Project Overview
My name is Tatyana Ostapenko. I am a contemporary visual artist and I create history paintings that record the daily lives of people who usually don’t make it into official historical records. I use images from my native Ukraine to speak about universal human experiences and evoke empathy and hope in the face of adversity.
It’s been my dream for a long time now to paint a mural. I finally get to create a piece of public art and now you can be a part of making this dream become reality.
In the past year I have been working on an increasingly larger scale, creating life sized figurative paintings of older women from my native Ukraine. And now I get to bring my beloved babushkas out to a public space.
This mural is a part of the Ladies Up initiative by the Portland Street Art Alliance, a small local non-profit organization. PSAA has extended an opportunity to five local female-identifying artists to create murals in SE Portland's Buckman Neighborhood at SE Morrison and 14th Ave. I got one of the larger walls in the project, a whopping 10x18 footer. I can’t wait to paint my babushkas so they can sternly stare at the Portland passerby from this expanse!
What I Need & What You Get
For this campaign I am asking to raise $2500. This covers:
fair wages for hiring a fellow artist to assist with logistics, transportation and on site assistance during the painting of the mural
the cost of fulfilling all the amazing rewards you crowd-funders will get to enjoy by contributing to our campaign
creative time for designing and painting the mural
The Portland Street Art Alliance is providing participating artists with a materials stipend of $750 which helps to cover paint, supplies and other material expenses. However, at this scope of project, I will need help. I will be hiring an assistant with a vehicle to transport paints, ladders, and other sundry to and from the location, as well as help me with wall preparation, roughing in the design, and generally keeping me sane and well-hydrated.
The project is going to take a week from start to completion and I want to pay my assistant a fair wage. And as I am volunteering many more hours for preparation and design, as well as physical execution of the mural, I would greatly appreciate any and all contributions to compensate for my creative time and effort for producing this piece of public art in the midst of the pandemic.
To reach my fundraising campaign goal of $2500 I am offering available paintings that served as inspiration for this mural as contribution perks. They are all images of strong, resilient and much underappreciated older women. I don’t consider them portraits of particular individuals; they are collective images, archetypes, embodiments of the indomitable spirit of all of our mothers and grandmothers who withstood adversity and weathered many storms with dignity and without much praise or acknowledgement.
The original painting that I created as a mock up for this mural is available as one of the campaign perks. Own a piece of soon to be Portland history! The mural will be on that wall for 3 years, but you can keep the original scale model design forever.
This painting that serves as the mural design measures 24x36 inches. It is painted in acrylic on canvas. It is yours when you generously contribute to this campaign at the $999 level.
I will also make this painting available as high quality art prints in a limited edition of 25.
Each print will be hand numbered and signed and available as a perk for contributions of $35.
Even if I don't reach my campaign goal, all available funds will be applied toward fulfilling all perks, and paying my assistant first, with any remainder going toward my artist fees.
About the Artist
I was born in the Soviet Union, and lived half of my life in the US. Even though I have always wanted to be an artist, I took time to allow myself this luxury.
I worked as a stock trader, car auction buyer, bartender and Russian-English interpreter before going back to school for art. And it's been only a year since I've been a full time artist.
I have exhibited my work at international art fairs and museums in South Korea, Ukraine and the United States. Along the way, I’ve been fortunate enough to sell to private and corporate collectors and governmental institutions alike.
Dear parents, don’t be afraid of letting your kids go to art school! My first degree was in business and I carried pretty much no practical and applicable skills into the world from it. Art school taught me executive level problem solving and a can-do attitude that empowered me to tackle projects from designing and installing custom flooring in my house to teaching myself tech and marketing skills. The main thing that art school teaches nowadays are creative problem solving skills and ability to approach challenges with a can do attitude. Now, these are serious transferable skill applicable in life and business for sure!
The Impact
The vast majority of the images of women we see tend to be the same: young, slender, conforming to particular commercial ideas and ideals of beauty and femininity. In my paintings, and now on a large scale public mural, I show women that are strong and resilient, who stand tall and whose primary concern isn't the smooth perfection of their looks. We need more diverse representation of women in our environments. Age isn’t something to hide and apologize for. These babushkas will remind the passerby of that!
Other Ways You Can Help
If you are unable to contribute financially today, you can support this project by sharing the heck out of it on your social media and with friends!
Thank you so much
I am incredibly grateful for your belief, trust, and support of my vision and ability to make this project a reality. Thank you!