Through the use of mixed media and watercolor, Tori Kovarik creates abstract images and landscapes and explores experiences of trauma and the constant acts of recreating and rebuilding that follow trauma.” I do this to bear witness to the harsh realities of experiencing trauma and the hard work of processing and healing from trauma,” Tori says. “I primarily address threats against one’s personhood and agency and the resulting mental health and interpersonal issues that frequently arise in the aftermath.”
Tori has loved creating art since she was a child, taking art classes all through high school and enrolling in one art class during her freshman year of college. However, she shifted her focus to poetry for a number of years. “After college I was very focused on poetry as my primary creative practice but began incorporating painting in my poetic practice by meditating on the concepts and subjects I was writing about while painting abstract pieces, which was new for me,” she recalls. Mixed media abstract art became very important as she processed traumatic experiences and began writing about them in poetry. She began dabbling in watercolor after attending a short class with an artist in Vermont, and it has now become the other primary medium that she uses in her art.
Tori’s poetry and visual art are frequently in dialogue with one another and circle similar themes in a given time period. The combination of visual art and poetry help her more fully process and articulate an idea. “I particularly enjoy the way a poem highlights the thoughts behind a piece of art and a piece of art lends intensity and atmosphere to the reading of a poem.”
Tori has been learning and experimenting on her own with abstract art and different mediums since returning to visual art after college. One particular aspect she has been exploring in her recent work is the reclamation of control. “I do this by adding elements I cannot control to my work, like thrown paint or adding coffee grounds to a canvas to alter the flow and color of ink as it dries,” she says. “By introducing some random, uncontrolled elements, I create scenarios where I am forced to reimagine how a piece will evolve and claim control of it again. For me this mirrors the experience of rebuilding after the severe interruption of trauma and finding a new way to live after a traumatic experience.”
Tori shares that her most recent work has been inspired by the intensity of trauma and the frustratingly nonlinear process of healing from trauma. “I have been focused on this in a broad sense, creating from my own experiences with trauma and healing, as well as the experiences of others I know and bearing witness to traumas and the struggle of communities to heal on a larger scale,” she explains.
When creating, she occasionally approaches a piece with specific themes or subject matter in mind. Other times a focal color or color palette or mark makings lead Tori down a creative path. “Each approach lends to a different process as the work develops,” she says. Although she frequently uses brushes, palette knives, eye droppers, and a spray bottle, Tori likes to mix things up by using fabric dipped in ink or paint, coffee grounds, sticks, and metallic gel pens. “I try to continually introduce new tools and elements to my art, creating uncontrolled and unexpected things to force me to reimagine how I’ll move forward.”
To see the most up-to-date of Tori’s artwork and works in progress, follow her on Instagram (@tlanekovarik). To view original arts and prints for sale, visit her website at torilanekovarik.com. Additional work is also available for purchase at vikavisualarts.org/torikovarik.
