Sirarpi Chibukhchyan: The Synthesis Created at TUMO Studios
The lively atmosphere of the ceramics room
If you are familiar with TUMO Studios, then you’ve definitely noticed the hustle and bustle in the ceramics room. As students concentrate on their pottery wheels, others move about the ceramics workshop while the furnace tirelessly fires their new creations. In the windows overlooking the ceramics workshop from the printing room, you will see Sirarpi Chibukhchyan working quietly and carefully in the middle of the bustle.
Sirarpi is a painter by profession, from a family of artists.
She was immersed in an environment where the paintings exhibited in galleries and museums were created, which only further fueled her passion for the arts.
“After graduating from the Yerevan State Academy of Fine Arts, I came to TUMO Studios. I was interested in applied art that is more understandable to people”, said Sirarpi, remembering that she wanted to follow a different, non-academic path of getting a master’s degree.
The artist behind the ceramics and prints
She got acquainted with Studios in the spring of 2021, during the ceramics technical course. In the past 2 years, Sirarpi participated in a ceramics technical course and over a dozen design workshops.
“I was always interested in the combination of painting and ceramics. I tried to follow what my friends were working on and asked questions about various professional details. At Studios, I finally found the answers to all my questions about ceramics. I tried different techniques and took the first steps to try to find my own style”.
Sirarpi is also involved in the production of TUMO Studios. She created about 7,000 pins for the charity campaign with IDram and IDBank in 2022.
“I did it all in one week,” says Sirarpi, remembering the allergies, the complications, and the emotions of making so many pins in one day.
Some of Sirarpi’s creations are available for purchase at the TUMO Studios shop: tote bags, vases, and posters.
“The other side that interests me is graphics. I participated in various printing ateliers at TUMO Studios, created works with linocut and etching techniques.”
Outside of Pushkin 38
Sirarpi also creates in her own studio.
“Reflecting on my artistic journey, I’ve found a way to synthesize my passion for painting and ceramics. Initially, transitioning from 2D to 3D was difficult,” she reflects.
The first example of this synthesis is her collection of six plates.
“The illustrations depict Shorzha’s final journey, and I used three colors, primarily blue, to capture the mood of Chet Baker’s ‘Almost Blue.’ I always feel blue about Shorzha.”
On TUMO Studios
“The Studios are dynamic and ever-evolving, thanks to the new professionals, students, stories, and ideas they bring. After each student, the Studios are different, synthesized with their ideas and stories.
Also Studios are an art product system, much like an incubation system where a student creates a product that would hardly have been created without all of this,” she shares.
