Iranian-born, Ziba’s love for art began when she was a young child. After the brutal war with Iraq began in 1981, she escaped her country by horseback and traveled for three days to reach the borders of Turkey. When she came to the US, she was one of the youngest students taking an art course in Santa Monica college at age 13.  “In my 20s, I was all over the place with my style, experimenting and figuring out what worked for me. In hindsight, I see that I’ve somehow incorporated everything I’ve experienced, everything I’ve loved and all things I have given my attention to.”

Ziba is inspired by the element of magical surprise. She usually receives one or two inspiring ideas and then combines them as a playful co-creation; the piece becoming what it wants to be.

She loves playing with different mediums and styles, using vintage magazines (her favorite being fashion magazines), books, paints,and pastels. Ziba sees all the hard work that is seemingly overlooked in the creation of a great image or photo shoot, and then she saves these impressionable images to make them part of her art, sometimes holding onto an image for ten years or more before knowing exactly where it belongs. “I like to be light and fun with my work, with a playful message to not take everything so seriously. I love what I do, and it is an honor to share my work when they are done. I truly believe my pieces are lucky and carry blessings into homes…Every day I thank the universe that I am an artist.”