Meet Iva Hladis

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Iva Hladis a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, so we’re so thrilled to have Iva with us today – welcome and maybe we can jump right into it with a question about one of your qualities that we most admire. How did you develop your work ethic? Where do you think you get it from?

My work ethic was developed during my early years. I grew up in communist Czechoslovakia where most people had nothing, some had little and the government had everything. My family belonged to somewhere between nothing and very little, so anything I desired, wanted I had to go to work and raised the money myself. My very first serious purchase at the age of fifteen was a pair of Levi’s jeans which took my two months summer school break working at a shoe factory.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

I escaped my homeland when I was 20 years old and after I graduated collage. The main reason behind leaving my country was the fact that I was denied studying art. As soon as I was granted a political asylum in the United States and learned English, I embarked on my journey pursuing art. It was a long, but exciting path of establishing myself as a professional artist and jeweler. I spent years of taking different art classes, years of being a studio assistant, where the hands on experience benefited me the most.
After more than three decades I feel well established in both my artistic expressions, here in the Bay Area where I moved to from Los Angeles.
Annually I participate in “Art at the Source” open studio tour throughout Sonoma County, my art is represented by the Calabi Gallery in Santa Rosa and my jewelry by The Ren Brown Collection in Bodega Bay.
Aside from my daily studio time, I am also working on my memoir of growing up, escaping over the Alps, the immigrant experiences along the way and mainly about being an artist. I set a deadline to finish the story this year.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

Passion, persistence and patience.
My advice to anyone early in their journey is not paying any attention to the many rejections you will encounter. Just keep on going with your artistic expression. No one is entitled to judge you but you, yourself.
Follow your dream and put that on the top of your intent, purpose in life. And know that this, most likely, will take years, so patience is the main ingredient.

To close, maybe we can chat about your parents and what they did that was particularly impactful for you?

Both of my parents played a few important roles in my life. Especially early on, enrolling me at the age of five into gymnastics, where my endurance, work ethic and patience first developed. Then at fifteen supporting me through the heartbreak of being denied art study. But the most important was their understanding of my escape even though we did not know at the time if we will ever see one another. For them it was more important that I have the opportunity to become what I dreamed of being, an artist.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://ivahladis.com
• Instagram: @ivahladis
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/iva-hladis-a242516

Image Credits

Vern Evans (headshot)
Dennis Calabi (deYoung Museum wall displaying my “Empty Nest” painting)
Leslie Zumwalt (jewelry pop-up display)