Carole Choucair Oueijan is a Lebanese-American artist, who uses her talents to explore her heritage, and build connections in her community.
You were born in Beirut in 1966. What was life like for you growing up during this time in Lebanon? I had a great childhood! Wonderful parents, living in a beautiful country, having no idea about the future, but living in the moment happily. When I was 9 years old, the war started and all I remembered was running from one place to another looking for peace, and trying to live every day to the fullest as we never knew if tomorrow would ever come... learned to create art and crafts from what we found around us, and it was a kind of healing process. On the other hand, from the time we were very young, I What were the early influences that formed your interest in art? My parents were leaders in the Boy Scouts, and I lived most of my life in meetings and Boy Scout camps in different parts of the beautiful Lebanese mountains. It was a great way to get away from the war and cherish nature... During this time we was the singer and my sister was the painter at home. I didn’t want to paint much so that they didn’t think I was jealous of her. I felt this way until I reached my high school years, when I started painting in school, and I enjoyed that time.