OLA RONDIAK
What is your artistic medium/s?
My paintings are mostly done with acrylics. I also combine
painting with fabric collages and with clothing design. Every few
years I have to act in some community theatre. My motherhood is
currently the artistic medium where I place most of my time and
energy.
You lived in Kyiv for a while.... what a beautiful city. How did it
affect/color your art?
Yes, Kyiv is a very beautiful city that is rich in history
and has an international flair. Shortly after arriving in Kyiv I
began taking painting classes with a local artist. I joined an
English language theatre group, and also began designing clothes. I
continued with all of these mediums throughout my 6 years there. My
art flourished while living in Ukraine. I learned a lot in the
small painting group that I joined through the International
Woman's Club, with other women from different countries. After
about 1 year, I took part in my first group exhibit. Through my
instructor, Yuri Solomko, I learned about an art seminar held in
Hungary for 2 weeks in the summer. I was able to participate in
this seminar for 2 summers, where I also had wonderful instructors
and grew as an artist.
In 2005, the Orange Revolution took place in Kyiv 2 blocks from our
apartment in the center. My husband and I spent a lot of time out
in the streets. I began painting collages revolving around the
revolution. I decided to put 12 of them together into a calendar as
a memory for friends and family. They became rather popular so I
re-printed twice and sold them to cover the costs. This opened the
door for my first solo-exhibit at a museum in the center, with my
12 revolution collages. About a year later I had another solo
exhibit at my first art gallery in Kyiv called RA. Before leaving
Kyiv I had an exhibit with my Ukrainian doll paintings at yet
another gallery and then the paintings that were left were asked to
be on permanent display at the Hotel Impressa, where currently only
a few remain. In terms of theatre, I participated in several shows
and experienced singing 2 solos in the musical Grease which took me
way out of my comfort zone, as i never sang in public before!
Designing, or rather re-designing clothes, turned from hobby to
small career after people began taking orders from me.
Was your family artistic? Did they encourage you in your
pursuits?
My family was more oriented toward non-artistic pursuits.
My brother and sister are both physicians and my father was an
engineer. Both of my parents, as immigrants, held a very practical
mindset in terms of making a living to support a family. My mother
swears up and down that she has no "talent" (and neither did her
children) but I believe that she had a different definition of the
word talent.. more like it's a magic that you are born with. I
believe that it is more created by being true to yourself and
working in that direction. Her mother's "talent" surfaced when she
was sent to Siberia. She created intricate artwork on potato sacks
with threads from her clothes and fish bones as needles. Only later
did I realize the connection of a similar medium with my fabric
collages. I had a very difficult time choosing a major in college.
In fact, I waited until I had to in my junior year and picked what
I felt was closest to me, which was Psychology. That's when I moved
to NYC to live with my grandmother. I graduated from Hunter College
in Manhattan and wanted to put all of my efforts into acting. My
mother was very afraid for me to take this path and greatly
influenced my decision to get a "normal" job. I worked as a social
worker in Brooklyn for a few years before going back to Graduate
School in Clinical Psychology. Therefore, I really did not truly
uncover my passion for art until adulthood. Actually, I began
painting when I was preparing for motherhood.
How has your Ukrainian heritage shaped you as an artist?
Do you make a good borscht?
My Ukrainian roots are deeply embedded in my soul. I feel the pain
that my grandparents and parents underwent during WWII. Their
families were separated, their homes destroyed, and many were even
tortured. I have no doubt that these deep emotions will forever be
in my work. On a lighter note, I also like to breathe the richness
of the Ukrainian culture. The colors and designs are in my blood
and will also always find a place in my work. ...and yes, my borsch
isn't bad! I had the best teacher, my mother, who is a great
cook.
Your husband Petro is a writer. Do you advise one
another artistically? Is there ever any competition?
Petro is often a good sounding board for my ideas and
concepts. We value each other's opinions and have not felt any
competition. On the contrary, we often dream about collaborating
our styles into some type of work. For now we are quite busy with
the practicalities of daily life, with young children, as we try to
create private time for ourselves. We are each certain that our
artistic pursuits will only grow, as our responsibilities
shift.
What is your favorite reaction that anyone has ever had
to your work? What was the most disappointing? I can think of many
favorites!
The sweetest, of course, come from my children. There is
one painting/collage that my 11 yr old son fell in love with and he
only allowed to me put it into the exhibit if it wasn't for
sale....."not even for millions of dollars!"....and he loves money!
When somebody asked my 10 yr old daughter which painting of mine is
her favorite, she said "all of them", and my 8 yr old daughter
recently said that my work was "better than Picasso's"! One of the
funniest was when my daughter's friend fainted when she saw one of
my paintings! One of the most encouraging reactions was when
someone asked me how much a painting cost and when I told him it
was $400, he told me it should be $650 and he bought it for that
price. I can't think of a disappointing reaction.
How often do you collaborate with other artists and are
you more attracted to work that is similar to or different than
your own?
Living in Ukraine I often attended art openings and weekly
painting classes, which kept me in touch with artists. I am slowly
meeting local artists here in Melbourne Beach, as it is a popular
place for art. I made a few special friends when I was in Hungary
from Austria and we try to keep in touch through the internet.
Overall, not enough and I hope to make more time for that. I don't
think I am able to simplify my attraction to works as similar or
different from mine. It comes from somewhere else. What is the
first thing in the morning that usually comes to your mind? Pieces
of my dream. How do you deal with creative ruts? I either switch
mediums or I create some type of deadline. Whether it's an exhibit,
an entry submission, or a self-imposed deadline, it helps me to
allow other things to fall behind for short period of time and to
prioritize my art. Then, I make myself just do it. Being a mother
of 3 creative and busy children, I am unable to wait for the muse
to come to me. It would always get clouded by homework, laundry,
shopping, cooking, and getting kids to their activities on time
with the right stuff!
What do you feel when you tell non-artists that you are
an artist? Have you experienced any judgment from family or
friends?
I suppose the reactions are varied. Mostly, people ask what
I do and how I make time for it. In the past I have heard "you are
so lucky" or "I wish I had the time". These comments used to bother
me very much because discovering myself as an artist was very
difficult for me with the timing of raising young children. Many
times I struggled and cried and wished that I wasn't an artist. For
several years it was very common for me to sleep 3 hours so that I
could create while my children were sleeping. It is better for me
now that the children are older and they can understand that I
didn't do the laundry or shopping because I was painting. When they
are babies there is no room for that, all needs are immediate! I am
also becoming more patient with myself and taking more care of my
health, including sleep. However, I still do not watch T.V. and
often become obsessed with using my time efficiently. I have
experienced feelings of judgement and it used to cut into me. Now,
I try not to devote any time to these feelings, as they serve no
purpose. Having said that, I do not feel any judgement from my
family and close friends. I am very blessed with many special
relationships.
Do you approach work differently now that you're a
mother?
Well, as I mentioned earlier, I only began seriously
realizing that I was an artist at the time I was preparing for
motherhood. As if a new level of myself was opening up. It's quite
beautiful when I think of it that way.... like a gift from my
children. Thank you for asking me this question because I never
thought of it this way before. I remember when I was giving birth
and knowing that it was the best experience I would ever have. The
mix of physical pain with emotional ecstasy was out of this world.
And now..... raising children, teaching them, and loving them like
there's no tomorrow.... it's just the highest power. The more I
allow myself to raise them with my heart, the more I grow. The
better mother I am, the purer my work becomes. And only in this way
will my art achieve it's greatest potential. I wouldn't trade
motherhood for ANYTHING! For me, motherhood and art are very
spiritually connected, which is why I felt it was important to
begin the group "artists who are mothers" on the OWOA website. I'm
looking forward to more communication in that group.
You performed in a play with your son recently. Tell us
a little bit about that experience.
The experience of acting with my son was unforgettable. We
were not exactly in a position to audition, having just moved as
well as an already busy schedule but somehow it worked. He is a
natural at just about everything he does and he showed me how to
have some fun backstage! The content of the play was not intended
for children, so it stimulated a lot of conversation for us about
God, sex, and religion.
Do you feel any moral responsibility with your art? Is
there some fundamental message or statement you'd like it to
make?
Definitely, I feel a great deal of pressure to have a major
effect with my work. In fact, I think that I put too much pressure
on myself with those thoughts to the point where it can become
paralyzing. My brain sometimes gets in my way. I am working on
increasing my meditation time in order to allow the art to move
through me. In this respect, I consider my artistic "voice" to
still be in formation and am looking forward to it's development,
as I know that most of it hasn't even begun to come out. In the
end, I really do believe that the best way to give is to be true to
yourself.
If you didn't do art, what else would you do? By
profession I am a Psychotherapist with a Master's Degree in
Clinical Psychology and Education. While in Ukraine, I was able to
practice therapy as a consultant for the Peace Corps. Once I get
licensed in Florida, I would like to continue that on a part-time
basis. My mother once told me a quote that read something like -
"art is not something you choose, it chooses you." So here I
am.....
Do you visualize a concept before creating? Do you know
what it will look like before you begin?
This was the first question I had asked to one of the
well-known artists when I arrived in Kyiv. He responded
"absolutely". So I tried real hard to do this but it didn't totally
work for me. I didn't like to have it completed in my head before I
began because then I got bored. So I continued going with my
emotions until it began to feel reckless and lacking control. So
now I am somewhere in between. I like to move intuitively, while I
carefully invite my thoughts. Balance is a key word for
me.
How did you celebrate the New Year? What would you like
to see happen for you professionally in the next year?
Moving to Florida a year and a half ago with the kids while
Petro is still working in Ukraine has been challenging. The
children and I have made several new friends here in Melbourne
Beach. They have been so kind, warm, and helpful to us. In essence,
they have become our family here. I wanted very much to thank them
by having everyone get together at our house. Petro was here for
the holidays and we hosted a New Year's Eve party for our new
friends. Adults, children, pool, hot tub, and a performance by our
children's newly formed rock-n-roll band named "Avenue B" , as well
as a magic show by my son, made for a very festive evening.
Professionally,in the next year, I would like to finally get some
of my clothing ideas sewn and out into some boutiques or perhaps on
my website. (speaking of website, I would like to update that as
well.) I have just submitted a painting to enter the "Strokes For
Hope" project and would love to be a part of that opening in NYC in
April. I also plan to create new Ukrainian doll paintings in order
to have enough work to participate in the annual festival in
upstate New York at Soyuzivka.
