Holzkirchen artist gives tips: “Less is often more”

Artist Lizzie Hladik has been running a studio in Holzkirchen since 2008. She talks to our newspaper about the effortless play with the material.

Holzkirchen – In her studio in Holzkirchen, creativity can be felt, but also clearly seen. Like the thousands of traces of paint on her huge work table. It is the workplace of Lizzie Hladik, who has been working here since 2008. On the one hand, she creates her own works in painting, experimental mixed media and her small sculptures. On the other hand, there are courses for children and adults here.

Painting influenced by natural phenomena

Born in Innsbruck, she is a trained wholesaler, then turned to interior design and wall design, and continued to train as a painter through distance learning and courses with Alex Darda, Alexander Jeanmaire and Bernd Zimmer, for example. She has lived with her family in Holzkirchen since 1998, and has been working freelance since then and is active with solo and group exhibitions. She also travels to a lot of art fairs.

Hladik’s painting is profoundly influenced by nature and its phenomena such as water and light, her sculptural work by the use of original materials, which she carefully develops into the finished object with respect and sensitivity when it comes to paper or fine fabric. The impressive results are floral, fragile and airy-light objects made of wire and tissue paper that adorn her studio.

Lecturer for 25 years

But courses at the adult education center in Holzkirchen and in her studio have also been part of Hladik’s artistic routine for 25 years now. In her work as a lecturer, curiosity and enthusiasm are aroused in a relaxed atmosphere without pressure or high expectations. Children and young people paint pictures, draw comics and animals, or create smaller sculptural works, while the adults can choose their topic.

“I want to convey what works so that the picture is created in such a way that the participants discover materials in a playful way and what they can do with them,” explains the ambitious artist and lecturer. “It’s a lot about trying things out and experimenting and gathering your own experiences,” Hladik continues.

They can share some of their experiences in advance: “For example, that you usually need much less paint than you think.” It is also important – and this is especially true for adults – to carefully approach the goal in small steps and keep checking what is happening.” And here too, “less is often more.”

Courage to be creative

Hladik also passes on her many years of experience as part of her Friday creative courses. One workshop is called “Funny cardboard friends for the children’s room.” It is a good example of how it doesn’t take much to achieve a successful result. The “ingredients” are everyday objects that everyone has at home. A used kitchen roll, for example, or other, larger cardboard rolls, which are then glued vertically to a board and painted in bright colors, are a good basis for the funny cardboard figures.

(By the way: Everything from the region is now also available in our regular Holzkirchen newsletter.)

No limits to your imagination

There are no limits to your imagination: used coffee capsules could serve as eyes and nets in which oranges or lemons were once bought could serve as hair. The small tubes from pump bottles could be antennas and the stalked eyes of aliens. Other everyday objects that are well suited to imaginative figures and suitable objects are deodorant bottle caps, corks, ice cream spoons, the silver foil from yogurt lids, which can be used to make flowers and “upcycled” into an attractive flower with a piece of floral wire and tissue paper.

This means that aesthetic objects can often be created with very little means. And Hladik always follows the same principle: “Walk through the world, through nature, with your eyes open, give your imagination space, be curious and don’t stifle your enthusiasm with expectations that are too high.”