We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Oksana Mychka. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Oksana below.

Alright, Oksana thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.

I have had a love for art since childhood. My family supported me a lot in this, and my grandfather, who is also engaged in fine arts, is a master of wood carving. Despite his ongoing career as a military aviation engineer. He was the main organizer of all our cultural programs – museums, exhibitions, plein airs. We studied a lot together, we had a large library of books on basic anatomy for artists, albums of classical painting and graphic artists, and I believe that this gave me an excellent base for further development.

I have always been fascinated by the allure of books and the intricacies of their creation. Guided by this, I decided to devote my life to the study of this magical process. It was a period of studentship, self-discovery. At the university we had lessons on restoration, I think it was a gift of fate because I got my hands on a 15th century tome with incredible engravings decorated with gold, and I just fell in love with what I saw. Probably then I already understood what I was interested in and wanted to move further in this direction professionally, connecting my life with illustration. Then I moved away from the realistic style of drawing and tried to play with lines and strokes, I also started learning how to work with decorative foil.

After completing my studies and earning a degree in the field of printed graphics (lino print, lithography), I plunged into the world of traditional illustration, where I still work.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

Nature and mythology are my greatest inspiration and passion. I love symbolism and mystery in images, despite my personal impatience, I can sit still and work on details for hours, this is a kind of meditation to me.

At home, before the war in Ukraine, I worked for some time on a personal project, which is planned as a small Bestiary album with descriptions of mythological creatures of Ukrainian folklore. In total, I completed only 17 illustrations out of 40 planned, some of them were redrawn because the vision of the read information changed, or some other idea appeared. I really want to go back to this and make it happen, bring this project to life in print.

In the near future I have plans to start making linocuts again, I really miss it.

Also, I really love “tactile” art. Back home there is deep roots in pottery tradition, so right now I’m making baby steps in learning how to work with clay and plaster. My husband, Justin, who is a professional woodworker and creates abstract paintings, inspires me to explore the path of textures and materials.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

It is a great joy to see my own works, be it prints or books that I have illustrated in the homes of my family and friends, but it is an even more special feeling when people from different parts of the world honor your work with their attention and love and adopt your art to make it part of their home. I call it a mutual exchange of energies – the artist creates a piece and puts their soul/time/skills all together into it, and the other person finds in it something that is close and familiar to them, and this is a kind of symbiosis I cherish.

One quick example I can share is portraits of pets in etching style as characters in RPG/DnD games. I am a big nerd, so it was a double joy even if it was new for me at some point, because usually I work with a completely different subject, i.e. Gothic, folklore, detailed art. And here, the idea of cute dogs and cats in the costumes of a bard or a barbarian warrior came out of nowhere and made someone happy. It still makes me smile and I’m glad that people share that feeling with me.

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

Yes, I wouldn’t skip color theory and painting classes (oops), and I would also believe in myself more. It is important never stop learning and challenging yourself when you are on the begining of the path.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://bloomenostacreations.etsy.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bloomenosta/

Image Credits
Myself and Justin @ravnvolk