THE CREATIVE VOICE. This is the first in a series of monthly posts that will explore the sources of creative inspiration of living artists. Featured artists will speak of the unique circumstances that cause the Muses to visit them, and how they understand and interpret what the Muses are imparting. The artists will share their personal intuitions and insights, sometimes by telling a story, sometimes by explaining a concept or vision. May this exhilarating voyage encourage and motivate the artist in each of us.
Every artist dips his brush in his own soul, and paints his own nature into his pictures. ~ Henry Ward Beecher
It is evident with a given name like Aldina Chiara Rubino that Destiny anticipated the flowering of a great artist.
Native of Sicily, the fertile, sun-drenched island off the southern coast of Italy, Aldina Chiara spent a happy childhood in Syracuse (Siracusa), an ancient nexus of cultures, where her family owned a popular European tourist resort. At an early age she learned to appreciate the richness of her Italian heritage.
Success, in the truest sense of the word, lies in the Passion for Creativity. Inspiration becomes Beauty for the Eye and a Call for the Heart. ~ Aldina Chiara Rubino
At 18 she traveled to Germany where she trained and worked as a simultaneous interpreter. It was in Ramstein that Aldina Chiara was introduced to stained glass, signing up for her first class in a small artisan shop near her home. It didn’t take long thereafter for stained glass to became her artistic passion.
By invitation from her brother, who operated a thriving Italian ristorante in Felton, Aldina Chiara relocated to Central California to assist him in managing the business. She simultaneously worked on stained glass pieces, many commissioned by customers who had admired her work on display at the restaurant. When La Bruschetta was sold, Aldina Chiara took employment in Santa Cruz to acquire further skills in her craft. After three years at Kiss My Glass, she was ready to open her private art studio in Ben Lomond.
Her ongoing interest in world cultures, history, mythology, religion, sacred geometry, and symbolism have given Aldina Chiara an abundant field from which to draw ideas that spark her imagination.
“Continuing education is a key to flourishing artistically. Many of my friends are musicians, dancers, singers, and performers, so they keep our conversations stimulating. In reflecting on my own life story, I marvel at all the Divine Ingredients that came together at the right time to make it possible for me to follow my passion of being a full-time stained glass artist.”
One essential ingredient is a conscious change Aldina Chiara made over the last five years in her way of being in the world. In a word, her philosophy is: Amore (Love).
“I cultivate a positive attitude toward others, a respect for their accumulated experiences, and a deep affection for my community.”
“When I work on stained glass, I encourage the client to help with the design, choose the colors of glass, and share a vision of the finished product. I like to think of this process as ‘Magical Synergy.’ I use the world ‘magical’ because often clients are unaware of their own artistic inclinations and it is like magic when they first recognize this. As I watch our artwork reach completion, I am in awe of what we have together fashioned.”
When asked about her special Muse, Aldina Chiara’s answer came easily:
“My Muse is the little girl I once was: Golden Child of the Universe, complete, whole, and happy. She guides me so that I am aligned with my Highest Self.”
To send light into the darkness of men’s hearts — such is the duty of the artist. ~ Robert Schumann
Through a harmonious blending of color and design, the work of Aldina Chiara comes alive and dances in the changing light, so it is never static or boring, but always new and full of surprises.
Thumbnail image: Baldassare Peruzzi’s Apollo and the Muses (1514-23), oil on wood, Galleria Palatina (Palazzo Pitti) Florence, Italy. This panel was part of a case for a keyboard instrument. Peruzzi, a follower of Raphael, was an architect and painter who moved fluidly among artistic tasks, but his heart was in drawing, as the dancers’ gracefully swirling skirts joyously demonstrate.
Image (above right): Aldina Chiara at work in her studio.
In-text images of stained glass (in order of appearance): Cleopatra; Ganesha; Tree of Life; White Buffalo Woman (detail); Buddha; and Isis.
