Today we’d like to introduce you to Therese Basha – Jarjoura.
Hi Therese, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I often say that I was raised inside a bubble—not a bubble of isolation, but a beautiful world my parents created around us, filled with love, family, traditions, beauty, and hope, despite the complicated realities outside it. Growing up in Nazareth, I felt protected and deeply rooted. My parents taught me to look for beauty and possibility, even when life around us was not always simple.
Then life began to take me beyond that bubble.
I moved to Italy, where I found myself surrounded by a different language, culture, and way of seeing the world. Later, life brought me to the United States, and another layer was added. With each move, I had to adapt and rediscover myself. Eventually, I understood that I wasn’t leaving one life behind to begin another. Nothing replaced what came before. It simply became another layer.
Only later did I realize that I wasn’t just collecting memories—I was collecting layers.
That realization became deeply connected to the way I paint. I build my paintings gradually, allowing colors, marks, and textures to overlap. Some remain visible, while others are partially hidden, but what is underneath never really disappears.
That’s how I see life, too. Every place, person, joy, struggle, and transformation leaves something within us. Architecture taught me about structure and composition; life coaching taught me to look beneath what is visible; motherhood and family added layers of love and responsibility; and immigration taught me about resilience, belonging, and the meaning of home.
Today, I’m less interested in painting a place exactly as it appears than in painting what it leaves behind—the memory, emotion, and trace of an experience.
My paintings begin with my own story, but I hope they don’t end there. If someone looks at my work and recognizes a little piece of their own story within mine, then I feel the painting has done exactly what I hoped it would do.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
No, it hasn’t always been a smooth road. Like everyone, I’ve had challenges and unexpected turns along the way, but I’ve always tried to find something meaningful in each new phase of my life.
When I came to the United States, I basically started from scratch. It wasn’t easy to work with my degree, so I had to figure out what I could do. I’ve always been very active, and for many years I worked extremely hard—sometimes at three different places—while raising my children. There wasn’t much time left for the things I loved, and art remained something I considered a hobby.
Then my daughters said to me, “Mum, it’s time to do what you love. You’ve worked so hard.”
So, when I finally had more time, I listened to them. I started taking classes at the Ann Arbor Art Center—as many as I could! Then I thought, *If I’m spending this much time learning, why not go to college?* I told myself I didn’t care about grades or a degree. I was doing it just for fun.
Well… apparently not exactly! I ended up on the Dean’s List, and then I thought, *If I’m putting in my best effort, why not earn the degree?* One class simply led to another.
I studied art, but also explored children’s literature, creative writing, and anything else that sparked my curiosity.
It’s taking me a while because I travel home often, but even traveling has become part of my education. I call it “collecting art experiences.” Before I go somewhere, I look for workshops or art classes I can join. I even spent a month studying at an art college in Italy.
I’m still taking classes, both online and in person, because they keep me curious and motivated. I’ve learned that art doesn’t really have a finish line—it’s a continuous journey of learning, discovering, and growing.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I’m a painter working in an expressive, impressionistic style. I’m drawn to vibrant color, loose brushstrokes, movement, and especially layers—allowing colors, textures, and marks to build upon one another, much like the experiences and memories that build our lives.
I rarely plan a painting completely before I begin. I need to feel what I’m painting and let the work evolve from there. When I was chosen to create the cover for The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran, for example, I listened to an audio version with music, immersed myself in the words and emotions, and then painted what I felt. That sense of curiosity and emotional connection is a big part of my process.
What I’m most proud of, though, is when my art can reach beyond the canvas. I’ve donated work to meaningful causes locally and internationally, including a painting that sold for $12,000, with the proceeds donated to a hospital in my beloved Nazareth.
I’ve also been honored to have my work selected for the Rockefeller Center Flag Project in New York, a project with the Ann Arbor District Library, and exhibitions in various galleries and venues.
For me, art is about more than making a beautiful painting. It’s about feeling, connecting, telling a story, and, whenever possible, giving something back.
How do you think about happiness?
Creating makes me happy—especially the challenge of figuring out how to make or fix something myself. I actually enjoy creating and fixing things more than buying them! I love experimenting, learning, and thinking outside the box.
I remember in one of my 3D classes, my final project was a wooden toddler chair that I designed. It was quite ambitious for the short amount of time we had, and even my instructor wasn’t convinced I could finish it. A few days before it was due, I had been traveling and unexpectedly ended up at the hospital because I wasn’t feeling well. And what was I worried about? My chair! I kept thinking, How am I going to make this work?
Thankfully, everything turned out well—and I finished the chair. That feeling still makes me smile whenever I think about it.
I think what really makes me happy is challenging myself. If I had unlimited time, I would want to learn how to do everything—fashion, art, cooking, building… You name it. I often look at something and think, I can do that if I try. It doesn’t mean I always can, but I love finding out!
Of course, I’m not always in the mood to create. But the curiosity is always there. Give me something interesting to figure out, and I’m happy.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/therese_basha/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ThereseBashaArt?mibextid=eQY6cl
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/therese-basha-b4334a97
