The Spark: From an empty wall to an idea
It all started with the empty, uninspiring walls in my studio. For a long time, they displayed only half-completed canvases. One day, I realized I needed something different—something bold that would spark creativity every single day.
Around that time, I joined Yana Mef's "Signature Style" course. When it came time to choose a theme for the final project, I immediately knew that this wall had to be my subject. Since the course was all about discovering our unique voices, I chose a clear, intentional phrase to mark a true turning point: a line between my art "before" and "after" the course.
The Process: Exploring calligraphy, architecture, and form
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The journey was far from easy.
I started with some early sketches in my new style, but honestly, I didn’t like them. Inventing a completely original artistic language in a short time was a real challenge, and the pressure was intense. Yet, that struggle led to a realisation. While searching for the right letterforms and composition, I drew inspiration from Zaha Hadid’s dynamic late-period architecture and my passion for Slavic Cyrillic calligraphy, especially Vyaz.
I started with some early sketches in my new style, but honestly, I didn’t like them. Inventing a completely original artistic language in a short time was a real challenge, and the pressure was intense. Yet, that struggle led to a realisation. While searching for the right letterforms and composition, I drew inspiration from Zaha Hadid’s dynamic late-period architecture and my passion for Slavic Cyrillic calligraphy, especially Vyaz.
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My sketches improved dramatically, capturing new direction and energy.
After that, I created paper models in three different sizes to understand the spatial weight. At first, I was worried that the largest one would be overwhelming, so I experimented with each until I realized the big version made the strongest impact.
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Once I settled on the right scale, I began working in leather, but the drying process was so slow that I thought I wouldn’t meet the deadline. I started a second version in canvas, but in the end, patience paid off: the leather piece dried beautifully and became the final work, while the canvas experiment didn’t succeed.
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The Outcome: Scrambled letters and signature style
The final artwork features the intentionally scrambled phrase "авртоский стлиь" (with plans for a companion piece reading "signatrue stlye" soon). Even with the letters mixed up, our brains instinctively recognize the patterns and reconstruct them as "авторский стиль" and "signature style." To me, this effect became a powerful metaphor for the creative journey of searching for my voice. Just as the mind rearranges letters to form words, I had to sift through creative chaos to discover my own artistic identity.
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What if a signature style isn’t something you find,
but something you create?
I explored various techniques and experiments, hoping to figure out what connected my interests in letters, architecture, deconstruction, and visual puzzles. It took me a while to realize I wasn’t actually looking for something new. Instead, I was noticing connections that had always existed.
Everything changed when I stopped searching outside myself and started looking within. I saw that my interests weren’t separate—they were all part of the same drive: to make art that invites people to interpret and see familiar things in a new way.
That’s what led me to the phrase "авртоский стлиь" (“signatrue stlye.”)
At first, it looks like a mistake. But our brains quickly read it as "авторский стиль" (“signature style”), filling in the familiar pattern. This effect, called typoglycemia, became a metaphor for my creative process for this artwork. Just as the brain finds meaning in scrambled letters, I was discovering connections between seemingly unrelated ideas.
Everything changed when I stopped searching outside myself and started looking within. I saw that my interests weren’t separate—they were all part of the same drive: to make art that invites people to interpret and see familiar things in a new way.
That’s what led me to the phrase "авртоский стлиь" (“signatrue stlye.”)
At first, it looks like a mistake. But our brains quickly read it as "авторский стиль" (“signature style”), filling in the familiar pattern. This effect, called typoglycemia, became a metaphor for my creative process for this artwork. Just as the brain finds meaning in scrambled letters, I was discovering connections between seemingly unrelated ideas.
In the finished piece, the phrase nearly vanishes. The letters stretch, overlap, and take on architectural shapes, inspired by Zaha Hadid and Slavic vyaz calligraphy, in which letters are both symbols and visual forms.
This piece shows the moment when my intuitive search turned into a clear system, when text became architecture, and when separate parts formed my own artistic language.
It also plays with the idea of “before and after”: two frames mark the transition from scattered lines moving in the same direction to something monolithic and whole.
This piece shows the moment when my intuitive search turned into a clear system, when text became architecture, and when separate parts formed my own artistic language.
It also plays with the idea of “before and after”: two frames mark the transition from scattered lines moving in the same direction to something monolithic and whole.
I can’t unsee a flower blooming here—it happened by accident. I didn’t plan it.
And what do you see?
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Now, it’s up on my wall—a daily source of focus and inspiration.
Thanks for staying curious.
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[Signature Artworks] · [Early Artworks] · [About artist]