I was born and raised in Ukraine, and this is where my creative path started.

Art has been a huge part of my life since I was a child, I remember myself being super creative, always working on my art projects and exploring various art mediums. I studied art with multiple tutors and independently that gave me a strong academic and theoretical basis. It feels like, all kids are so brave and curious, they want to try everything without any fear of making a mistake, they are open to new ideas that flow into their heads, and they always listen to their hearts.

However, when I graduated from high school, I was carried away by “success” ideas and so I decided to choose a serious career and got my bachelor’s degree in business and marketing. 5 years ago, I moved to Canada as a postgrad student to continue building my career in the corporate world.

I spent years working in the industry with multiple agencies and brands, it was exciting and useful as this experience helped me a lot to develop skills like project management, social media advertisement, communications, budget planning, public relations etc. It was an important part of my journey as it helped to be strategic, to build business and understand what I truly want.

Day by day I was realizing that something big was missing in my life, it made me feel empty, sad, and even purposeless. Up until one day when I was passing by art department on a dollar store and suddenly saw a stand with canvas, I stopped by and grabbed just one to try.

That was the crucial moment in my life as it became a beginning of a new adventure, my art journey. Art became my own medicine, my therapy and everyday meditation that guided me through the darkest times.

By continuous experimenting and mixing multiple mediums I expand my own vision of art and break the stigma of where / what art is. This freedom fascinates me as it opens a whole new world of imagination and creativity.

With years of practice, I developed my own signature style, so that my work can be now recognized by unique patterns and themes. I am so grateful and happy that my art resonated so well with the community!

You can see my work now at the biggest arts and crafts shows of Canada like One of A Kind show, Toronto Art Crawl, Artisan Market, Kensington Flea and others.

My dream was to create a safe space for everyone to connect, to create and share, to unlock our minds and free all the creative energies. And I worked hard of making it come true, so in June 2022 I opened my school & studio in Toronto, in the heart of the Midtown, called Arting Around by Julia.

I started to unlock my creative potential day by day, painting by painting, color by color, idea by idea. It is really fascinating how being super creative as a child and teenager, I had to re-learn everything and gain confidence in basic things.

But I was patient with myself, educating myself of the spiritual part of the process and it helped me to reconnect with that inner child that always wanted to create and to explore. Even when no one believed, my own belief and faith helped me to keep going no matter what.

Eventually I moved away from my full-time corporate job (and trust me, the transition was never easy) to pursue my passion, art.

I spent these couple years truly “arting around”: working with multiple mediums and experimenting with various art techniques before I discovered glass painting. I created collections of resin upcycled furniture, hand painted vintage jackets and clothing, worked on clay home décor, urban sketching, fluid art, watercolors, and portraiture. Recently I released a collection of hand-painted hoodies, statement jewelry and more to come!

Teaching and sharing have become a huge part of my art journey and I am so glad that I help so many people to reconnect with their creative child, to start arting around and see how transformative it is.

My favorite part is when I see students being carried away by the creative process and then being so amazed and proud of their creations. It is not watercolors, glass painting, or acrylics that we learn together. We learn how to be brave, bold, and fearless. We learn how to experiment, how to trust the process and be less focused on the result. How to believe in yourself no matter what and let the art flow to guide you.