I don't have any formal education. I don't know if I can do it or not. Right? Right. And I take it and I just took all these colors and brushes and start doing it. And it turned out amazing. And people are like, how do you choose these colors?
00:05:02
Speaker
Do you plan it? I don't plan anything. That's the main thing. You can't just sit and plan. This is art. This is not like a business, like a school paper or something. I just go to the store, look at the colors, and it changes my mood at that time. I take the right brushes,
00:05:28
Speaker
And I come home, and it's just me. I have to be all by myself. And I just start doing them. So I don't really sit down, and I should do this, and blah, blah, blah, blah. I should satisfy, not try and satisfy other people. I do what I do. I take the colors. I let the brush flow. And amazing stuff comes up. And I try to do it like plenty. I tried it. But I don't know how. But people understand.
00:05:58
Speaker
They look at it and like, this is like, did she overthink while doing this? That people know. So I tried her way and I have to be honest to myself and I just let it flow and just do what's in my heart and in my head. And that's the fun thing actually.
00:06:27
Speaker
Yeah, I really appreciate your comments and in particularly about.
00:06:34
Speaker
just kind of the the the flow to it for you and you know how things kind of how that would come to you and I think it's it's it's really telling because there's obviously a lot of painters you know how how the painting comes out comes from you know kind of an architecture of the mind and what they envisioned and that's a beautiful thing as well but I think you got into kind of
00:06:59
Speaker
um a more uh kind of intuitive piece that that you just go with um yeah and i i i really enjoy that um like you have to be secure because people know like you can't think about if you can't think about wait can i sell this uh real people you know pay money for is when you start thinking about that stuff it turns out to be a bad thing to
00:07:26
Speaker
And relax doesn't really think about that, but there are a lot of people who does right now. And I don't do that. I just do what I want to do. I enjoy every, every brush, stroke, like I enjoy every second of. You know, and thanks for saying that too, because I think, uh, honestly, that's just, it's, it's just very inspiring because it has to do with the approach, the approach that you have to it. Um, you seem connected to.
00:07:57
Speaker
just the sheer joy of the magic of what you're doing. Absolutely. Yeah, and that's beautiful. Thank you. I have one of the big questions, Ellie. We're talking about art and talking about painting and its process, but what is art?
Defining Art: Heart, Mind, and Imagination
00:08:28
Speaker
art. Art, like to me, is the visualized version of anything in your heart, mind and imagination that you put on a canvas paper wall, wherever you want. That's art.
00:08:49
Speaker
And that's the best thing about art. In my opinion, obviously, you can't image it. You can't be like, oh, this is art, or this is not art. This is considered art. Anything is art. Because even if 10,000 people don't like it, you'll find other 10,000 that are considered art. You'll find your audience. So I don't really believe in limiting what is art or what is not art.
00:09:18
Speaker
If you enjoy looking at a painting and if it gives you good vibes, like good energy, it's art. That's what I thought, to be honest. Yeah, thank you. And speaking of art, I was wondering if you had any any thoughts or could comment on the role of art in a pandemic.
00:09:42
Speaker
in a worldwide pandemic. A lot of guests don't make that word anymore. Yeah. The nature of the question is, do you think art's role has changed now?
Art as a Positivity Source During the Pandemic
00:10:01
Speaker
You know, should we be making more art? Should people focus on other? What is the role of art right now?
00:10:12
Speaker
Well, the role of art, I mean, well, I think art is a failure, save referral, because it's, you know, close your soul. It's, it's something positive. Like, I've never, you know, seen someone interested in art and be very negative.
00:10:39
Speaker
And in this pandemic, I know the industry and sales rates dropped and stuff. But besides that, business art. Art is just, I think it's a savor for all. I mean, it was a savor for me, people in my friend circle. And I'm in the role of art to me.
00:11:10
Speaker
generally. It has to be done for art's sake. You know, not to educate people or satisfy people. Do art for art's sake. And I think it's really helped a lot of people, especially like very fragile ones like me. And I know that a lot of people were in talk, start, you know,
00:11:40
Speaker
becoming interested in art because everyone's at home and they're always like scrolling down social media and so they start liking art and should we do more art I don't really know about that if you're not that you know talented don't please but you know
00:12:11
Speaker
Not sure about. Yeah, well, and I think one of the things was particularly when the pandemic initially started, you know, there was a lot of disruption maybe to like to the to the process of like individuals doing art. But there was a lot of discussion around. People consuming more art, potentially having more time, you know, because of, you know, potential lockdowns and such to be able to consume art. So there's a lot of consumption of art.
00:12:41
Speaker
at the same time when fundamental questions of survival were coming up. So it's one of those things of whether the role of art itself has changed. And I found that a lot of guests say, well, it hasn't really, really changed. There's more attention to it, but it's still serving the same kind of function, whether it's for mental health or just happiness or
00:13:10
Speaker
Whatever. Yeah, yeah. That's why I thought all the time answering the question because it's about happiness. Like it's very basic actually. It can go too deep answering this question. Like it's, art is always beautiful. All this game happens, and all this game happens. If such a pandemic happens 200 years later, it will still serve happiness and positivity.
00:13:39
Speaker
We're speaking with Ellie Carabay-Salockley, an artist and a wonderful painter. And early on we heard she's been painting for quite some time. And one of the things that I really liked about what you had to say, Ellie, was just kind of more about your approach to the process and your approach to art.
00:14:05
Speaker
Well, just just what it what it provides and what it does, what it does for you. One of the things I wanted to know is connected to how you are as a person in your art.
Impact of Motherhood and Loss on Art
00:14:18
Speaker
Who or what made you who you are? Who made me who I am?
00:14:28
Speaker
Oh, I believe there were like two biggest times in my life. Okay, let me just say it's pain. I'm losing someone you love. Yeah. And my, when I was very young, my aunt passed away. We were tragically
00:14:57
Speaker
And it was very traumatic for me, my cousins. So it kind of shaped me a lot. Yeah, it changed my view and my understanding of the world. And you know, it causes a lot of like, mental health problems. And it's hard, it's hard, hard for that.
00:15:26
Speaker
The second one is actually a very positive one. It was, I think, in my opinion, after becoming a mom, I have twins, they are four years old. Becoming a mom and losing my own, these two things definitely made me who I am right now. Becoming a mom made me more humble and open-minded
00:15:59
Speaker
I don't know how, I saw them, I fell in love with them, spending more time together, I started questioning like, what do I do? How should I become? I should be an idol.
00:16:18
Speaker
And do I have to try to be perfect? No. Yeah, right. But I think I need to be a happy person in order to raise like happy little humans. So I started becoming more honest to myself. I started to accept myself more. And that's actually how I let me put in my job and turn my painting into professional.
00:16:49
Speaker
That's that's that's it's it's fantastic. I mean and you said a lot there Ellie and I was wondering um And it is some beautiful comments around your children. I have uh, three children myself and I do know what you mean, uh as far as how uh certain things come to you it is kind of like a a major shift and And then it and then it occurs income and you don't know how it happens, but it happens exactly, um
Corporate to Creative: Career Shift Motivated by Family
00:17:17
Speaker
Well, how could you could you tell me a little bit and the listeners a little bit more about the part, the changes that that you had to make as far as like painting and the impact on your practice, you know, but with with your children and in in you said quitting your job. How did how did that all come together as far as you know,
00:17:44
Speaker
Being a mom, having the time to paint or feeling in the right condition to paint or any of those type of things. How did that transition happen? Well, to be honest, I always dreamed about painting, but I never believed I was talented.
00:17:59
Speaker
I'm like, am I talented? Maybe I'm not talented. Like, can I do this or can I not do this? I didn't have enough confidence and I didn't have enough support. So I was like coming and going in my head, always having like little conversations in my head of myself. Like, what do I do if I create like a, it will be a very rational thing to do. It's not like, it's not very easy.
00:18:27
Speaker
Sure. Sure. Right. Right. You know what I have to be honest with. I want my kids to say my mom was courageous enough to do what she actually wanted to do. She was the person she wasn't but she had passion and she did
00:18:47
Speaker
So maybe when they grow up and when they're about to get like a life-changing decision, they can say, you know, my mom did this, so I can do this too. That's all they ever care about. Wow. So I was like, you know what? I'm done staying in this IV office. I'm quitting.
00:19:07
Speaker
Yeah. And we have, I remember that and my manager was giving me a pep talk about like a project like, are you ready? There are a lot of going on. Are you excited? Like blah, blah, blah. And I was like, you won't stop. And he was like, it was like a breakup actually. I looked at a breakup and he was like, I see you're my favorite. I was like, I,
00:19:34
Speaker
I don't care anymore because I can't do this. That was it, right? Yeah, that was it. I decided I bought a lot of brushes, a lot of colors, a lot of promises, and I have to say my husband was very supportive, and that's really important to have a supportive husband, and my mom and dad as well. I was like, you guys, I don't know if I will be accepted,
00:20:03
Speaker
in this artwork, I don't know, people will be like, who is this woman? I'm like, she has like, no, tell me, what are those cousins? And maybe I will get like thousands of negative comments. Maybe I will be like, I don't know, but I have one line and I'm 29 and I have to do this. Like I was like, it's now or never. Yeah. That's how I started. And it turned out really good, actually.
00:20:28
Speaker
It turned out really, really good. It's my page is getting bigger and bigger. I worked with a gallery now in Sweden. So it's like getting really good. It's either I'm not that bad at all. Oh no, it's it's in it, but you know the the struggles the the struggles and I really want to thank you Ellie for for sharing that because I think that's part of. As part of how I connect with our and I think maybe a lot of listeners is.
00:20:57
Speaker
You know in in your life how you choose to do are the the risks that you? Take should or shouldn't take any of those bigger questions, and I think there is a very powerful piece for you in in the motivation for your kids and saying hey if you face a tough decision and
00:21:22
Speaker
you know, I've made a tough decision before. And that opens up more for them. And I really think there's something very special about that. And with regards to the feelings around your painting, obviously very natural for a lot of those feelings. But I want to ask a little bit more about
00:21:51
Speaker
where your paintings are placed and the gallery in Sweden, because I'd just like to know a little bit of detail about that. Yeah, well, obviously, because of the pandemic. I couldn't send them. So it's like their online sale. But hopefully after all of this mess is gone,
00:22:17
Speaker
I will send them to the gallery and I will actually personally visit them because I want them for it's a beautiful country. They find me through Instagram and I really like them they're like three young businessmen and they're already good at what they are doing and they convinced me
00:22:43
Speaker
um so that's how we work they promote you and they get a commission but it's very low it's not like a real big gallery will take you know 50 percent or something it's uh very little um so it's really good for me right now yeah that sounds um congratulations on that that that that sounds fantastic i'm gonna
00:23:07
Speaker
make sure there's a link in general for folks to be able to see your works, like I mentioned. One of the big questions, and it's the one that can be a difficult one, but it's the main question, Ellie.
Exploring the Podcast's Philosophical Question
00:23:26
Speaker
I was wondering if you had any comments around why there is something rather than nothing. Oh, no.
00:23:32
Speaker
Oh no, that's the most honest response. Let me just clean myself. Well, first of all, let me, can I ask you something? Yes, of course. Okay. Why do you feel, why did you feel the urge to ask this question? Like what's your story? What pushed you to ask this question?
00:24:00
Speaker
Ah, I love that. I love that you asked that. Um, so, uh, I would say quickly, I mean, first of all, the question is, uh, historically the large question of why, you know, like, is there a God, uh, where's the universe coming from? You know, in all, in all that, but.
00:24:21
Speaker
Part of the reason why I place this question in the context of art is to see what kind of answers I get. And the reason is art itself is an act of creation. And so one of the things I've tried to make it deliberately ambiguous, some guests have
00:24:52
Speaker
talk specifically about their work. If you're creating something, is that from nothing or is it from another thing? It's the act of creation for the artists themselves. It's the biggest philosophical question, but I also love when folks
00:25:14
Speaker
think about it or answer it in the terms of creativity. But I leave it deliberately ambiguous for folks who want to take a stab at why there's something rather than nothing. Yeah. That was a good answer, first of all. That was really good. Thank you. Thank you, Elliot.
00:25:43
Speaker
Well, I agree with you on, it definitely has a religious base on believing if there is something or nothing or a lot of things that created something rather than nothing. But in my opinion, I'm a Muslim and I grew up
00:26:13
Speaker
in a mother's family. But as I get older and I start reading more, I wanted to keep an open mind. And I was lucky because of my family. Because in my family, there are a lot of people with very different religious beliefs and different thoughts. So we're very open.
00:26:42
Speaker
I started reading, like I read some, a little part of Bible. I obviously read my holy book. I started reading at least writers like Richard Dawkins and others. Just to keep an open mind. I know what I believe in. I believe in a creator.
00:27:11
Speaker
in Allah, in God. And I always ask myself this. If I buy this white canvas, right? I have it. I have brushes. I have colors. If I just take them all and throw it on the canvas, what will happen? Will there be a painting?
00:27:42
Speaker
Maybe. Well, I say, in my opinion, I say no. There won't be like a really good, such a beautiful painting. Yeah, sure. Oh, yeah. So if we're in this like universe and we live, okay, there are a lot of tales right now in the world.
00:28:09
Speaker
But when you think about like universe-wise, how like planets and solar systems are connected, I believe they are created perfect. Just like you taking your brush and doing it, rather than just throwing it away, throwing all them on the camera. Like nothing will happen. The colors will fall. But when you take a brush and when you blend the colors and when you do that, you have like the perfect picture.
00:28:37
Speaker
So I believe in a creator. It's the intention. You're pointing to the intention. Yeah, the intention of what's there. Yeah. I. Because I believe in a creator, I say, why not? There won't be something. That's.
00:29:01
Speaker
Yeah, we can talk like three hours about this. Oh, I know. I know. And I and I love. No, I love your answer. I got to say, too. Recently, I was interviewed on my show, so I wasn't the host. It's coming out soon, but I'm the guest and I had the answer to the question. So I want to let you know, Ellie.
00:29:25
Speaker
I was subjected to the question as well, but the, um, you know, I love to mess with the question, uh, Ellie. Uh, so I like to mess with the question because, uh, and it could be applied to spirituality or belief or, or not. It's up to whoever's answering the question. But one of the things that I've
00:29:49
Speaker
Found is that if you look at certain religious traditions such as Buddhist I mean there isn't a some thing there is a nothing and different religious traditions have kind of or spiritual traditions have different, you know explanations or why there are things there and So I like it as a like a larger backdrop of creation on this and I think overall I try to invite guests to
00:30:17
Speaker
There's so many aspects about art that seem magical or spiritual or larger than we are or sublime that a lot of those experiences happen. And I think our minds as human move to, you know, why is that the case? You know, where does it come from? So that's the motivation behind it.
00:30:40
Speaker
Do you like to read about like universe or physics? I love it. Astrophysics, cosmology, love it. And when you read more and more, you get more mesmerized. I really agree with that and happened within the last few years. Like I like that I'm trained in philosophy, but
00:31:04
Speaker
my extensive reading in science and cosmology and astrophysics is all on my own. And as you know, that's some difficult, some difficult material to understand sometimes. But yeah, and thank you for, and thank you for the discussion around this particular question. I was speaking with Ellie Carabasilakli and
00:31:31
Speaker
just really a lovely chat with you, Ellie. I want you to make sure that you convey to the listeners where to find your work, where to find those images, or how to connect with you and your artwork, as is comfortable as you wish. So how can listeners connect with you?
00:31:55
Speaker
Well, I love this event. I get at least like 60 DMS a day and I answer all of them, so it's not very hard to connect with me. I'm also on Galerina. They can't find my work there. I have a link in my bio, so I'm on Instagram, so anyone can reach me very easily. Yeah, that's the easiest way to connect.
00:32:24
Speaker
Ellie, I got to tell you, I really appreciate your time. It's been a great pleasure to chat with you. And I've really thought about definitely a couple of these questions in a lot different way in discussing them with you. But it's been a great joy. I want to thank you for the amount of time that you put into your art and just sharing
00:32:53
Speaker
uh you know your journey and you know the risks that you've taken in order to to create it so I wanted to thank you for the things you've done to continue to to create art and to thank you deeply for um uh taking the time to uh come on to the show oh thank you so much for having me this is something rather than nothing