Three days left before the new year. It has been 10 months since Russian forces invaded my native Ukraine. My mornings start with news from there and conversations with my cousin who still lives in Kiev. There have been so many atrocities and so many lives lost. My biggest wish for the next year is Peace in my motherland and all over the world!

I am so grateful to show my work with an amazing group of the ceramic artists in the invitation exhibition titled Thinking with Animals at the Canton Museum of Art

Before the war began in my motherland, Ukraine, I was working on a series called the Cloud Dwellers. Hybrids of past and future deities, these serene figures inhabited ephemeral mists, untouched by the hassles and frenzy of our everyday, earthly concerns. Then the war started and my sculptures became punctured with holes as if they too got shelled by bombs and false propaganda. The sky was no longer a safe refuge but a source of danger and uncertainty.

When I was invited to participate in the Thinking With Animals exhibition, I immediately thought of Ganesha as a remover of the obstacles. Growing up, I loved reading Indian mythology stories – Ukraine is geographically positioned between the East and the West and I was lucky to have a stream of international folklore and ideas flowing through our house during my childhood. I learned from a young age that the elephant is a symbol of good luck. In this piece, his blue body is juxtaposed by a yellow dome and drapes to reflect the colors of the Ukrainian flag. In his right hand he holds a globe partly covered in ashes while an all-seeing eye appears on his left palm predicting the victory for Ukraine.

Exhibition runs: 11/25/2022–03/05/2023
Canton Museum of Art 1001 Market Ave N Canton, OH 44702

Back in August I was interviewed and filmed by the wonderful crew of WMUR TV station. You can watch this episode on their website. It was filmed in my studio and home gallery and I also took the crew to our sculpture park in the woods. Here is the info:
https://www.wmur.com/article/nh-chronicle-ukrainian-artist-natasha-dikareva-holds-her-homeland-in-her-heart-and-her-art/42126450

It is a perfect time to give your loved ones or yourself the gift of a creative workshop! Back in 2018 and in 2019 I had a blast teaching my Surrealist Totems workshops in Ojai. It was great to share my knowledge with an amazing group of students at the Beatrice Wood Art Center, a place filled with light and the spirituality of many dedicated artists and thinkers.

Looking forward to teaching there again 15th and 16th of April of 2023 –register here: https://www.beatricewood.com/workshops/surrealist_totems_2023.html

Bay area friends, mark your calendars! The third week in April I’ll be between San Francisco and Crockett where I’ll be teaching another 2 day workshop at Epperson Gallery. We already have people registered but there are still spots available — email Suzanne Long: suzannelong@eppersongallery.com and indicate you are signing up for the Sculpted Dreams Workshop.

Schedule: April 22nd-23rd, 2023, 10am to 4pm.

Pricing: $275 Payable via Check or Credit Card.
Looking forward to sharing my passion for clay sculpting with new and old mud people.

This sculpture will be featured at the Art Center Sarasota Black and White juried exhibition curated by Elana Rubinfeld, Founder of New Art Agency in Sarasota. Black & White showcases the incredible provocative range and beauty found in art that tells its stories without color.

Exhibition Dates: 11/8/2022–1/21/2023
Art Center Sarasota
707 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota, FL 34236

I am happy to report that I recently became a core member of Fountain Street Gallery in BOSTON, MA. Two of my sculptures from the Broken Dreams series are included at Form and Emptiness exhibition. This show is an exploration of contrasts and juxtapositions featuring the work of the gallery’s Core Members. Artists start with a blank slate and an idea, question, or impulse, and, through their creative processes, form emerges. Something wholly new, and often unexpected, may come into being. Disparate elements—color, value, size, texture, meaning and medium— ultimately relate through their interdependence in a completed work of art. Without emptiness, there would be no form. Fountain Street artists celebrate the duality of this push and pull to express their numerous and expansive artistic visions.

Exhibition runs: 12/1/2022–1/15/2023
Opening Reception: December 2, 2022 5–8pm
Second reception during SoWa First Friday Art Walk: January 6, 2023, 5–8pm
 
Fountain Street Gallery 460C Harrison Ave, Suite 2, Boston, MA 02118

Two of my sculptures were included at the Colors of Peace, a pop-up exhibition that took place at the Wedeman Gallery. This was a fundraiser art exhibition in support of children with autism in Ukraine. Autistic children, who are among almost 5 million displaced Ukrainian children, have been and continue to be hit particularly hard during this brutal war. In collaboration with Heal Ukraine Group, the Autism Unity’s non-profit organization, immediate mission is to providing access to the specialists and quality programs for displaced children of Ukraine with autism spectrum and their families. The loss of educational and therapeutic supports combined with war stressors are catastrophic to the autistic people, resulting in a mental health crisis for the children and parents. Many of them forced to leave everything behind: their homes, their schools, and often, their family members.

Exhibition dates: December 17-18, 12-5pm both days
Wedeman Gallery 47 Myrtle Ave, Newton, MA