Before University: College Years and the Foundations of My Practice

Before entering university, I spent three formative years studying at the Zhytomyr College of Culture and Arts.This period became the real foundation of my artistic practice — technically, intellectually, and emotionally.

The programme provided strong academic training in painting, academic drawing, plastic anatomy, composition and applied arts.

My professional qualification after completion of the programme was:

Decorative and Applied Arts Specialist - Artist, Executive Artist, Director of an Amateur Creative Team (Club / Studio of Decorative and Applied Arts), and Art School Teacher.

It was an intense and disciplined education, grounded in classical methods and daily practice. Those years reshaped how I see form, structure, and the human figure - knowledge that continues to support my work in contemporary art and acrylic art today.

My final diploma project at the college was a multi-layered plywood portrait of Lesya Ukrainka - one of the most important cultural figures in Ukrainian history.The work was constructed through layered cut plywood, building depth, rhythm, and silhouette through material itself rather than illusion. The choice of Lesya Ukrainka was intentional: she represents intellectual resilience, inner strength, and cultural resistance - qualities that resonated deeply with me at the time.

Lesya Ukrainka was not only a poet and writer, but also a symbol of perseverance in the face of illness, political pressure, and personal hardship. Working on her portrait was both an artistic and personal act of reflection.

It is also important for me to say this clearly:I studied at the college as an adult, not at the beginning of my life, but at the beginning of a new chapter.

Those three years are proof - to myself and to others - that it is never too late to change direction, to start a new career, or to return to learning. Academic discipline, curiosity, and commitment do not depend on age. They depend on intention.

Everything that came later - university research, exhibitions, awards, and publications - grew out of this period of concentrated learning and serious work with fundamentals.