MemphisVoyager Magazine Interview
2021
Life & Work with Evelina Dillon
Today we’d like to introduce you to Evelina Dillon. Them and their team share their story with us below:
Evelina V. Dillon was born in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. She grew up in a family of musicians and artists. Her grandfather, Sergey Uvarov was a professional artist who passed away when her mom was only 10 years old. One of his paintings was right above the piano at home, so Evelina would look at it every day while practicing piano. Other family members had more of his paintings. Her mom and grandmother told stories about his life and his work.
Her parents wanted her to study music, so Evelina started taking piano lessons at 5 years of age, graduated from local music college with a major in classical piano in 1993, and worked as a music teacher for 2 years. However, she wanted to have more contact with adults and not as a teacher, but as a friend. She believed being a hairdresser would provide such an environment. Evelina moved to the USA in November 1996. She graduated from Ohio State School of Cosmetology and was hired by Charles Penzone, the best salon in Columbus, Ohio. Evelina felt she found something she loved to do.
This career provided an opportunity to meet interesting people she would never meet otherwise: doctors, housewives, lawyers, journalists, students, designers, artists, teachers, engineers… Everyone had a story, and she loved to be a part of their lives. In 2007, an opportunity presented to move to Charleston, WV. Within the first two months there, Evelina bought a small beauty salon in the middle of downtown Charleston. She felt at home almost immediately. She learned how to live in the hills covered with an untouched forest filled with animals, snakes, birds, and insects, many of which she never knew about before.
It seemed like she had everything, but at the same time, she felt she needed something more. Then there was 2014, when through a deep personal trauma. It was a very difficult year. To keep herself together and to get a fresh start, she decided to sell everything, close the salon and move to Memphis, TN. Evelina found a job at Gould’s salon, doing what she has done for so long, but she also wanted to try something new, not associated with her previous life, something she never had a chance to do before, something she always wanted to do since she was a little girl: Drawing. She asked advice from one of her clients Andrea Blevins, a professional artist, who recommended starting with Zentangles.
Evelina started to draw and then to paint. She took classes at Flicker Street Studio from Sunny Montgomery. She learned that the best way to get better is to paint a lot. Soon after she entered several contests and won them. One of them was Memphis in May contest for the 2019 Memphis Poster. Winning that contest was the largest stepping stone to a change from creating art as a hobby to being a professional artist.
Despite difficult challenges during the Pandemic, In November of 2020, Evelina opened her own Art Studio and Gallery in a heart of Cooper-Young Historic District.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The biggest challenge is to stay true to myself and find enough time for everything I want and need to do. In this world, “to be different” is still a challenge. It’s interesting when people dismiss you as a person and only after they see your work and achievement come back around and want to know who you are.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Keep learning is my focus. Every day I ask myself, “What did I learn today?” I hope in 20 years from now, I will be asking myself the same question. I love to experiment and ask myself questions “What if?” The beauty of art is that there is no right or wrong, it’s just different. My posters are the true expression of that mindset.
Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
Trust myself is the biggest lesson. I tend to easily rely on my closest circle of friends. I assume I learned that behavior as a child and now, as an adult I continue to dismiss the importance of what I think. It’s so important to know myself and correct learned behaviors that limit my abilities.
Article by Jessica Ramirez
