Hello, I am a native Russian-Ukrainian residing in Naperville for more than 17 years. I have experience teaching music, teaching Russian, working as a television journalist and as a paralegal. I composed a lot of music and poetry in Russian in my past. Recently I write articles and paint. I paint with acrylics. Painting is just another way to express my feelings and emotions. I never took painting classes, but I still enjoy the process and love seeing the result. Life gives us so many ways to express ourselves – we just have to use all the chances and share our skills and talents with everyone around!

The name of this art exhibit is “Icons and Memories.” As a Russian Orthodox, I treasure Orthodox traditions; and as an artist, I try to represent a vision of the Orthodox faith and express it in images through lines, symbols, and colors. I also reflect my life experiences in my paintings. When I look back at my life, I see that many things that I have achieved were almost impossible for me to achieve. I literally had to “break the ground” to succeed. Difficulties and obstacles made me stronger, because instead of complaining I chose to grow my faith and turn my pain into beauty. Over the years, my faith in God and my self-confidence have been growing and I am still maturing as a person, as an artist, and as a believer.