“As a mother and educator, "making" has been the cornerstone of my philosophy. ”
— Jill Evans-Kavaldjian
Click to vew the YouTube video of Jill, Ailsin and Nora Kavaldjian
View more of Jill's work at Art at garden corner
Find out more about The Polka Dots- For more exhibit images, visit our flicker site.
Aislin Kavaldjian
Aislin is an all-around artist at age seventeen. Now a junior at Loudoun Valley High School, she has loved visual art since she was very small, and began piano at age five. Since then she has added accordion, fiddle, banjo and recently, guitar to her list of instruments. She started an old-time band, The Polka Dots, at age 15 with her sister, featuring tight vocal harmonies and an eclectic mix of early jazz, gypsy music, bluegrass and original compositions.. Now a trio with bassist Olivia Zook, the band plays most weekends at area venues and festivals. Aislin has written music, poems and graphic novels and has illustrated others' works as well; she has published her work online and in print. In addition, she is an active participant in most of LVHS' dramatic productions, appearing this year in Oliver! and Julius Caesar. Committed to supporting a diversity of viewpoints in society, Aislin is a Safe School Ambassador at Valley, as well as a co-founder and Vice-President of the Gay-Straight Alliance at the school.
Jill Evans-Kavaldjian
Born in 1961 in Fairfax, Virginia, Jill studied art at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia, (graduating with a BFA in Painting and Printmaking in 1988) and Art Education at Shepherd University. She has worked as an artist, writer, and teacher. As a preschool teacher for Loudoun County Parks & Recreation (2001 - 2005) she created a complete arts-centered curriculum for 4-year olds. Among her artistic projects is a series of large oil paintings depicting migratory birds in their habitats commissioned by the Fish and Wildlife Service. In addition to her prints, drawings, collages and paintings, Jill has created numerous murals, signs, t-shirt designs and printed materials for her commercial clients. She teaches art in her studio (Art at Garden Corner), at the Round Hill Arts Center, and at Treehouse for Creative Kids in Ashburn, Virginia. Her work can often be seen in Loudoun County; at Franklin Park Arts Center, at the Round Hill Arts Center, at the Gateway Gallery, and at numerous regional shows. Married with two daughters, Jill lives and works in the hamlet of Morrisonville in northwestern Loudoun County.
Nora Kavaldjian
Nora has been drawing since she could hold a pencil. At fifteen she is a ninth-grader attending Harmony Intermediate and an accomplished cartoonist/graphic novelist. Nora has always loved to sing and began learning guitar at age 9. In 2008 she was introduced to the mandolin, which is now her favorite instrument; this winter Nora started playing the bass as well. Along with her sister, she is a founding member of the local oldtime band, The Polka Dots, where she provides lively rhythms and vocal harmonies. Nora is captivated by science, and many of her drawings combine features of animal anatomy to make new, original characters. Nora is a veteran of many school and community theater productions, including Oliver! at Loudoun Valley High School; she is looking forward to attending LVHS next year.
Aislin Kavaldjian
If you make art to please yourself, it doesn't matter what other people say about it.
Jill Evans-Kavaldjian
Everyone knows someone who says they "can't" draw. What that person usually means is that they don't value their drawing ability. At some point in their lives, they lost belief in their competence in drawing and experienced a kind of punishing failure. Not everyone will be able to draw the way they want to, but anyone who can write letters is actually drawing. They just don't think of it that way.
As a mother and educator, "making" has been the cornerstone of my philosophy. It means always having a "safe" place to create, where messes are not a problem and you can follow your ideas to wherever they land. I think that this concept of safety is the most important part of creating competency. With this kind of learning safety, there are no real failures, only experiments. Without punitive failure, we can learn from our setbacks and continue. Continuing is the key to mastery in any field. Everyone can achieve success by making something that is important to them. What you make is up to you — music, poetry, plays, photos, food, on and on.
People often remark upon the wide variety of my work when they come to my studio — from block prints to paper constructions, oil paintings to parade floats, outdoor signs to detailed pencil drawings, masks, giant strips of bacon, wax paper wings, and more. I'm happy to make different kinds of things, and to follow my concepts into different media. I think I got this "jack-of all trades" characteristic from my mother, who did a little bit of everything. When I look to the future I think of all the new things I will try. Up next is learning the guitar, and learning how to knit again. Maybe the fifth time it will finally stick.
When each of us is dead and people look back upon our time, the things that we made — our culture — will shine brighter and brighter as the "important" issues of the moment, like budgets, scandals, and politics, steadily fade. The passion for "making" passed down to me through my family has grown stronger in each generation. As small children my girls had a corner of an enclosed porch we outfitted as their Art Center. It was a place filled with tools and materials of all kinds, and they spent a good portion of each day there. Now they each carry their own "art center" within them, making drawings, poetry and music wherever they go.
Nora Kavaldjian
If you can make something beautiful or meaningful, you might as well share it!