I am a Russia-born Canadian visual artist with a mission to inspire more love in the world. I was born in the Far East city of Vladivostok to a family of Czech, Polish and Ukrainian origin. I started making art at a very age as a way to express my emotions, to sooth and comfort myself. For me, it has always been an absolute necessity of staying connected to self. Growing up, I was surrounded by cultural artefacts from nearby Japan and China. I believe that those multicultural influences from my early life deeply affected my artistic perception and expression. After graduating from high school, I spent several years as an apprentice at two local porcelain factories where I learned the art of porcelain and porcelain sculpture in particular. I experienced eleven years of university studies, half in linguistics ("because artists need a profession to feed themselves") and half in fine arts (when I decided that I get to choose what to do with my life). I  studied traditional art and monumental sculpture, and received an MFA equivalent diploma in Sculpture in 2006. I have been living and working in Vancouver since 2008.