Elias Saffarzade

Interviewed by Jesse Christensen

1. What was your life like in Herat, Afghanistan? 

“In heart Afghanistan I was a worker factory has a lathe worker and welder worker . When I was ten years old I start to work in factory . In my life in Afghanistan I dont have been in school very mach because with the problem what was I have [sic].”

2. Why did you flee from Afghanistan?

“I fled Afghanistan because I was threatened by some unknown people that they would kill me if I continued to live there , so I had to flee Afghanistan [sic].”

3. What drew you to Greece as a refugee?

“Because I had no place to live in my country, I told myself that I had to move from Afghanistan to a country where I could continue working in the country where I settled, and in 2016, after two years of fleeing Afghanistan. I arrived in Greece in 2016. When I returned to Greece, I applied for asylum there, and in 2019 my asylum application was accepted. I was allowed to reside in Greece permanently [sic].”

4. How is your life in Athens?

“Ever since I came to Greece, at Camp Inofita, I started working as an artist, and during this time I came to Greece. The work I did, I was able to exhibit my art three times, and I still do my art.

I have worked for four companies as a lathe operator, and for now I have been working for a company called power pistom service [sic].”

5. When did you first learn about or see quilling? Were you immediately interested in trying it yourself?

“When I was at Camp Inofita.  And because I did not have the necessary documents to work, I realized that it would not be right for me to give up my job and not have any income, and this caused me to do art work.  And I did art work in the Inofita camp and I started making paper artwork .

I came up with the art of quilling at Camp Inofita because I only once saw that there was a paper flower on the wall, and after one year I knew it what I’m doing  it is called quilling [sic].”

6. What do you like about quilling and working with your hands?

“I do the art of quiling. because I like that I play with color and I also like that I do a beautiful job with my own hands [sic].”

7. Did you know anything about quilling (the techniques, meaning, or history of it) before you started doing it?

“I didn't know anything about quilling before I got into art.  And even after a year that I had, this artwork that I do this art is called quilling. now i know what is quilling paper and what is art [sic].”

8. Have you gone to school for art or are you a self-taught artist? (Do you have any other degrees/training you'd like me to write about?)

“Im a self-taught artist?  I did not go to art school. If you like write about [sic].”

9. Have you done any art teaching?

“Yes, for two months I, as a bilingual teacher, will teach them quilting classes for the young and old people. And it's the name of the school is elix. http ://www.elix.org.gr/ [sic].”

10. In your artistic process, how do you decide what to make, what colors you'll use, etc?

“When I start my art work, I pick up my idea from some of the photos on the internet and use all the colors  in my artwork [sic].”

11. What inspires and motivates you to create art?

“I always do art every time my mind calms down, and every day i work two or three hours every night when I come home from work [sic].”

12. Is your art related to or inspired by your past life experiences?

“My art is an inspiration to me in my life [sic].”

13. What ideas and hopes do you have for your art in the future?

“My hope in my art work is that I can be a person in my work in the future and even be an entrepreneur for the community [sic].”