About Me
I was born in Kyiv, Ukraine (back when it was still a part of the Soviet Union) and came to the US as a child. Art was always a part of my life; my grandfather painted, my grandmother embroidered, my mother is a talented fiber artist and my father has been teaching me how to draw since I was able to hold a pencil :-)
I often relied on art to connect with people when I couldn't speak their language.
(I still have some of the sketches I drew of my friends back in the day.) I still love to draw on paper (as opposed to digitally), but nowadays it's mainly to amuse my own children :-)
I was one of the very first class to graduate Drexel University with a degree in Interactive Digital Media. (There were only seven of us!) Back then, digital media literally meant anything having to do with computers - so we ended up studying everything from web design to motion graphics to digital audio editing!
Afterwards, I ended up working as an animator with the wonderful Spitz Creative Media (now Cosm). We designed and produced fulldome planetarium shows on subjects such as astronomy, earth science and interstellar travelling. Not only did I learn a lot about modeling and VFX, I also picked up a TON of strange space facts. (Be warned - I can talk for a LONG time about the possibility of life on Jupiter's watery moon, Europa!)
After Spitz, I became a freelance animator/3D generalist, as well as a part-time adjunct professor. (Oh, and I just got my MA in Art and Design from Lindenwood University!). I got to work on some awesome projects with Thorne Media, CCF&M and Fulldome DN, which required me to sharpen my existing skills and learn some new ones!
And in 2023, I got to travel to Brno, Czechia and join the International Jury Panel at Fulldome Festival Brno (which involved watching a LOT of amazing fulldome shows and hanging out with fun planetarium people at the Brno Observatory!)
If I'm not animating, then I'm probably driving my kids to basketball / play practice, watching geeky YouTube videos - or comfy British comedies, - with my husband, reading the news (then reading something relaxing to help cope with the news!), making bead bracelets or volunteering with something theater-adjacent - either acting, directing or painting the scenery! My favorite role so far has been Mama Yaga the Slvaic Forest Witch at the Philadelphia Renaissance Faire!