Meet Simona Todorova

Today we’d like to introduce you to Simona Todorova.

Every artist has a unique story. Can you briefly walk us through yours?
Art always had a place in my life growing up. I used to sketch a lot when I was younger, but as I got older, it took a backseat to sports and school. However, I got to a point in my life where my stress was becoming too much for me to handle, and it was actively impacting my health. I needed to do something to relax me and help manage my stress, so I turned to painting for several years until I studied abroad my first time while at the university.

I couldn’t bring my painting supplies with me, so I naturally turned to photography as a makeshift way to still create and document the world around me. I fell in love with it during this time, but life got in the way until one day, during my senior year of university, I decided to make my blog as a place to post my travels and eventually digital art. I’ve been creating and growing ever since, and it has definitely made me very happy over the past year!

Please tell us about your art.
I stick to mainly portraits in which I try to capture a certain mood or message within that one set of photos. The great thing about photography is that even though I have an idea in mind, it is easy to improve it with the person I’m working with based on their personality and approach to actualizing the idea or message! A lot of the time, however, I go in with an open mind and create based on how my subject and I bond or bounce energy off each other, which has honestly helped create some of my best work! I tend to not plan as much because I don’t want to miss out on a great shot because I was too focused on creating one particular image.

Most of my work is honestly just to create something beautiful. It doesn’t always need a deeper meaning, because beauty and aesthetics are valuable in art, too. I do hope, though, that when people look at my work, they’re inspired to look for the beauty in the world and people around them and to take the time to just absorb and observe rather than be swept away by their to-do lists every day. Life’s too short to not give yourself a chance to enjoy it!

Given everything that is going on in the world today, do you think the role of artists has changed? How do local, national or international events and issues affect your art?
The great thing about being an artist is that you can take on any role you want within a society. Art itself is just a reflection of a set of beliefs portrayed in a way that is supposed to impact its viewers. It can be as serious or as meaningless as the artist wants it to be. There is inherently always a message, but it may not always be the one that people want to see. Artists were never meant to directly change the world.

However, their role is to make viewers be introspective and then the viewers change the world based on what they learned during this moment of self-reflection. So, to sum it up, the role of artists always has been one and the same: to get people to think. As for my art, I simply like to create beautiful images as a respite from the constant badgering of the news about all the terrible things going on in the world. The worse it is out there, the more I have to focus on helping point out all the beautiful things that still exist in the world around us.

How or where can people see your work? How can people support your work?
I have a blog and an Instagram account on which I post my work, and a Facebook page for booking sessions. They’re all great for posting your feedback and support, as well as getting the opportunity to work with me!

Contact Info:

• Website: therazkazi.com
• Email: stodorova.razkazi@gmail.com
• Instagram: @therazkazi
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/The-Razkazi-301054447319827/

Image Credit:
Emily Hood, Patrick Nissen, Monti Deboer

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