Nicholette Kominos- Fine Artist

When you were little what did you want to be when you grew up?

A reporter or teacher or ballerina, or all three combined.

What is your secret talent?

I’m exceptionally good at simple math. I can add sums very quickly in my head. Years ago, I was hired as an accounting clerk because I could add faster in my mind than when calculating the amounts on an adding machine. 

What are 3 things you have faith in?

A. My self/my family.

B. The process of making art: I have found that if I keep working even when everything I make seems wrong, my artwork will evolve. It is a process that is a mixture of consideration, intuition, and trust. 

C. My spiritual practices: working with a therapist, seeing energy or intuitive healers, and doing Transcendental Meditation.

What is your next major deadline?

I’m working toward a show scheduled in April 2023 at the Okawa Municipal Seiriki Art Museum, Fukuoka, Japan. I enjoy exhibiting in municipal spaces; since many people come for reasons other than the art, they often have surprising and fresh reactions. I am also excited as I was asked to do two workshops. We will make sculptures out of pipe cleaners, paint, and Styrofoam; with these materials, one can be very spontaneous. I expect there to be some strange and beautiful forms.

What did your family do on weekends when you were little? 

Growing up on Chicago’s Southside, there was always a lot to do. My parents and aunts would take us to museums, the zoo, or the aquarium, all of which were in magnificent parks next to Lake Michigan. We also spent many weekends visiting relatives’ homes. The adults would be talking, smoking, playing cards, or dancing, and my cousins and I would be in the basement playing board games, jumping on furniture, or outside exploring. It was not a rule, but neither the adults nor kids watched television on family outings or when we had visitors.

What did you like to buy from the school cafeteria?

Grilled cheese and French fries. The sandwiches were made with white bread, and the cheese was American. They were toasted on a grill, and the French fries were salty and probably fried in lard. On a rainy or snowy Chicago day, it was the perfect meal. I didn’t eat in a school cafeteria until I was a sophomore in high school; before then, we walked home at lunchtime.

What scares you the most about the future?

In the immediate future, I worry about not recognizing changes in my behavior because of the overwhelming problems we face as women, as a country, and as a global society, thus not noticing the signs that I am slowly giving up.

What Do You Get Every Time You Go Grocery Shopping?

Perrier in glass bottles; otherwise, I would drink too much coffee or Diet Coke.

will you share your famous pesto recipe?

Nicholette Kominos lives in Los Angeles with her Artist Partner Kristan Marvell. See more of her  beautiful work at  http://nicholettekominos.com

follow her work on Instagram @nicholettekominos_studio

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