Art by Alexandria Gaujot
Alexandria Gaujot
- A Beautiful life of Creativity -
I grew up in Donetsk, Ukraine. In the 1980s Ukraine was a part of the Soviet Union until it gained the independence in 1991 as the Soviet Union dissolved. My mother Lybov was an engineer and a homemaker and father Valeri was the artist and woodworker; and while my brother Mikhail flourished as a boxer, I like my father, was compelled to be creative.
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Inspired by my childhood classmate and best friend who dreamed of opportunity to come to the United States, I moved to the Washington DC area in 1996 and began adapting to a world that was suddenly much larger. However, since then I traveled to both the East and West coasts in America. West Virginia became my home in 2003. I fell in love with the people and the nature here. I noticed that there are many similarities between the Donetsk Province and West Virginia, both located on the 38th Parallel, both regions are known for coal, and both have been in the middle of a Civil War. When incorporate images of West Virginia into my art I feel more connected to home in Donetsk.
My passion for creating new art and teaching art grew drastically in 2020 during my dramatic battle with breast cancer. Art became my therapy. I truly feel beauty is all around us, in the faces of strangers, architecture, and even the ordinary day to day life. My observational drawings, sketches and still-lives are rooted in the Traditional Russian techniques that I learned at the Donetsk Arts College. My teaching methods are based on the similar classes I attended in my home country and I enjoy sharing the gift of art with young students because their potential is limitless. I use different media when teach and create my art.
Every day I strive to grow as an artist and a better human being, by engaging in drawing, painting and using my art to inspire others and by connecting with others to build a community.