Artist Statement
I explore line, shape, color, balance, movement, tension and texture.
I follow my chosen medium and its innate qualities and possibilities.
Every next work takes on from where the previous one has ended.
I have my own vision as an artist, but like any artist I cannot make anyone see what I see.
I can only speak with my own voice and let it be heard.
Art does not require explanation.
Bio
I was born in 1956 in Moscow, Russia.
My mother was an architect and my father an interior designer. Art was part of life in my family: books, museums, concerts. It was mostly classical art. Not much avant-garde was allowed in the Soviet Union. It was later in life that I discovered abstract non-representative art as something meaningful for myself.
At Moscow State University I majored in the history of Russian classical literature of the 19th century. I went to graduate school and taught classes in Russian literature at Moscow State University.
In 1991 my husband and I moved to Chicago with our two daughters. It was a new beginning – from scratch.
In 1996 I discovered quilt making, at first as a craft and a hobby. I was taken by works of a British artist Deirdre Amsden and her colourwash technique, and I won second place in First Entry category in Paducah in 2003 with a huge colourwash quilt.
I was always interested in crafts, but never dared to make art or think about myself as an artist. The turning point in my life was meeting artist Nancy Crow and taking her classes.
It happened in 2003. Nancy influenced greatly my attitude towards myself and art, and she keeps helping me with both criticism and encouragement.
Since 2003 I work as an artist. My chosen medium is textiles.
I live in Wauconda, Illinois with my husband and our two cats.
