CV/Bio
I was born in communist Bulgaria during the "Cold War". My family dreamed of coming to America where there is freedom and opportunity but the communist government would not let us leave the country together. Finally, they let my parents take a trip to Austria on the Denube. I was left behind as insurance for their return. I was eleven years old. After many turbulent years, in 1981 I finally escaped to Istanbul, Turkey, hidden in a secret compartment above the corridor of an old German train.
I lived for many years in Washington DC area where I met my husband. After many years in the big city, we decided to move west to the "big" sky and open spaces of Colorado. We moved to Denver where we had our son. We bought a small house on a big lot far away from the city. The sky was big and blue and at night twinkled with miriad of stars.
My husband is from Texas and a texan always wants to go back home. After eleven years in Colorado, we decided to relocate to the warmth of Austin in 2006. I am very happy that we moved because I had no idea what a large art community existed in Austin. This fact and the support of my family and friends has helped me to move forward in my art endevors.
The Bulgarian art heritage is rich and diverse and unfortunately largely unknown in this country. I started creating art at an early age in Bulgaria. Art ran in my family, both my grandfather and my uncle were sculptors, and in general, everyone in my family could draw and sing. I think that my art reflects the slavic sensibilities of the culture I grew up with and mainly the expression of the feelings and moods of the individual. It is psychological, aimed at exploring a deeper self. It is also embued with certain poetic qualities, which is not surprising since both my mother and I write poetry.
It is a tribute to the Bulgarian woman with her internal beauty, strength and spirit to whom many of my pictures are devoted. They are symbols of the nostalgia for what I have lost in leaving my country but also to what I have gained as an immigrant, the many experiences which have given me strength and which have enriched my life. Those women, in so many ways, with their scarfs and attire connect me to the the Eastern European women who entered America in the beginning of the last century. They look like the Bulgarian women I know and create a bridge between my immigrant experience and theirs a hundred years ago.