About the Artist

My work lives at the intersection of folk art and memory. I paint the objects that carried meaning before they could be named: the food, the embroidery, the decorated eggs passed from grandmother to granddaughter without explanation, because some things don't need one.

I've practiced pysanky for twenty-five years, grounded in the Ukrainian Byzantine tradition I inherited through my family and community. That practice taught me that pattern is a form of prayer, and repetition is how knowledge survives. I bring that understanding into my painting work, where traditional folk motifs meet contemporary acrylic on canvas, often integrated with real hand-stitched embroidery.

Some of that pattern work carries traditional motifs directly onto everyday and seasonal objects, in folk art pieces that keep the colors and symbols of pysanky close to the surface. In my narrative still life work, that same language moves into scenes built from memory.

I'm drawn to painting everyday rituals, especially the ones my grandmother embraced. My current series, Baba's Table, paints the food and rituals of her household, shaped by immigrant family life across generations. It's a record of a table that no longer exists, made by someone who still sets a place at it.

"The Hand of Mek" is inspired by a form of signature used by many Byzantine iconographers. The phrase reminds me that art is made through human hands, yet carries a responsibility beyond personal recognition. It reflects the values I hope to bring to my own work: craftsmanship, humility, and gratitude for the opportunity to preserve the stories entrusted to me.