Open Studio: Ms. Yakovenko

Today was a work hard/play hard kind of day--had lots of printing to do and lots to learn from my new guest! My lovely friend Galina Yakovenko spent the day with me and I had such a blast :) She teaches studio art and art integration classes to elementary school kids and works for a Bay Area non-profit called Opera-Piccola. She's one of those exceptional individuals who is able to utilize both sides of her brain and is academically and artistically gifted. I think it's so amazing that she has a passion for teaching, a person with her caliber will make such positive influences on kids today. I always looked forward to my art classes in school--I would've loved to have Galina as my teacher :)






















Here's a picture of her students with their artwork screenprinted on their shirts. Cute!


















Galina has done a series of portraits of her family--I love her linework and the patches of color that make the larger whole. She's able to take from a photograph, fill in any missing information, and still be able to capture their likeness and quality. Make sure to check out her website here for more goodness!



































We are collaborating on a fun project together--I'm SO excited about it! She will be drawing portraits of mutual friends which I will then letterpress into a cover and we will be making them into journals to give as keepsakes.

Here's a little peek at what she was working on. The beginnings of it reminds me of paint-by-numbers! Totally fits our art school-theme today...



































We got lucky and were invited to have lunch nextdoor at St. Hieronymous Press where she got to meet my teachers (whom I adore!) Mr. Goines, Mr. Seibert & Mr. Plumb. We had homemade chicken soup and cupcakes for dessert :) To see more pics of our day, visit my flickr here.



















































I know this day seemed like more play than work, but trust me--we got a lot done!