Knowing your tools deeply — how they behave, how they age, how they respond to light and heat — changes the way you work and the confidence with which you make decisions.
During my time at Azur Studio in Kyiv, we took part in a number of art trips across Europe, visiting paint and medium manufacturers directly. These experiences were invaluable. Being able to ask questions about materials from the people who created them — the chemists, designers, and technicians behind the products — gave us insights no manual or catalogue ever could. Who could know the materials better than those who developed them?
Along the way, we also participated in workshops with local designers who introduced us to the full potential of different gels and pastes, transparent and opaque paints, and specialised products for textile decoration and pseudo stained glass. We explored techniques for creating patina, working with gilding, and layering surfaces in ways that expanded both technical knowledge and creative possibility.
I often find myself missing those times — being surrounded by like-minded professionals, travelling, learning, experimenting, and talking endlessly about what we loved most: paint, surface, and decoration. Those journeys shaped not only my technical approach, but also my respect for materials as active partners in the creative process.
True Blue & a Little Bit of Yellow — UNITED. The second exhibition by True Blue & a Little Bit of Yellow expanded the circle. This time, Ukrainian and Australian artists came together, united by solidarity and a shared belief in the power of art to help. Seventeen artists participated in UNITED, a collective effort where local creatives gathered their talent for a clear purpose — to raise funds for humanitarian aid supporting Ukrainians affected by the war. Held at Curl Curl Creative Space Gallery from 21–24 July, the exhibition became a meeting point of cultures, generosity, and creative voices. We are deeply thankful to everyone who took part, visited, supported the artists, and contributed to this cause.
My journey with jewellery began in 2008, after a workshop in Kyiv sparked my curiosity about working on a small, intimate scale. What started as experimentation soon grew into a deeper fascination with adornment as both object and cultural expression. My interest truly ignited while curating a fashion show of traditional Ukrainian clothing. Immersing myself in the richness of these garments led me to closely study traditional Ukrainian multi-row jewellery — its structure, symbolism, rhythm, and presence. These pieces are more than decoration; they carry history, identity, and a strong visual language. Since then, I have created hundreds of jewellery pieces, each one informed by that tradition while shaped through my own contemporary sensibility. Working at this scale allows for precision, repetition, and variation — a dialogue between heritage and personal expression. Jewellery, for me, is another way of telling stories through form and material — wearable, tactile, and closely connected to the body.
