Artist Statement

My own subjectivity is developed from childhood memories of growing up in Port Colborne, Ontario. This small town, eventually grew to a small city that had two sides to it, the East side and the West side. The East side, where I had lived for 13 years instilled certain life patterns of simplicity of life. The house that I grew up in was a wartime bungalow, around 800 square feet with no basement. The floor plan consisted of a tiny, workable kitchen with a sitting room that was separated by an oil furnace with two, tiny bedrooms off to the side.

My bedroom was the smallest and when I stood up and opened my arms, I could reach the opposite sides of the walls. I was luckier than my parents, I had a door to my bedroom that had a hook on the back of the door that became my closet. This was the time I believe my imagination developed. Being the only child and no one to converse with at night, I tried to remember things that had gone on during the day to put me to sleep.

My ethnic background is Ukrainian. The neighbourhood consisted of French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Maltese and Polish descents, making the majority of us kids, first generation Canadians. All these ethnic flavours melted into one pot of soup surely made an everlasting impression on me.Our backyards were visited by many children during the summer holidays. We would play for hours until we could hear the echoing sounds of our mother's call and we all knew, we better get home now!

This was a patriarchal era, where dads were the head of the household and moms were just moms that stayed home and became their own boss when it came time to run the household on a shoestring.

Over the years I have maintained my cultural traditions and have been blessed with the opportunity of seeing my children and grandchildren enjoy the liveliness of the Ukrainian dance and customs. These experiences have lead to my most recent endeavours in painting and bronze that celebrate my heritage.

Since moving to Alberta in 1986, I have developed an appreciation for Alberta's Western Heritage. My work now includes various pieces depicting Alberta's wildlife and western culture.