Anastasia Ugorskaya‘s art embodies a kind of infinite calm. When I view her drawings, I feel focused by the deliberateness of her gesture and transported through her textures and gradients. This text about her work embodies some questions that I have been asking myself recently. Here is Anastasia talking to us about her life as an artist, growing up in Moscow, and life in Brooklyn. All links were provided by her. Click through for an interactive experience.

Hello Anastasia! How and when did you start drawing? I started drawing and painting at very young age.  Drawing was one of my favorite pastimes since my friends and I did not have many toys.  My kindergarten teacher used to separate me from the rest of the class with pencils and paper as punishment for misbehavior(which still does not make sense to me).  My mother and grandfather were artists.  They always encouraged me to draw and paint.  In Russia I took plenty of painting and drawing classes and when I moved to New York I got accepted to La Guardia High School of Music&Art and Performing Art, and then Cooper Union School of Art.

What did you like about growing up in Moscow? A lot of what I like about growing up in Moscow is what I miss about growing up during Soviet times and Post-Soviet.  I really miss cheap trolleys and train rides.  Good free after school programs such as botanic illustration, batik, painting and ceramics. I kind of miss the neglect of Post-Soviet times when everything was overgrown and wild even in the city.  Overgrown courtyards became our unsupervised playgrounds where we took care of homeless kittens and stray dogs. The way the rain poured out through downspouts across the sidewalk.   I miss taking the train to our dacha (Russian style country house) during the summer.  We would go mushroom and berry picking in the forest; swimming in lakes and rivers, with never a sign of private property or lifeguards.

What do you like about living in  Brooklyn? I like being surrounded by fellow artists, proximity to great museums and galleries.   I like the change Brooklyn is undergoing.  I enjoy being able to bike everywhere.  Summer rides to Fort Tilden beach. Watching the Q train pass by from my kitchen window.

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