When you first walk into the Paint Branch Studio, you have to remind yourself that you are not in a trendy artist garret in Greenwich Village, but rather in a suburban home in Colesville.  The small rooms are packed with an eclectic collection of artist materials and projects--colorful beads, rainbows of paint containers and other materials carefully housed in see through plastic containers or hung about the room.  Artistic creativity is literally and figuratively flowing in a sea of colors throughout the studio.  Enter the creative and exciting world of Carol Zilliacus, an artist extraordinaire.

Although art, dance and music were very influential in Zilliacus's childhood, it was not something she focused on for many years. As an Early Childhood Development teacher, Zilliacus used artistic techniques to inspire children to learn and be creative.  After 20 years as a teacher, she retired and began taking her own art more seriously.  She took painting classes and produced wonderful pieces. Unfortunately, it was about that time when Zilliacus was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis which would eventually prevent her from traditional painting and sculpting.

Zilliacus said that she may have been discouraged, but she was not defeated.  She took life's lemons and made lemonade by working with a different technique.

"I work with polymer clay as though it was fabric," Zilliacus said. "Layering, tearing, cutting and carving it to produce tapestries rich in form, lines, texture, color, and rhythm."  She points to one of her first polymer paintings, a beautiful Kimono robe shimmering like silk in deep colors.

She also developed a process to take the place of having to roll out the clay by hand.  She takes colored layers of clay and presses them through an electric pasta machine to produce strands or threads that she then molds into abstract art, jewelry and masks.

"If you can't beat it, you have to live with it and create--improvise," Zilliacus said of her arthritis. 

Zilliacus teaches art as well.  She has held faculty positions in many schools including Maryland College of Art & Design and the Corcoran School in Rockville Her works have been featured in art books, magazine and newspaper articles and television programs such as "Around Town" on PBD.  Her work has been seen in hundreds of shows and exhibits across the country including the Strathmore Arts Center in Rockville, Craft as Art Festival in New York  and the American Craft Council Show in Baltimore.

Currently, one of Zilliacus's acrylic paintings, inspired by Paint Branch creek, is showing at the Studio Gallery in D.C.  Whether the creek in her Colesville neighborhood or African tribal masks, Zilliacus is moved by the world around her. 

"All of my painting and masks reflect real or imaginary events and emotions in my life," she said.

What's next for Zilliacus and her art?  Because of the arthritis, she is not taking on new projects.  Zilliacus recalls what her ballet teacher taught her many years ago that to be truly creative means you need to improvise.  She is very clear about the future of her art.

"Movement and music have always been important to me," Zilliacus explained.  "Since I can no longer dance, my jewelry dances for me--beads can rotate thus changing the designs each time they are worn." 

Zilliacus plans to revisit many beading and jewelry projects that she never finished. Thousands of beads call to her waiting to be made into fantastic necklaces and amulets that are magical to see and touch.