Inna Vjuzhanina: The truth is, it was Lezlie A. Kinyon, Ph.D, Editor of Coreopsis who found me and reached out to get featured. I’m truly grateful to her for that. But regardless of the location, the language of art is universal in my opinion.
Coreopsis: Do you live alone or with a family? How does this impact your creativity and work?
Vjuzhanina: I live with my family. We help each other out with various things and share precious moments. But at the same time we understand and respect that each person has their own needs and requires their own space. So, I have my freedom to structure my creative process the way I want to. Living with someone does not mean sharing one lifestyle, it’s being part of each other’s lives while writing your own story.
Coreopsis: Given the ongoing war, how are you able to create your art? Do you live in an area that is being bombed or that is under any other threats?
Vjuzhanina: Yes, we are close to the front line, my region is partially occupied. In fact, the initial invasion wave stopped right before our village. So daily explosions and missiles flying over our heads is a regular part of every day. As well as having the largest nuclear power plant close, which is under threat all the time.
With that being said, I have never stopped creating since the first day of the invasion. Creativity and art are my greatest sources of joy and confidence. It was the art-making process which gave me massive mental support to power through the first months of war which were an absolute mental hell. And then you learn to cope with the new reality happening around and make a choice. I chose not to allow anything or anyone to take away my joy of life or love for creation. If we die, we die. But first we live.
Coreopsis: Tell us a bit about your creative spirit. What prompts it? Do you have a favored theme? How old were you when you recognized the artist within you?
Vjuzhanina: I was in my early 20s. I’m a huge classic Tomb Raider fan and my love for Lara and fascination with her adventures prompted me to give it a creative outlet. I wanted to take that feeling I had inside my heart and give it a tangible physical form. So that’s when I bought my first digital tablet and started teaching myself how to paint. Over time my range of subjects has significantly expanded beyond Tomb Raider. I am very drawn to strong female figures – in fiction or my own original characters. But Lara still holds a very special place in my heart. Every time I need a creative idea, I know I can come back to my old friend and the adventures we shared together will spark a ton of new ideas.
Coreopsis: What does an average day look like for you?
Vjuzhanina: I’m an early riser so I normally get up at 5AM, just before the sun wakes up. Then I’m having my breakfast while enjoying the pre-dawn magic that only happens at these hours. It’s my absolute favorite part of the day. Then often it’s journaling for a bit to get my thoughts together, to reflect on the previous day and make plans. I always pick up and note down a few things — big or tiny — I am grateful for. That usually helps to set a more optimistic mood for the whole day. After that I either go straight to art-making or attend some other things that need my attention. I usually take a break near noon to do a workout, calm my perpetually crazy mind with a little meditation and enjoy the lunch. Afterwards I either go back to art-ing or dedicating time to studying/researching my other interests. I usually try to have at least a bit of time in the evening to just unplug and watch a favorite show, vlog or a movie, but often learning time cuts into this. There’s just too many exciting things to discover. I guess I’m a Tomb Raider fan for a reason, love for discovery — be it a thousand-year-old location or a new idea — seems to always be pulling me.
Coreopsis: What do you see in the future for yourself, your art, and also for your homeland, Ukraine?
Vjuzhanina: It’s a no-brainer for Ukraine. It is an absolute liberation. There is no gray area to this question. Ukraine wins and we continue rebuilding and nurturing Life. The terrorist state pays for all the pain, death, blood, ash, and rubble they brought along when they set foot on our Land carrying weapons. However many generations it will take. I’d say many.
As for my own future, it’s continuing discovering all the beautiful aspects life holds and continuing creating and discovering the world. There are big dreams and goals, but I think it’s important to remember to adjust to the promptly changing world and shed those which are no longer viable.
The biggest bliss about creation is the joy it brings you. It’s one of the unique channels your soul gets to speak to the world and I want her to have the freedom of speech to do so. So if I could sum it all up in one sentence it would be “To continue creating Beauty while having financial means supporting you in doing so.” With that being said, I have a Patreon.
I share a lot of art process moments there as well as personal life and behind the scenes.
Coreopsis: So now we have more knowledge about the woman creating some of the art work in this edition of Coreopsis. You can connect with Inna and her work on Patreon at patreon.com/innavjuzhanina or through her print shop at vjuzhaninaishop.com.
Dr. Sharon G. Mijares is a psychologist and core faculty member of the California Institute for Human Science. She is a professor at National University assisting with its shift in focus to Cultural and Social Justice components within all programs. Sharon has studied mysticism, occult, and shamanic traditions for 48 years. Sharon has presented workshops in Costa Rica, Ecuador, Egypt, India, Mexico, Scotland, Uganda, United States and Venezuela.