I'm a recipient of a National Endowment of the Arts distinguished fellowship at the Hambidge Center for Creative Arts and Sciences. I didn’t know what awaited me at Hambidge but from the first minute I crossed the boundary of the estate, I knew that I was in the right place physically and spiritually. I had four weeks to work and my studio time turned out to be very productive since I only had my personal deadlines and goals. No obligations! I was able to balance and enjoy the creative process; sparkling conversations; long hikes in the wilderness and time to be alone. I loved that fact that I was “media” free and only had access to the Internet in designated places. It gave me a chance to see what is really important for me right now and where I want to go with my work.

Lapua is only 3 hours away from Helsinki, but the train took me back to my childhood. From the first gust of northern wind, the first sight of the rocky landscape with pine trees, to the small pale-yellow house where my apartment was, all felt homey. It was like I was transplanted back to the past that doesn’t exist anymore. No, I didn’t feel nostalgic, just happy, really happy. I was drawing and painting every day without a purpose or a goal, just for the sake of the process. I was riding an old bike, pushing myself against the wind and crying. The tears were going down my cheeks when I saw a glimpse of a fast train between birch trees; I smelled a whiff of fried fish from an open kitchen window; I heard the creak of an old wooden door in a gust of wind.

I always wanted to branch out from my hand-building studio practice and have dedicated time to work solely on the wheel. The five weeks at the Anderson Ranch gave me time, space, and artistic community to achieve my goal. What I didn't know that Ranch has so many cool machines that I can use for my work. I only had time to play with color decal printer, now I want to go back and explore every studio that they have. 

And, yes, went skiing, but only once. The rest of the time I was hiking. The weather was amazing! And since we were well fed, I gained 3lb. 

I spent 6 weeks (April - May) in DRAW International AiR in Caylus, France. I had a very interesting experience working on my project, hiking, and exploring my surroundings.

My research was based on exploring the intimacy of small scale, its limitations, difficulties, and intriguing nature. Small work requires not only undivided attention to details, but it also forces the artist to think about the importance of each element, each detail.  (I actually used a magnifying glass while I was working on the drawings.)

Studio Faire is a contemporary art space in Southwest France, in the small town of Nerac. During my stay there, I immersed myself into the development of new ideas and mainly concentrated on drawing and writing. We had just moved to South Carolina and I'm at the stage when I have to make changes in my work and start a new direction. I feel that I reached a certain proficiency in my building and decoration skills and need to work more on my concepts and what I actually want to say with my sculptures. 

I met new friends and bought a house in France. You never know what an AiR can turn into. :)

I don't know where to start. Probably from the end, I want to come back and stay there for 3 months. My time was too short even though I was able to accomplish a lot and actually did almost everything planned, still I feel a disappointment with time. I was working 9 till 9, no distractions, no commitment (just to myself), no worries about anything, just studio time. I finally realized what I want - I want to make ceramics, listen to audiobooks and enjoy the countryside. It all started in Burgundy, France, but North Carolina here I come!
Thank you for reminding me what it means to be happy.   

I had an unforgettable time in Serbia. It was my first time visiting the country and first time participating in a primitive type of firing. I learned a new way of using coils to make sculptural and functional objects fast. From the beginning till the end, I was involved in a traditional firing process and learned how to use a traditional Serbian potter’s wheel. Leaving in a countryside and walking around the village evoke in me sense of eternity and serenity. I actually had time to watch clouds to pass by. Also, I met so many wonderful people, the friendship and camaraderie that we developed is priceless. 

Despite scorching heat in Southern France during my stay I had an unforgettable experience. My time was divided between daily swim in the sea, working in the studio and exploring surrounding areas on a bus. I was there during the Ceramic French Biennale and was able to see all the shows and exhibitions and enjoy contemporary art in full. At the end of the residency, we had an exhibition in a 16th century church, where else it would be possible.

It was a very hot week in Jurmala, Latvia, temperature wise and intensity of work. There were 25 artists from 11 countries working side-by-side on painting porcelain plates. I learned new techniques and approaches to the overglaze decoration. The best part was meeting new friends from different countries and establishing personal and profession contacts. In addition to the sightseeing, visiting local attractions, and decal factory, we ate and goofed off a lot.  All the work was on display at the Rainis and Aspazija Summer House museum for one month after the end of the symposium.

I spent very productive 4 weeks at the residency working with local materials and exploring new possibilities. The plan was to make figurative work and combine smooth and rough surfaces and create some tension and ambiguity between different aspects of one personality.
I worked with local yellow stone-ware clay and porcelain slip. The studio is small, and I shared it with an artist from Amsterdam, who was working with colored porcelain slip that gave me an opportunity to learn a new technique and get some ideas for the future experiments.

I took a one-week China Painting workshop with Ilona Romule. During that time I learned the basic applications dots, lines, mixing process and water-based washes. For the remaining time I was practicing what I learned. China Painting is something that I want to integrate into my future work. In addition to non-stop working marathon in my studio I went to the Herend Porcelain Factory and saw professional china painters in action. It is amazing how skillful person has to be to conquer that medium.

Along with other artists from 26 countries, I was invited to attend this event; exhibit my work at the Yixing Art Museum; and create new artwork during the symposium in Yixing, China.

The symposium was intended to promote development of contemporary ceramic art, integrating it with the deep tradition of Chinese ceramics. I was able to work with the local “purple clay”, that is famous all over the world for its plasticity and unique characteristics.

It was unforgettable time. It was my first visit to China and everything that I saw and did wasn't what I expected. I spent two weeks working side-by-side with ceramic artists from 26 countries. I met so many new friends. We exchanged ideas, talked about art, ate wonderful Chinese food, real Chinese food, not American version of it. We fired newly built wooden kiln, had a show and participated at lectures and presentation. I'm looking forward to see everybody next year!

Volunteer-based residencies provide artists with lodging, meals, & studio space in exchange for part-time volunteer service to the Guild. Artists commit to spending a minimum of 20 hours/week in the studio working on their own projects, as well as 15-20 hours/week in volunteer service. I started working on flat tiles with detailed paintings on the surface. I painted what was important for me at the moment - my surroundings. Now I have to revisit images (memories) from my previous residencies and continue the series. And yes, I was shoveling the snow every morning!

Dacia Gallery, NY International Artist Residency Program gives artists an opportunity to draw and paint from life in picturesque, Sibiu, Romania. I spent 4 weeks doing life drawing and painting sessions as well as working on landscape painting excursions with 17 other artists and NY based instructor Iliya Mirochnik. During the week - we worked on art projects, and learned about local history and art, the weekends were all about food and cultural explorations. I visited town of Horezu and learned 500 years old ceramic decoration technique.

The aim of the residency is to support artists, writers and musicians who would benefit from having uninterrupted time to devote to their creativity, by providing free housing and food allowance. Residents can make artistic progress without the stress and distractions of daily life. That is exactly what I did! It was a perfect opportunity for me to meet local ceramic artists from Tonala and Tlaquepaque who paint on ceramic ware. I explored the art and culture of Guadalajara and learned about tequila production (that was an extra bonus).

As an Artist-in-Residence I spent six months living and working at the Sonoma Community Center. During this time, I concentrated on developing a new body of work that was representative of my time there. At the end of the residency, I had a solo exhibition in the SCC gallery. But the most important - I met so many wonderful people, made new friendships, expanded my teaching experience, and found new inspirations. (Don't ask how many wineries I visited. It's a wine country, it was a mandatory activity.)

This was my first international event. I traveled to Turkey and work alongside with artists from different countries. I learned about china paining and made few plates that are now in the permanent collection at the university. We traveled around the country and visited historical monuments and sites. We went to the ceramic factory where I was exposed to the process of traditional Turkish ceramic decoration. It was very informative and educational time.