Lifted by Color

With no formal training under her belt, local artist finds all of her artistic skills within herself. She first began painting in 1997 after she underwent brain surgery at Piedmont for a benign tumor. Unable to work her job at Turner Broadcasting for two months, Zeman arranged a ride to the arts and crafts store Michaels for her first set of paints.

Zeman first painted on an old dresser drawer set and claims she did not paint on canvas for about a year. She still continues to paint on whatever she can find, and her choices result in unique and varied art.

When she finally returned to her job later that year, she hung a variety of pieces in her cubicle. Passing coworkers suggested she research Howard Finster. Zeman felt prompted to attend Finster Fest where she met inspiring artists who encouraged her to show her work.

“My first show was in a park festival in Atlanta. I was doing art shows while working at Turner, and finally I decided that I was going to leave Turner and just do the art thing,” Zeman said.

Though the economy is tough, she says she will always find a way to make things work, including having an eBay store and running a cupcake business. A resourceful and savvy artist, Zeman sells her art online and even has had business dealings with India.

“I'll never have a steady paycheck, and it's definitely a non-traditional life, but I don't think I could ever go back.”

Zeman said others describe her art as free form, and she agrees. She doesn't have specific techniques or arranged subject matter when she works. This artist's colorful style is somewhere between abstract expressionism and folk art.

“I don't really classify myself, I just tell people I'm an artist,” she explained.

Her methods, whether planned or unconscious, are perhaps what lends her art its unique flair. She will paint on anything, including pieces of wood, and she lets her ideas flow onto her canvas.

“A lot of times I don't know what I'm going to paint; it all depends on how I'm feeling at that moment. I think the brain comes out in funny ways.”

Her style definitely involves a lot of acrylic colors, which she said she uses to brighten up her world and to deal with issues. She wants to create an escape from real life through her paintings, and finds beauty in imperfection.

“There's so much darkness in life; it's a scary world out there. Color can lift you. You can look at something, and it can take you to another place,” Zeman explained.

She considers herself a Jack, or more aptly a Jill, of all trades. She has skills in sketching, pottery painting, baking, sewing and teaching. She is also an avid reader and admires not only visual artists but musicians and poets as well. Her favorite artist is Harry Teague, who is survived by his wife Diana. Diana and Zeman are hoping that the High Museum of Art will add some of Teague's work to their permanent collection. She also looks up to Matisse, Mandel and Warhol, as well as Picasso.

“I've been to the Picasso Museum in Paris a couple of times. He did a little bit of everything: pottery, sculpture and collage. There's so many artists that I admire, and there's new ones all the time that I learn about,” Zeman said.

Zeman also travels and usually works on small sketches during her journeys. She said she would love to move to California or Southern France for a month to work on promoting her art in galleries, but she is also excited about the new resurgence of life in Downtown .

“I've done some yoga at , and I love that place. I really do need to force myself to do more things like yoga, I'm just hyper. I need to slow down,” Zeman said.

Her normal routine involves more a more high-energy workout. She does lots of boxing at  and finds it releasing. She said as soon as she started doing it, she fell in love with it.

“There's nothing like being able to let it out."

She has a studio set up in a front room of her house and loves to bake cupcakes and brew coffee for visitors. Interested parties of a shyer persuasion can visit her website to peruse her gallery or attend her show at an annual Dunwoody Art Festival this Saturday and Sunday.

“There's a lot of really great art there, and the organizers have made it welcoming show for both the artists and the people that come to the show.”