How Can a Mummy Use Her Desire for Art?

To bring up a one-year-old, to make art/creative things at the same time making a career and, in addition to it, to have time to help others – do you think it is real? Very much real and the experience of Kseniya Simonova, a 24-year-old mother from the Crimea, proves it.

This year Kseniya won in the Ukrainian Show “Ukraina Mae Talant!” having submitted the art of sand animation to the examination of the audience. For the first time in their life, many of the TV viewers saw a whole series of pictures skillfully created with sand on a glass platform and projected onto a screen. Yes, exactly, Kseniya enjoys sand art after she puts her 18-months-old son Dima to bed.

«And for what all this?» – some of you may have thought. First of all, for the sake of aesthetics, beauty and a feeling of content. When you create, you reach harmony with yourself and, thus, convey a part of it to your children. Second, as Kseniya says herself, “I decided to participate in the Competition “Ukraina Mae Talant” to help 9-months-old Nika – the little baby-girl who has been in coma for half a year already». The young artist is giving Nika’s family half of the won million of the Ukrainian national currency (Kseniya is even not acquainted with that family).

In the final part of the Show, drawing on the sand, Kseniya was telling how war burst into the life of a loving couple. There turned out to be a whole story in which the guy died at the front but a son was born from their union. The last picture: a young woman and a boy are looking into the window behind which the soul of the soldier is flying in the sky. And below the picture, there are the words, “You are always nearby”. The viewers could not but burst into crying and an ovation…

The subject chosen for the finals was not accidental (though initially the number was created for the Victory Day). With her art, Kseniya seeks to draw people’s attention to the problems which exist in the modern world, to suggest possible solutions. As Kseniya has told to the newspaper “Facts and Comments», “we have established a Public Union “Live, Dear” the aim of which is the struggle against abortion and the support of mothers with little children, – continues the artist (the work of the Union includes two social directions: information struggle with abortion, support to the women who did not desire pregnancy and also support to sick children and socially insecure families). – This subject became really interesting to me when I was pregnant. When I had given birth to our son, I printed out more than 300 fliers and pasted them when I was walking with a pram. We have already managed to persuade several women to refuse from abortion. I am godmother to the children of two of them.

I decided to take part in the competition “Ukraina Mae Talant!” to help Nika. The little girl is 9 months old now, six months of which she has spent in coma because of the meningitis. I learnt about that child from a notice in the street where there was a request for help. Now the baby-girl is in the resuscitation department of a Kiev hospital (Ukraine). The girl’s mother complains that the doctors want to discharge the baby from hospital“.

How Did Everything Begin?

Only a few people in the world are engaged in sand animation. Kseniya learnt about it in the Internet in September last year. Only 4 people work with drawing on sand on the professional level. One of these people was Kseniya’s teacher. The young artist wants to become the 5th master of sand art and to gain this aim she draws on sand 4 hours each day.

“Motherhood encouraged me, even more than anything else before, to create , — the artist told “Facts and Comments”. — Our son Dima is 18 months old. So, I cannot draw during the day. Only nights are left. We put our son to bed at 10:30 and I start working on sand, till about 3 o’clock in the morning. Each day. I sleep 3-4 hours. That is why I look so good (laughing). Frankly speaking, such lifestyle takes much strength and does not add health. By the way, my hubby Igor also works at night – he is writing a play about an artist like me, drawing on sand, except for the fact that she is blind. Igor has got his own theatre called “Private Collection”.

One more project which Kseniya works at together with her creative husband is the magazine “Chocolate”. According to Kseniya, it is an intellectual glossy magazine in which the best Crimean places for rest are colourfully illustrated.

What Next?

This year Kseniya is going to enter the Faculty of Foreign Languages to improve her knowledge of English (by now she has got two kinds of higher education: psychology and art-graphic arts-printing art). Earlier she has already translated English classic poetry.

Kseniya has got a dream – to work with children helping them psychologically with the help of sand. She is going to use her liking to drawing on sand at these meetings: sand art influences the nervous system very positively.

Some thoughts of the authors of the”Parents’ Ideas“: when you read about such experience and achievements, you spontaneously start thinking – and what are you doing for the world? how do you apply your creative potential?..

Sources of the Information:

• The article by V.Litvinchuck “ Eupatorian Kseniya – Mae Talant!” in the “Crimean News”
• The article “ Vote for Kseniya Simonova!” in the “Crimean Analyst”
• The article «“Kseniya Simonova: I decided to take part on the competition to help 9-months-old Nika»” in “Information Agency e-Crimea”

Illustrations to the Article:

The photos are from “ “the Crimean Analyst”“: Kseniya is painting on the sand on the Victory Day.

Links to the video:

• “Paskar“
• “Requiem from Sand“
• “Live, Dear“

To view this article in Russian, please, visit here. If you decide to drop us a comment, would you be so kind to use Latin letters and not Cyrillic?

Next time we will tell you what can be done if the elevator in your house and the pram/stroller do not fit each other…