sees herself in the main character, Ia – a little girl living through the early days of the invasion. She says: “Ia looks like me a lot. I read Oksana’s manuscript and immediately recognized myself in the little girl – her emotions and feelings resonated with mine very much. And then later I realised that I also endowed her with my own external features – for example: dark hair colour, fringe, face type. It happened subconsciously and it makes it even more important for me.”
And for Kateryna the love of art came when she was a similar age to Ia, often being inspired by the books she read. “From early childhood, I loved to draw and could not imagine my life without it. When somebody asked me about my dream work, I always said that I want to be an artist. Therefore, I attended various extra art classes such as a four-year art school, lessons of watercolour painting, ceramics, and batik (silk painting). I was always surrounded by very creative and interesting people who were both friends and inspiration to me. In addition, I was very touched by beautifully illustrated children’s books, which I enjoyed browsing before bed.
“A great influence on my creativity was the Ukrainian artist Maria Prymachenko with her fantastic and original works in the naive folk style – primitivism. She showed me that great art can be different and non- canonical.”
Achieving those early dreams of becoming an artist has put Kateryna in a position to help remind the world that her country is under threat through no fault of its own. She says her daily experiences are like
those of others in Ukraine, and the plight of ordinary people needs to be shared. Of her own time in Ukraine since war broke out, she says that despite the incredible hardship and danger, it has given her a new perspective on life saying: “It hurts me that Ukrainians are still dying to defend the right to live in an independent country. I worry about my loved ones often.
“Unfortunately, I don’t feel safe at all because I never know what will happen the next moment, that’s why the feeling of anxiety is always present in the background. But I try to live it through illustration, focusing my attention on the fact that the world still amazes me with its beauty and wonderful people around. “I revised my attitude to life and understood what is really important: love, warmth and empathy. I understood the incredible value of the present moment, because it is all that we have in our lives. Adapting to the war, I became more flexible, because attacks can happen at any moment and you have to be ready to change your plans in an instant. And last but not least – I felt how much more people can achieve when they are united.” The influence of war stretches beyond the personal, impacting on how Kateryna works. She explains: “Despite the tragic events in Ukraine, my artwork has become more optimistic. It is very therapeutic for me: looking for inspiration for new illustrations, I notice how much good happens even in dark times. This positive attitude also supports many other people as well, focusing on the good and positive things in our lives.
“I learned to implement my ideas faster. Before the full-scale invasion I worked on a stationary computer, and it took a lot of time. In March 2022 my family and I had to leave our home, I could take only my iPad with me. And it worked in the best way. Now, most efforts in creativity are directed to the process of generating interesting ideas, and not to their implementation.” With that new-found optimism comes the fresh impetus of work, and Kateryna reveals that: “Currently I am working on my own children’s book. This idea appeared one and a half years ago, but it was not clearly formed. In the work process I make some edits to the plot. I have already done seven illustrated spreads and really hope that I will be able to finish this book, because it is worth it.” PEN&INC
22 PEN&INC.
Autumn-Winter 2024
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