Irina Dragomir Thomason - Art
I was born in Romania in the 1980’s and experienced a very different way of life. Romania was nearing the end of its communist regime, and things were a little rough. I remember waiting in bread lines, and using oil lamps at night, even in the city, boiling water for baths, using special built in fireplaces for heat and cooking, and gathering wood from the forest.
Because my grandparents had farms we also spent some time away from the city, where I had some of the most carefree time of my life, playing in haystacks, taking sheep out to pasture, running through cornfields, going for walks through the forest, gathering water from brooks, harvesting apples and plums, and swimming in our own little lake pool. These latter memories are some of the most beautiful that I hold from my childhood, which as you can see was quite contrasting in some ways. I can be grateful for those days because they gave me a very different view of life from very early on.
After communism fell my parents sought a more financially secure life in Canada, and we immigrated to Vancouver, BC, which was a very different world! I remember saying to my brother our first morning there “It’s like we’re in the movies!”. Later on I met my husband there and moved down with him to California, where I also found God and was born again.
I started my art journey from an early age: I have been painting and drawing since I can remember, receiving the highest awards in high school for my art studies, and being accepted at Emily Carr, the prestigious art institute in Granville Island, BC. I continued to be involved in art after graduation, focusing on miniature painting. I hand paint famous or original works of art on eyewear for my husband’s wood glasses company, merging eyewear fashion and art. You can see some of my works at @rococo_miniature on Instagram or at sireseyewear.com
I currently live in Texas with my husband, our two boys and our cat.