Encounters: Ez Silva – Rotterdam, The Netherlands
~ by Sivan Ravivo
On my quest for interesting artists to fill Storybook, Ez Silva is the first illustrator I talk to. She was recommended to Stella by someone on Instagram during our open call for illustrators. I scroll through her feed and beautiful women in all kinds of powerful and vulnerable poses pass by. I am very excited about this work and think it would fit beautifully in Storybook. The combination of graphic elements, lines, powerful women and dark warm colours give it all a mystical feeling. She is immediately enthusiastic when I email her about Storybook and we make an appointment to do a video call.
Ez lives in Rotterdam and we talk about life as an illustrator. She tells me that she has lived a large part of her life in ‘masculine’ energy and had trouble with fitting feminine in her life. During her burnout she started looking at all sides of herself and has brought it more into balance now. In that period, she also started drawing as an outlet. It strikes me that the women she draws are so powerful, they look like warriors. She says that she often draws 2 women as a mirror to each other. From my perspective Ez resembles all these beautiful women that she draws herself.
We talk about what it means to be a woman in our current society and that you can fill your life in different ways. For example with or without children. Raised in a large family and with a strong mother who gave everything for her children, she compares it with her life and finds that there are some differences. She sometimes wonders how her mother experienced this. We wholeheartedly agree that it’s important to follow your heart and choose the life that makes you the happiest. It surprises me that even in a video call I feel a real heart to heart connection to Ez and my thoughts drift away to a future with a big Storybook party so I can meet everyone in real life…
You can meet Ez and many other special people and their stories and images in Storybook. Follow us on Instagram and subscribe to our newsletter if you wish to stay updated.
