Do you believe in coincidences? Do you believe that some things are meant to happen? I do! Today was another charming example. It makes me smile really! Continue reading

Labels ..... every day we are being labeled by other people .. he / she is middle class, or working class, or he/she is stupid or smart, he is bohemian, he is brilliant, he is a marking person, she is an actor, he is a cleaner, he is an engineer, she is a doctor, he is an artist .......... Continue reading

8 weeks ago I was taking the decision to enter in a competition organised by the Royal Academy of Arts, a yearly event, very popular among the Brits and not only. Just imagine .... 13,000 people bring their paintings in front of a committee and only 1000 are lucky enough to be selected for the June exibitio Continue reading

Resurgence is a bi-monthly magazine published in England .. I have read it for a long time. It's not mainstream in terms of "glitz in the news" but it is absolutely mainstream in terms of how we on this planet work to achieve a sustainable, peaceful world. The themes Resurgence... Continue reading

I've always enjoyed cooking ... actually I've always enjoyed experimenting with new recipes, new spices. But ask me to cook the same dish many times ... and I get bored .. I loose interest. But challenge me on trying new recipes and I'm ready to start cooking on the spot!... Continue reading

I have to admit that living in a small community is a completely different cattle of fish from living in a village of tiny town. Most of my life I lived in a capital city and learned to adapt to what life had to offer there. The reality is that it takes one a long time to understand the rules and rules of engagement applicable to a small town/village. Continue reading

There are moments in life when one re connects with ones roots, when one reconnects with happy memories .... memories buried in mountains of new events, new experiences. They seemed lost ..... for a long time ..... and yet ... here they are ... coming back to the surface ....as fresh and real as if they were yesterday .... in my case the trigger was a shop....... Ruskii mir (The Russian world) on Goodge street in London. (but about this a bit later) Continue reading

Books, music, nature, life ... millions of sources of inspiration. I never know which one will be the trigger to my new painting and this is always exciting for me. Yesterday late at night i planned(!!!!!!!) to experiment a bit with mono printing, trying new techniques. A part of me was so attracted by my new tube of green acrylic paint and wanted to "let rip" :) just move paint all around the page...but another part just wanted to study a bit more, learn. Continue reading

Do you have a dream? Are you used to dreaming, planning, having goals? For a Westerner this comes naturally. I'm tempted to generalise and say that for us Eastern Europeans, having dreams is not common at all .. but I might be wrong. It could very well be that my... Continue reading

"Art does not reproduce the visible; rather, it makes visible." Paul Klee If you are involved in creative activities the idea of having a creative block might feel too familiar. So, what do you do when you are creatively gridlocked? One thing you might like to consider is to go... Continue reading

"To be beautiful means to be yourself. You don't need to be accepted by others. You need to accept yourself" - Thich Nhat Hanh We are busy. Very busy! Running around, eating while we watch TV, reading newspapers while we walk, magazines while we rush through airports, ... starting another diet just because another "celebrity" tells us how to loose weight without much struggle, buying yet another super cream aimed to make our faces look like a 16 years old one and so on ... We are constantly looking at how other people look, wh Continue reading

8 months ago, at the end of a grey summer, 3 women gathered around a wooden table ... and started to dream ... dream about organising mini retreats in Eastbourne......dream about putting together their skills and passions and creating a "product" aimed to help women relax, rejuvenate, reinvent themselves through meditation, art, healthy food, massage and much more. One could say that our planting season was in August 2012 ... and here we are in March having already organised 3 events and 1 pilot event. Having a dream is important, having like minded people around you is key! Continue reading

It's another grey, rainy spring day. The beautiful yellow dafoddils on my table are the only clear sign that spring is sort of here ... at least in my country March 1st is the first spring day...... the weather is getting warmer, tiny snow drops show their heads and populate the parks of Bucharest. Here we've had snow just a few days ago :) it looked as if Christmas was knocking at the door. Continue reading

A few years ago I came across Doctor Masaru Emoto's book called "Messages from Water". I have to admit I was really attracted by his amazing theory that human consciousness has an effect on the molecular structure of water. While reading his book I remembered a few things that really made me accept and embrace his theory ... Continue reading

Whenever the sun appears in Eastbourne during the winter there is only one thing to do ..... get dressed quickly and rush outside, take advantage of it. But actually I don t want to write about the calm sea or the strong wind, the frozen hands and the sense of relief i experienced when I saw "The beach deck" cafe in front of me. A coffee, something sweet, a book, a journal and a few joyful couple of hours went in a flash. It was so easy to loose myself in "The art of dreams" by Daniel Marchesseau, a book about Chagall and his incredibly imaginative paintings. Continue reading

Situated only a few minutes away from the Tate Modern and next to the new Blackfriars station entrance, the Bankside Gallery belonging to the The Royal Watercolour Society was clearly a revelation for me a few days ago when I was finding my way to The Royal Academy of Arts. I was quite in a hurry ... as the cold wind was really cutting through my coat but the moment I noticed the gallery i turned on my heels and it was a matter of ... Manet can wait for a bit. Continue reading

Winter days can be long, dark and gloomy. At least this is the way they are most of the time in England. One has the feeling that a crocodile ate the sun at the end of October and run away with it somewhere ... far, far away ..... This is when we all need to do something to help us brighten up our days. For me a trip to London does the trick especially when my destination includes a couple of galleries or/and museums. There is clearly something magical about getting to the station, buying a cup of coffee, taking a couple of books from my bag and relaxing for the next 90 minutes, anticipating the lovely places i'm going to go to for the next few hours. Continue reading

A week ago I was determined to visit the Manet exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts in London. Quite simple isn't it? Get the train, change to a few metro lines and a few good hours later you are there. But sometimes things have a mind of their own. The metro lines were a complete mess and rather then wasting time of a longer route we've decided to walk along the Thames and maybe visit some independent art galleries. When The Courtauld Gallery came in front of us and we could see from the distance the words "Becoming Picasso" I felt like clapping my hands, full of excitement. It was clearly me Continue reading

“Colours have a distinctive beauty that you just have to preserve, just as you have to capture the unique sounds of music. It is a question of finding an arrangement that will capture their beauty and freshness” Henri Matisse Continue reading

A few days ago i browsed through my Resurgence magazines and came across a lovely poem by Satish Kumar and felt the need to share it in this blog alongside 2 of my paintings. So here it is and i really hope that you will enjoy them! Continue reading

I don't know how you all are my darlings but when I like something, I just want to speak about that IT with as many people as possible. So a few weeks ago when Helena, my talented Flamenco teacher asked me whether I would like to organise a little event after our weekly class and talk about art and my story I said a very big and loud YES. Why? Because art helped me survive traumatic moments in my life, because art continues to help me, motivate me, helps me thrive in a different country, different culture, because art helps me connect with remarkable human beings and so much more. Continue reading

"I really enjoyed the day and meeting some lovely people .... The meditation was both relaxing and stimulating. I also liked the massage. The art sessin was very therapeutic and expressive of my feelings. I now have the finished piece on the wall. It was also fun which is one way of letting go of tensions. ...... I have recommended the course to some friends and hope to attend another one"-Elena from East Sussex Continue reading

The more I live in Eastbourne, the more I discover interesting activities and groups that I can get involved with. Much to my delight I was invited to attend a painting demonstration this Friday, something I never took part in before, so I definitely grabbed the opportunity. My intuition was right and I ended up learning about a new artist, Hashim Akib, learned about what a painting demonstration is all about, was introduced to some fabulous brushes manufactured by Liquitex. ..... and do much more! Continue reading

I’m looking at the fine birch tree in my garden, a tree that reminds me of the many that happily survive harsh winters in the northern wilderness ... it shed its leaves a month ago and the wind can now push easily through it’s wispy branches, twisting and turning but not breaking them. The branches work with the wind, the tree works with the season, it learned a long time ago to adapt, survive, and thrive! Continue reading

I don't know about you but when I paint a lot my passion for cooking diminishes dramatically and I end up cooking some recipes that i know or i just invent something quickly, without much thinking. So when I saw a posting on Facebook reminding me that the Chinese New year is today I thought that it's time to celebrate it as well by cooking something new and .... Chinese. A few months ago I watched Ching-HE Huang's TV program, and loved her style of cooking and the creative recipes so of course I bo Continue reading