by Lee Down

29-07-2022

I love stories where there are big treasures that have originated from tiny, tucked away places. The tale of erotic artist, Lea Jelargic, and her bold, inviting abstract style of art, that she calls Eloah’s Art, is just such a gem from the small country of Bosnia.

The name of Lea Jelargic’s style of art, Eloah’s Art, can be directly translated to “God’s Art”. Truly a very meaningful title for any artist to dub their style of art. Lea Jelargic is leaving herself with big shoes to fill for sure.

If I am to speak in vague geographical terms, Bosnia, which is located in the Balkan region of southeast Europe, is approximately 5,200 square kilometres in area. While the UK, by comparison, is approximately 245,000 square kilometres in area. This makes the UK about 370 percent larger than Bosnia. And now, as you will read about the amazing erotic artist, Lea Jelargic and her wondrous Eloah’s Art, you, too, will come to know what a gift tiny Bosnia has given us in both of them.

Putting Erotic Art Simply

Erotic art. Those two words put together can mean a lot of different things to a lot of different people. But when you break down the individual words to their origins and then add them back together, the beauty that equation equals cannot be denied. It is a lovely “story problem”, if you will.

Erotic is Greek in origin. At its core, it means nothing more, or perhaps nothing less (?), than love. Art is also Greek in origin. It refers to weaving or fabricating. To craft something. So simply putting two and two together: erotic art = crafting love. And who does not want a part of that?

It is with this definition in mind that I invite you to discover the fascinating techniques that Lea Jelargic applies in the physical creation process of Eloah’s Art. I also encourage you to keep this definition of erotic art in mind as you read on to come to understand Lea’s philosophies behind Eloah’s Art. Most importantly, I hope the simplicity of this definition, in the end, translates within you to the truly rare personal beauty in Eloah’s Art.

Life Brewing in Lea Jelargic to Create Eloah’s Art

Just like so many other artists, Lea Jelargic begins nearly every piece of Eloah’s Art with a sketch in a notebook. These sketches materialize when an idea is planted in Lea’s unbarred imagination by something in her life…a flower, the words of a song, just something she finds beauty in.

Lea Jelargic can feel the planted seed of the idea sprouting within her. As the thought grows, it changes shape. Eventually it loses all possible forms except one. Sometime later, the idea goes through its final metamorphosis to its ultimate shape. It is then that Lea finds it too much to contain within herself any longer……and another sketch is born for an exquisite piece of Eloah’s Art.

Lea Jelargic’s Harmony in Erotic Art/Eloah’s Art

The “way of relating to the world” that Lea Jelargic employs to keep Harmony at the forefront in her erotic art is called Wabi Sabi. Lea discovered this dogma while on a trek through the Far East. Wabi Sabi is a Japanese ideology that proposes there should be a deep acceptance of the ephemeral and imperfection. It also says that both of these elements should be viewed as natural and important aspects on the journey to perfection.

When erotic artist, Lea Jelargic, finds Harmony in Eloah’s Art, we are given the gift of seeing the everyday act of sex that we so frequently engage in as nature sometimes intended…hurried and messy, or imperfect, as the complete opposite. A pristine moment in time.

The Step by Step of Lea Jelargic’s Eloah’s Art

Lea Jelargic uses the ancient Chinese woodcut method to create Eloah’s Art. (“Chinese woodcut” is the all-inclusive term for the entire process of Lea Jelargic’s Eloah’s Art.) Chinese woodcut was originally developed as a manner of printing on cloth. It was used more in East Asia between the seventh century AD. and the nineteenth century to print various texts and images than any other method. The oldest surviving specimen on cloth in China dates all the way back to before 220 AD.

Initially, Lea will draw the design from her original sketch directly onto a board she will be later carving. This drawing is only done as a loose guide for the upcoming carving. Lea Jelargic intends it to “give a hint, a vibe, a suggestion of something erotic”. As a result, her creative spirit is still free and experimenting in the final drawing and carving.

The actual woodblock printing is physically arduous. It involves Lea Jelargic carving her intended image in reverse on a piece of wood. This will leave only the outline of the image on the wood. Then Lea applies the inks to the woodblock and prints them on paper.

After the print is complete, there is a final practice of mounting the printed piece of paper to another piece of paper. This creates a flat surface. Usually this is done on a machine, but sometimes Lea Jelargic’s passion for Eloah’s Art gets the best of her, and she does this part by hand as well.

Just as drawing on the raw, uncut woodblock is the first step in the process, drawing on the finished printed paper is the final step, too. This is not a function in traditional Chinese woodcut. Lea Jelargic has developed the ancient method to further exalt Eloah’s Art. Lea feels just as intensely about drawing as she does about every other part of her magnificent Eloah’s Art. She defines drawing as “…an artist’s handwriting….”. The conclusion of the drawing can happen immediately after the woodblock print is complete. More often than not, it does not happen until much later. Lea finds that she discovers the erotic images of Eloah’s Art much more than she creates them. I guess all good things do come with time.

How Lea Jelargic Happened into Erotic Art

Seeking to express “…some deeper inner characteristics of (her) being…”, Lea Jelargic found herself pulled toward erotic art. The biggest reason she can identify is from her childhood. Lea grew up in the 1990’s, during the Bosnian War (April, 1992-December, 1995). She says that the war left marks on her that she cannot hone in on even as an adult. All Lea really knows is that it spurred her on to questing a more profound meaning of life.

“Falling” into erotic art may seem like an odd place to have landed from such a tragic event, but as her tale continues to unfold in the following paragraphs, you will follow her path that leads to this ending.

Eros in Lea Jelargic’s Erotic Eloah’s Art

Eros plays a significant role in Lea Jelargic’s erotic Eloah’s Art. Lea is highly aware that many people view her exceptionally created abstract lovers as pornography. They see no love. No Eros. But she also is able to immediately recognize that viewpoint as valid as any other opinion on her art. However, when I dig deeper into the meaning of Eros myself, I found a wider, societal reference to “life energy”. This is a somewhat looser definition that quickly had Lea Jelargic’s erotic Eloah’s Art resonating with me even more deeply.

We see Eros at work again when Lea Jelargic speaks of ancient cultures respecting certain sexual practices and the realm of all of their possibilities. With this, Lea refers directly to the “life energy” that these ancient cultures knew how to preserve. She is so intrepid as to say, “Eros is not vulgar, we are.” Going further, Lea compares modern day society to the aforementioned cultures. She says that today we starve for the energy the world is made of. Simply because we are unaware of it. Ultimately, Eros…love…”life energy” is lost in present day life. Including sexuality. Where Lea Jelargic feels it belongs more than any other place.

Lea Jelargic is driven by Eros. By the way she sees man treating it today. Or mistreating it. “People yearn for love, say yes to sex, search for intimacy, but are afraid to deepen it.”

The goal Lea Jelargic has with her erotic Eloah’s Art is two-fold. The first being that she intends to metamorphose sexuality into unclouded Eros. And the second is by offering that possibility, she hopes to inspire people to question themselves. To try to find something different, new, perhaps even something more. Not just sex. Not even just Eros. There is so much more in the web of life itself.

Lea Jelargic/Eloah’s Art- The Erotic Artist on the Inside

Frankly, there is not much in Lea Jelargic’s life that does not touch upon art. One of the two foremost things in Lea’s life is the Tantra, or the Tantric principles she follows faithfully. Tantric refers to the “web of life”. Within the web are multitudes of aspects of life that Lea lives by. Just one is Eros. However, Lea points out according to Tantra, Eros, like every other strand in the “web of life” cannot be solely focused on. Should it be, the web would fail. Just as it would should any other strand be focused on. It is also through Tantra that Lea remains “…open to life, but also aware of the consequences of (her) doing….having a free will does not abolish responsibility.”

The other huge consequential part of Lea Jelargic’s life that is present in all she does, including her erotic Eloah’s Art, is her strong conviction in “the Divine”. A continual inspiration for Lea. She did name her art “Eloah” after all.

And finally getting to the world that more of us, perhaps even most of us, are more accustomed to. Lea Jelargic was born in Sarajevo, the capitol city of Bosnia. She still resides there today. Lea is an instructor at the Academy of Fine Arts in Sarajevo.

Lea’s own education consisted of obtaining her MA in studies in 2013. Also at the Academy of Fine Arts in Sarajevo. She accomplished this in the Printmaking Department with professor Salim Obralic as her mentor. When Lea was in school in Sarajevo, she left to study abroad in China. While in China, she attended the China Academy of Fine Arts in Hangzhou under the tutelage of professor Zhang Xiaofeng. During this time, this is where Lea Jelargic learned the traditional method of Chinese woodcut.

She also learned to speak Chinese fluently through her studies at this time.

Lea Jelargic travels extensively in both duration and distance for both of her professions as an erotic artist and a university instructor. The schedule she keeps between working on creating Eloah’s Art on a daily basis, teaching and travelling, Lea does not have time to indulge in any pets to share her studio space with, as so many artists tend to enjoy. Or tolerate.

Lea Jelargic’s Erotic Eloah’s Art Summed Up

Lea Jelargic produces fantastical abstract erotic images in Eloah’s Art. Her colours, lines and textures are brilliant individually. Together, as a whole piece, they present us with a sensual reality. Full of reflective emotions that we are so lucky to experience through any art at all.

Viewing Eloah’s Art is an experience of profound intimacy. Between Lea’s exquisite abstract erotic art and the thoughtful titles she gives her pieces, we are transported to a place within us that is almost so secret, even we are surprised to go there. It is a memory. A moment. Maybe just an instant. The world was still. The love we felt was all that mattered. In a flash it was gone. But now you see how Lea Jelargic brings those tender, magical, cherished, soulful moments back to us. It can be shocking. Dare I say alarming? But feel the love.

In the end…Eloah’s Art is like oatmeal – it is something we’ve all tried, most of us like it, we can season it any way we prefer to, it is so good for our hearts, minds and souls and it is pure. Above all, none of this is anything to be ashamed to admit… not even about the oatmeal.

Where to Find More from Lea Jelargic, Eloah’s Art

Click each to visit her at these links:

Eloah Art on Instagram

Eloah Art on Facebook

Follow her WordPress Blog for Eloah Art

About the Writer

My name is Nikki Finnigan. I am a visual artist and I love the opportunity to write about wall of these amazing artists as it is another way to bring art to my life. Please follow me on-Granny Finnigan’s Art.