Artist Profile: Alma Selimovic

Otis Street Arts Project Artist

Name: Alma Selimovic

Website: www.almaselimovic.com

Contact Info: selimovic81@gmail.com

A Short Bio

What question about your work do you hate getting asked?

ugh  “How long has it taken you to make this piece.” I just don't react well on questions like that. I don't think time is relevant, being an artist is a skill that you learn trough years of practicing and trying to find yourself and your way of expressing. The most accurate answer would be 30 years, from the moment I grabbed my first play-doh and made a wobbly dog .

Why do you use the materials and techniques that you use?

I love experimenting and finding new materials and discovering different ways of using it. I use metal a lot because it gives me strong structure(base), then I can be more free in building and glueing other materials on top of it. Recently i started incorporating color in my work and now i am trying to find materials that are easily painted and/or have different surface. Foam, fiberglass and plaster are also easily transformed and dried pretty fast so you can keep working on the piece.

What do you like the most about the Washington DC area art scene?

I read recently online that DC is currently #4 place to live for emerging artist, NYC is 3rd on the list, I think thats pretty good reason for loving it from the start. As a new maker in the area i am still getting to know the scene and the art world and I am hoping it will be the good base for me and my work to grow.

What drew you to working in Mount Rainier, MD and the Otis Street Arts Project ?

I was lucky that i had great timing in finishing my school and OSAP getting new space available. I live very close to it and i really like that artist group there is very enthusiastic and new. I was trying to find space where I can get feedback on my work and also where i can give something back. OSAP sounded perfect for that .

When did you start calling yourself an artist? or how did you come to be an artist?

I never called myself and artist, but my family started doing that long ago when i started opening all the radios and Walkmans in the house and trying to “fix’ them and make them “better”. They never worked after. (They said, be an artist, you better not be a surgeon.) 

If you weren’t an artist, what would you currently be doing?

Operate? lol, just kidding, i would work with animals, or build houses.

What do you think is the most important influence on your art?

World around me, all that I experience daily. My art is my whole life.