GIVE TIME A CHANCE TO LOVE YOU

        No matter how fervently we pursue the missed moments in a vain attempt to get them back, they turn out to be irretrievably lost. But I stopped for a moment to enjoy the passing of time... and to my surprise (and much to the surprise of my family and friends), that decision expanded into a magical journey into a fairyland of wonder-filled color that became my enduring source of inspiration. Such is the world of art - fertile and eternal! I have long roamed her realm and always left it with eternal longing, for the sense of self-abandonment I experienced in the dedicated work of my dearest artist friends.

This immersive experience of the expanse of colors and emotions has been with me for several years and I keep it close. I found that what helped me express my emotions most rewardingly was putty. If the texture of the canvas is flat and without relief, it means that I have not fulfilled my purpose with this artwork. So I gradually discovered the potential of sculpting paste, but the "discovery" took me a long time.

     In her path of artistic self-exploration, the Russian artist Evgenia Ermilova, the founder of sculptural painting, was captivated by the relief drawings of the American artist Justin Gaffrey and adopted his technique, which she adapted to the specifics of her style. Yet to fulfill her artistic aspirations, she needed a molding material with a different texture.

Combining its experience with her efforts, the French company Clavel produces a new decorative putty tailored to the needs of Ermilova's project. The availability of the new material paved the way for the development of sculpture painting - a new artistic trend since 2015. The addition of a new ingredient - natural fiber - to the decorative substance improved its plasticity and elasticity, which improved its molding properties - better expansion and volume of the sculpted flowers and various other objects conceived by the artist's imagination. 

In the following years, the inspired efforts of Evgenia Ermilova continued to improve the quality of the substance and even came out with her own brand bearing her name. Interestingly, the color scheme of her art includes 55 colors that can be mixed to get the desired shades. 

^{We make Christmas stars in the village of Momchilovtsi in the villa "ALBA", the host is the charming Violeta Manolova, who is with us, and from her villa she has created a paradise among the paradise of nature}

      Peonies became my first inspiration. Three varieties of them adorned our yard – white, white-and-pink, pink- and dark-red. Their spell was irresistible! My first paste-moulded peony, a memorable debut, is still with me. I sculpted its petals out of a self-made experimental paste and they stood the passage of time, soundly planted on the canvas /I didn’t know then that the best foundation for such purposes was wood, not canvas, though/. And because it is in my nature to always pursue my aims with exceptional dedication and inspiration, I was impatient to resume my artistic work at the end of the long workdays I spent at my workplace in front of the computer. This was such a happy migration – I found myself in a fledging, pristine, fairy-tale world, like a disciple of a new teaching, inebriated and grateful for the impressions it evoked in me, thirsty for knowledge and new creative undertakings. 

My family would bid “good-night” and leave me all alone with my peonies to find me bent over them in the morning, like an exact replica of my evening self. Finally, my husband invented a funny new name for me – Bojouritsa (Peony-wife)! No other name could have suited the creative quests of my website with such  remarkable precision. Coincidentally, the name of my friend in charge of the website is Violet… May we rejoice in the spirit of flowers!

      Avidly striving for new horizons, I came across my Bulgarian teacher – Svetlana Andreeva. In her classes, she taught me how to mould peonies, roses and Poinsettias (Christmas star plants). Thank you, Svetlana for your guidance in realm of heavenly inspiration! You are truly a light-bearer, as your name suggests. Svetlana holds all her students by the hand teaching them how to take their first steps in the world of sculptural painting. I was a toddler, too, feeling my way in this magical realm which she left open for me. As a matter of fact, I have never stopped wondering at the enormous opportunities of its magic, and I feel as inadequate now as I used to be back then. 

^{With Svetlana Andreeva - I present a "Rose" panel and a certificate after my studies}