Today we’d like to introduce you to Liliana Nedzelska.
Liliana, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
The fine and folk arts have enamored me since I was a kid. My whole life I have been painting, designing, and making. While still in Ukraine, I also worked as a fashion designer and floral arranger. But though I finished art school and the Kiev Cultural Institute, life has taken me on many paths.
After starting a family and immigrating to the United States, I began sharing my love of the arts with my children. Though I had little time to create my own work, I found a joy in teaching; so much that I brought both my own kids and those of family friends into the world of art. We ran a homeschooling group for a while with other Russian-speaking families and this gave me the opportunity to teach and to learn about my teaching.
Now that my children have grown up, I find more time to follow both my passions. On the crux of my knowledge of fine and folk arts and my love of teaching, I have founded my own art school – Art Wheel Studio. The school is grown in the traditions of European fine art academies and geared towards the kids and adults of today – a place for anyone to find their own journey in the arts.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
There have been many obstacles in journey through the arts. The best ones were those that helped me learn about me and my abilities, and crafted out the path that my teaching and my studio would take. I started by teaching children, but my friends and now, clients, would often ask me if I would bring the world of art to adults, too. I gave that a try, and over time, found ways to do that with more than just art classes. Developing a new type of service can be difficult and often takes me a number of tries to get it right. I always ask my clients and students their opinion on what I am doing right and wrong. I learn from my mistakes and strive to make art accessible to everyone.
Art Wheel Studio – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Art Wheel Studio is a center for fine and folk arts in Roanoke, TX. We offer anyone to join us on a journey in the fine arts and traditional media. Art Wheel Studio provides fine art classes for children and adults, based in the tradition of European fine art academies. To better serve our community, we also offer semester-long seminars on various techniques and media, folk and traditional art workshops, and birthday and event parties.
Our students are our pride. After studying at Art Wheel Studio, they put together marvelous portfolios of personal and competition work. A number of AWS students have received full-tuition scholarships for their portfolios and gone to pursue their art careers at major US universities. We are always excited when new opportunities open for our students because of their hard work and their growth in the arts.
The studio has something for everyone. Students can devote themselves to an academic study of fine art and work towards a personal goal – and our academic methods help them do so quickly. But the studio also features classes for those that want something for the soul. Projects in batik, felting with merino wool, sculpting with polymer clay – we are always looking to grow, ourselves, in the arts we explore and offer.
We offer workshops for those who want to enjoy the arts but seem to never find the time. These 3-4 hour long sessions are fun and casual and full of new and exciting experiences. Participants leave any workshop with a finished, high quality product – whether that is a felted shawl, a painted batik scarf, or a piece of polymer jewelry. And most importantly, our workshop participants learn to create, and build their skills to do so on their own.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
My proudest moment as an artist and as a teacher was being invited to teach at the World Children’s Festival in 2007. Along with a number of my students, I traveled to Washington, D.C. as a representative of Texas at this international arts fair, and provided a number of workshops. It was a joy not only to teach, but to see my students in action, working with children from around the world and sharing their knowledge and skills. At the end of the three-day festival, I organized a mural-painting event for children representing their countries. The finished pieces were gorgeous works, showing that kids can unite with each other through collaboration and art.
My students, inspired by their experience at the festival, organized a local youth volunteer organization at home. They formed WizArt Club, and over the past 10 years have partnered with local libraries to provide free art classes for the children of their communities. It is a blessing to see that they share my passion for teaching and want to spread art in the world around them.
I am proud of my students, of their work and determination and creativity.
Pricing:
- Group Classes: $12.50/hr, in either 1.5 or 2 hour slots, bundled as 8-week semesters.
- Semi-Private Lessons: $25/hr per student, 2-person lesson, scheduled with teacher.
Contact Info:
- Address: 300 Bowie Street, Roanoke
- Website: artwheelstudio.com
- Phone: (817) 835-8064
- Email: artwheelstudio@gmail.com
- Instagram: artwheelstudio
- Facebook: artwheelstudio
Getting in touch: VoyageDallas is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
