STAR : Could you tell us some interesting facts about your life ?
STYRTISTS
ITMOY . T : There are many interesting things I would like to share , but the ones which happened surprisingly come to my mind . I was born in a family who followed Buddhism , but later in life , I got married to a Muslim man and converted to that religion . I studied economics and wanted to be an economics teacher , but I had to work as an English teacher in a high school . When I got married I was just a housewife and a mother to my son . At the age of 45 , I never thought my life change drastically from an ordinary housewife to a professional painter and later become famous as the only women painter in Indonesia to paint the banana tree as subject and perhaps the only one in the world .
STAR : What ’ s integral to the work of an artist ?
ITMOY . T : I think passion and dedication towards your work are very much important . Work gives me immense satisfaction . Each artist should be liberated to create shaped forms of their own creation for their own works . To think outside of the box . Though I must admit in all my years of dedication to this whole idea of Banana tree paintings , I have put a lot of effort and love .
STAR : What is your favorite experience as an artist ?
ITMOY . T : When I was exhibiting along with other artists in a famous gallery of Indonesia in Jakarta , One of the art buyer or collector , who is a well-known personality and an art lover wanted to buy 11 works including mine . He asked me to give a discount on the price of my work as it was much higher compared to that of my friends or otherwise he wouldn ’ t buy others works too . Finally , When I agreed , he bought all the works of the artists . This made them happy and I too as my decision could help them .
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