About me

It's me working at my new studio, where, I've just moved in. It's only a little part of one of the walls, but the other parts look the same. They are not less rich and colorful. They are full of color, light and joy. Sometimes I feel as if I was a sort of a round-belly dragon, who gained plenty of precious things in his cave. I want all the kinds and all the colors of wool the more the better, under my hands all the time, I want all kinds of fibers, like silk,bamboo, and others, as precious as it can be accessible and immediately. All the time to see, all the time to touch all the time to... be.

I live in Israel, but was born far away from here, in Belarus, where I spent the first years
of my childhood and youth. In Israel I've opened the second chapter of this wonderful
book, which is my life. It took me a while to find my way. I've learned Hebrew, I worked
for a pharmaceutical start up company.
I've got married and gave birth to three wonderful daughters, who inspired me to fulfill
my old dream, to become an artist. Searching for a good kindergarten I've met with
the Waldorf education theory. Starting doing toys for my kids, which according to the
Waldorf vision have to be made out of natural materials, I've discovered the world of
felting for myself. I had a feeling that my hands have known this art since ever. After fairy
dolls, tale personages, I've started with animals, trying to be precise and faithful to the
original. I had an idea, that such copies, which often look much more like the live ones
than felted animals, can replace those in museums.
Many of my creations which were crafted in Israel have arrived in many other places
all over the world. Thanks to them I've met with amazing people, who became my
customers. Some of them are collectors, some use to tell stories to kids using felted
characters as puppets, some doing animation for a song clip, and so on. Usually we
interact via internet, but some of them have visited me in my studio. I feel grateful for
their orders which very often open new horizons for me and launch new challenges. One
of those is to create a portrait of a dear pet. I myself experienced the loss of my beloved
dog, who lived with us for fourteen years, shared with us all the family events. Doing
these portraits, I use photos and stories told by owners, which relive the character of the
pet.
I've been asked lately about the animal dolls I'm crafting. What is the secret of their
affinity. How is it that they are so similar to the originals and actually make perfect copies
of real animals. The answer is that I love them. I love animals and I love felting, but it's
not only that. There is something that could difficult to share with others. It's something
to do with magic, I feel that I am like a native hunter, before tracking a deer the hunter
puts an effort to turn himself into a deer in order to feel like a deer, to think like a deer
and so on... In the same manner, when I work on my soft sculptures, many times I feel as
if I am inside the animal I'm crafting, and more than once I feel regret to have to release it
when the item is complete. My mother was worried about it being afraid that it's a sort of
madness, but I consider it as a gift and feel grateful to Universe, which granted me such
ability.