personal note:

"I was born in Athens, Greece and brought up between Athens, Syros (Cyclades) and the USA by an American father and Greek/Britsh/Belgian mother…Whether I liked it or not I was bound to not fit in most national environments yet comfortably adjust to almost any I have been thrown in. Yet when I am asked where I am from, I say “Greece” in a manner as if “can you not tell?”

As a child I woke up many the mornings to the sound of classical music, my mother an artist herself filled the house with creativity and I decided I was an artist before I even knew the meaning of the word.

The Greek part of my family is from the island of Syros, a big family that thrived on textile manufacturing in the mid 1900’s. As children we spent all our summers there and moved there for 4 years permanently when I was a teenager. Syros, the sea, and dry land are very strong elements of home to me.

At 17 years old I left childhood and moved to London to study at Chelsea College of Art and Design, Public Art and Design, followed by an MFA in Theatre Design at The Slade School of Fine Art. I studied for 6 years but started working and showing work as an artist in the big scary world from my second year of studies.

Since then I have been living quite a nomadic lifestyle, based primarily between London, and Athens, and going to NY as much as possible. I lived in London for 10 years and my main studio is now based in Athens as I realized I can’t stay in London for too long! London is filled with energy, the people I have met there and work I have developed is irreplaceable, Greece however holds a natural energy of a different kind, which makes you see things clearly. It is essential for me to move around, taste everything I can. I am a great believer that the recipe for tranquility and contentment is to run, stop, stay still, then repeat."

More about Eileen's work as an artist can be found on www.eileenbotsford.com