“Sometimes I think I live in a gap between two worlds, one world that I have to wake up to, be adherent of the rules and live in a place that is dictated by others. A place I sometimes feel the fear of aging and dying before I have figured out what it is I am here to do.
That other world is sweet, fresh and misty, inviting adventure into the unknown, melding ancient wisdom with new discovery; the sunlight turning into moonlight and the spell of eternal life is never broken.
Perhaps in that gap I should repair the forgotten bridge from one side to the other, but truth be told, I don’t want to. I don’t want to because I don’t have the energy to fix what is broken within. I am a wild, wandering nomad, I belong everywhere and nowhere all at the same time, and in that gap between worlds, I am free.”
― Riitta Klint
How do you truly talk to somebody who doesn’t know the pleasure, pain, despair, forlorn agony sometimes, of the wanderlust that seeps into your soul and flows into your bones? That path between daring and giving up. The sense of wonder and fear, freedom and confinement, peace and rage, before you let go of the shore. The land so far from reach, that nothing exist between you and the sightless horizon. How do you truly talk to somebody who has never left home?
Such is the story of 22-year-old Lira Rodrigues from Goa, India. Restless for adventure and deciding it was time to find herself, she bid all that was familiar a farewell with a little money she had been saving up on. The journey was to be for three months….
Catching a flight from Mumbai for Asian shores, she landed in Bangkok, Thailand. That was in the October of 2019. Her explorations taking her across islands and crowded cities of Indonesia, Bali and finally Cambodia, where she currently decides where goes her walking feet next…
“When I left my homeland in 2019, I left with no expectations. I had a seven kg backpack and a return flight back to India in two months. But what I discovered on my journey over sea, land and air was nothing I could have ever imagined. I fell in love with culture, sights and people I met along the way that have now turned into my soul tribe. I found something I never had at home – a sense of belonging.”
“I started out as a regular backpacker, but slowly turned into a local everywhere I went. I lived in tents, and hammocks, in straw huts, slept on the beach, swam with the plankton, found love and made a new life for myself. All the while I was discovering and honing a talent I had never taken much into consideration – my love for art. I skipped the flight back home to India and embarked on my own journey. My passions leading me to different places, often with an almost empty bank account, but with a heart full of love and curiosity. I found myself becoming a teacher, an artist, an avid explorer and a dog mom. I wouldn’t trade this life and love for anything in the world. As I’m battling my way through a pandemic to keep my feet on the ground, I daydream of more waves to chase, more art to make, people to love and finding more of myself. This is my story,” shared the traveller, photographer, self taught musician, writer and self taught artist, Lira Rodrigues, nicknamed Lily Socks over a phone call interview with The Stilettto Diaries.
“It’s the ‘everyday’ experiences we encounter along the journey to who we wanna be that will define who we are when we get there.”
― Aaron Lauritsen, 100 Days Drive: The Great North American Road Trip
Cut to circa 2021, The Stiletto Diaries caught up with the artist in Phnom Penh, to learn more about her artistic explorations that has caught the imagination of a growing tribe of millennial artists, painting their perspective on cultures, experiences, life and personal evolution, against the background of the pandemic.
The Stiletto Diaries: What draws you to art, and paint?
Lira: My paintings are often a reflection of my dreams, memories that stem from familiar colours I see in my surroundings and from scents that remind me of people and places. It is my form of therapy of releasing emotions that overwhelm me, and desires and feelings that often cannot be put into words. Every stroke of a paint brush and the blending of colours is the sound of my grandfather talking to my soul.
TSD: As a traveller, do you feel your experiences naturally translates into art?
Lira: Yes, they play a major part in it. As often traveling can be lonely and full of self awareness and reflection. My emotions are my inspiration and every painting is a story I am telling. Although as an artist, it is important to remember that this is my bread and butter on most days, having a belly full of food is also something that inspires me to keep honing my skills, so that I can eventually turn this into my life’s career.
TSD: As a budding artist, what inspires you?
Lira: Nature, the sun, the ocean and love.
TSD: Who are your favourite artists?
Salvador Dali and Gustav Klimt have always fascinated me.
TSD: What is your medium of colours that best suits your expression?
Lira: My medium of colours is always inspired by the Sun. The sunrise, sunset and dawn. The way colours look while they shine on the ocean. The warmth of the sun it’s what heals my soul and brings out strokes of magic every time I paint. Like a magic wand in my mind sparkling strokes of light.
TSD: Where can we find your work?
Instagram : @oatswithlee
Gallery: https://vsco.co/lovllee/gallery
Email: liraevanora@gmail.com
Give her a shoutout, people. The creative universe, art community and art patrons are the soul of our society and communities. Let’s support and be supported. From us, all the best, Lily Socks.
Buy a Painting, commission a painting, OR donate to Crowd Fund help this budding artist support her art : ABA Bank, Rodrigues Lira Ermelinda, Account No 003134029, Phnom Penh.
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