Fostering Creativity and Inclusion 

As a refugee who came to this country from Ukraine in childhood and as a self-taught artist who works primarily with found and foraged items, I am passionate about making art easily accessible and affordable for all. My goal in sharing my work is to delight, surprise, and empower others to be creative in their daily lives. I want the viewer to feel invited to experience and see the opportunity for art everywhere, not just in fancy galleries or museum settings. My slogan is “Art is where it finds you” - local neighborhood shops, city murals... even the street. I also deeply appreciate the bridge that art offers across the barriers of different languages, sections of society and cultures. I particularly enjoy making art that brings a sense of wonder and possibility to the viewer.

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Honoring Nature 

My inspiration, subject matter, and the material I use in creating art all come directly from the natural environment around me. Each piece I make is uniquely impacted by the particular palm frond's structure and carries a personality and emotion all its own. Beyond highlighting the beauty and strength of the animal kingdom and using real bark that falls from local palm trees as my canvas, most of my paints and supplies are foraged or found second-hand and are non-toxic. Any sealants or fillers that I may use are also environmentally friendly. I feel very fortunate to live in the art-friendly neighborhood of University Heights, minutes away from the world-famous San Diego Zoo and Balboa Park where natural beauty is on display year-round.

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Building Community

A significant portion of my work and time are allocated to local early childhood art programing targeting historically underserved communities and schools. I also welcome collaboration with organizations that support animals, children, arts education, diversity, and immigrant causes. Currently, I am focusing fundraising efforts on local literary education, art enrichment programs at Title 1 TK-5 Alice Birney Elementary and the Ukrainian refugee crisis.