My love for the ocean and Greece, and my main occupation – design and art – are the things that made me start the Greekit blog. Certainly, the most exciting thing about blogging is the encounter with people who have a fascinating life story. People that completely changed the course of their lives, chose to settle in Greece and work in the field that is closest to their hearts and desires – they are a source of inspiration for me.

Such a person is Tamar Tadmor. Tamar is a graduate of the Midrasha College of Art, who also studied graphic design at Mass College of Art in Boston. She was involved in art scene in Israel, as curator at the Digilab Art Hotel in Tel Aviv, and more. For one of the exhibitions she curated she contacted an artist who lives in Lesbos, who told her about his vision and dream of building an artist village on the island.

Tamar Tadmor

Lesbos, the third largest island in the Greek Islands, is located in the northeast of the Aegean Sea, covered with olive groves, rich in vegetation for all the changing seasons, marked walkways and small anchorage that allow you to feel nature up-close. A special and authentic island with no shopping centers, food chains or clothing brands, its population is welcoming and based mainly on agriculture, fishing and tourism.

Three months after that crucial meeting, Tamar landed in Lesbos for 10 days in which she explored the island thoroughly and decided: “This is where I am going to live.” Tamar has always loved the sea, From spending her childhood in the seaside city of Haifa, as the daughter of a captain who later sailed on his yacht, and as a seafaring instructor – she always lived in front of an open sea view.

She bought land in Lesbos, on a hilltop, looking over to two bays. She began building her house, met new friends, began to make connections there, and joined a local cooperative of local producers and craftsmen and women.

The vision of the artists’ village has not yet materialized, but many wonderful new things have happened.

After years of self-criticism and self-censorship, she has found the right time to allow herself to connect to the fountain of inspiration and joy and began painting in the workshop of Moti Shoval – an artist, teacher, painter and a ceramicist that also works with various printing techniques. They joined forces and committed to creating a space for painting workshops in Lesbos.

In Lesbos she found clean, pollution-free air that allows the deep recovery of breathing; clear seawater, so clear they use them to fill up olive containers for preservation; The preservation of ancient crafts and a slow, moderate way of living that requires a slow conduct. This atmosphere allows inward and outward observation, and a path to connect to our inner child, the one that feeds creativity and creation.

Lesbos Island is a source of attraction and inspiration for artists from all over the world who come for repeated visits, for a period of intensive work, while disconnecting from routine and daily life overseas. Familiar with the island and its wonderful inhabitants, Tamar feels a desire to share people and the world, and the joy of expression in painting, writing, photography and movement. She brings the best teachers to an intoxicating celebration of art.

The workshops are small and boutique and combine sessions of practice, conversation and guidance, painting in nature, in the citadel, in the markets, facing the landscapes and the beaches, visiting a local artist’s studio, watching international technical and painting films, joint meals at the taverns, And is limited to 12 participants.

Learn more about the workshop here

bestbanot@hotmail.com