ABOUT
My story
I was born October 23, 1979 in the big Siberian city – Novosibirsk, raised by a mother art-teacher and a father bio-chemist. Since I was a little girl I have always been loving drawing, crafting, creating something. For me the process of creating always was as natural as breathing. My mother taught me a lot of art and craft techniques. But she had never insisted on formal training in an art school. So I continued to create freely on my own.
When I was 9 years old we moved to a very green district near the forest. I grew up spending most of the time interacting with nature in the woods. And every summer was full of wonders for me in my grandmother's garden. Among nature I thought about myself as about a fairytale character. I was fascinated by fantasy and science fiction, folktales, parables, and later “Lord of the Rings”. And all that definitely influenced the theme of my creative activities.
My journey continued in Novosibirsk State Academy of Architecture and Arts where I studied design. During my studies, I discovered Antoni Gaudi, Zaha Hadid and other amazing architects and designers working in bionic style. Like my heroes, I felt a deep connection with nature. My graduation work at the university was a collection of furniture in a bionic style.
Since that time I tried myself in the different types of design and afterwards in the cartoon style illustration. But deep in my heart I felt that I missed something.
In 2010 "The Great Adventure" happened that turned my life upside down. My husband took a job in Iceland. It was curious to see this country and we decided to take a chance. So now we live in Reykjavik, here our daughter was born.
Being away from familiar surroundings I began to explore myself and found my voice again. Style and theme that accidentally I had chosen for my illustrations was different from the style that I used for my personal works. I started to explore and re-discover myself.
New language, new people, new everything. I missed my family and friends so much. Experiencing stress, anxiety and loneliness in this amazing but new country, I find out that I was again turning back to nature.
It is amazing how nature has the ability to heal, calm and give strength! All my life, in any situation, I revert to this unique resource for life strength, wisdom and inspiration. And I am happy to share this experience with you.
My art
For me, art has never been a realistic way to show what I see. It is about the inner world. This is my way to learn myself, the world around me, my way to react to what is happening in the world. Thanks to my Siberian origin, the elements of shamanism and paganism appear in my works such as the veneration and spiritualization of nature.
My art is about the power and wisdom of nature, about how important it is to live in harmony with nature and learn from it. Learn the inner strength, bravery, growth, and understanding of how everything is arranged in the Universe. In my creations I talk about this through the atmosphere of pagan mythology and folktales.
