It is going to be a bit spooky on our blog today, whoooo!
Alina Bobyr was born into an artistic family in Kyiv, Ukraine and when she was nineteen years old she made a brave decision and with 400 USD in her pocket she moved to the US searching for a better life, which, you can imagine, wasn't easy. Struggling to find a job, barely speaking the language in a completely new environment thousand miles away from her friends and family, Alina was going through the roughest time ever.
“My family raised me to believe that expressing emotions using any form of art is extremely healthy and can help overcome most difficult and stressful events in life. So nearly depressed I started sculpting. Being in a tough financial situation I had to buy cheap clay and tools, but playing around with it and immersing myself into a newfound hobby made me feel better immediately.”
Alina started to sculpt according to her current mood. Little cute creatures when she felt sad and lonely, creepy vicious monsters when she was scared and troubled. Thank goodness eventually things got better and Alina is back on her feet and happy with her life, new friends and opportunities.
One day she found out that some people resonate with her little monsters: “They actually feel the same emotions that I felt when I was creating them. It was so nice to know that whatever you’re going through and no matter how bad it gets, you’re never alone.” Ever since then she started to put her little babies out into the world so they can find a new home.
“I keep sculpting no matter what, and frankly, the artist community is very welcoming, every person is special, has their own story and talent, it is so inspirational! I’m so happy to be a part of it. It doesn’t really matter if you’re new and just experimenting, or been doing it forever - there’s a lot of love and support for everyone,” shares her excitement Alina and continues: “Diversity is another fascinating thing. We have so many materials, products, tools and information available for creating, you can bring your wildest ideas to life and I love it!”
And what advice does she have for you to overcome your fears and troubles? “It’s important to follow your passion, even though sometimes it’s really hard. Just be yourself, and you know what? The weirder - the better!”
And we can only add to this that we are so happy that Alina shared her story with our readers as there must be more people out there waiting for their inner voice to be heard and their passion to be followed so they can overcome their fears and decide to become an artist. And yeah, why not, even another weird one… :)
