An interesting conversation with Ksenia Stepas, the author and illustrator of the book "Kyiv Masks". They talked about how the idea of ​​creating a book came about, what difficulties arose in the work, where the artist gets her inspiration and which Ukrainian illustrators she would like to work with if she were a publisher.

Who would you be if you had not become an artist/illustrator?

I have repeatedly thought about this question, especially recently, and I came to the conclusion that if I had a different mindset, a more mathematical one, then I would definitely be an architect. After all, I have always been very fascinated and inspired by architecture, its forms and structure.

What skills would you like to learn? Maybe finish some courses?

Lately I have been interested in sculpture and ceramics. I have a lot of ideas for creating various object design objects, most of them from ceramics. In order to learn more about this delicate business, I took courses in a ceramic studio and am going to continue to develop in this direction as well.

What would you be doing if you weren't painting?

I don't really imagine myself in a non-creative field, so if I wasn't painting, I would definitely be doing something specialized: it could be photography or interior design, or art history.

What are your plans for the next 10 years? And who do you see yourself as?

I see myself on a sun lounger by the sea, satisfied with life and the opportunity to work from anywhere in the world. But seriously, then after 10 years, a lot can change and it is a bit difficult to imagine, but I would like to continue working illustration, both book and fashion illustration, I am interested in this direction. I also see my successful studio object design, which has the appearance of an open creative space, furnished with works of the studio, where he can come anyone to see how our things look in space, what they are like to the touch, and of course to buy for yourself.

In which technique do you like to draw the most?

Technology is the language that can be used to best express an idea. Different techniques attract me at different times. First me drew by hand, then became interested in creating collages with the help of computer editors. And now I'm starting little by little moving away from computer graphics and returning to manual techniques again, because I see something alive and real in them, I love combine different techniques, such as gratography, screen printing, acrylic, simple pencil, wax and dry pastel.

If you were a publisher, which Ukrainian artists/illustrators would you like to collaborate with?

A very interesting question)) If I were a publisher, I would be happy to work with such illustrators and artists as Polina Doroshenko, Romana Ruban, Kateryna Lesiv, Sasha Averbakh, Agrafka studio, with the Pictoric illustrators club, InteresniKazki, Masha Reva.

Which book would you like to illustrate?

I don't have a specific book that I would like to illustrate, but I would like to work with poetry, because it is always an unexpected result and an interesting process of creating metaphors. I would also like to make them bright, expressive and modern illustrations for a children's book. What it should be about is still a mystery to me.

Which artist would you like to learn from, if you had the opportunity?

Picasso! After reading Brassai's book "Conversations with Picasso", I got to know Picasso better as a person and I was very impressed and it was the ease with which you can work and live that inspired me. In him, this lightness is felt in everything: in his work, in in his communication, in his attitude to life.... I feel that I lack this and I would like to learn it.

How do you get started? Are there any rituals when you sit down to work?

Before I start working on the illustrations, I of course first read the text, noting the key scenes and moments. I draw ideas that come to me right on top of the text (of course, this all happens on the phone, in books to draw the hand does not rise).After finishing reading the text, I return to the beginning of the book and re-read the ones I noticed plots, I build the basic concept and graphic line of my illustrations. And only after all this begins creating the illustrations themselves. In my opinion, this preparatory stage is the most difficult and therefore interesting when creating any work

How did the idea to create a book about Kyiv mascarons come about?

The idea of ​​creating the book "Kyiv masquerades" arose in the 3rd year of the Academy of Arts (NAOMA). My teacher is Oleg Hryshchenko, then gave us the task of making a small art book on the topic of collecting: everyone had to choose any object or an object of personal collection.I decided that the subject of my collection should be sculptures images of faces on the buildings of his native Kyiv. I often, walking down the street, even a very familiar one, look at the details houses, because something new always appears or something old disappears. And I thought that mascarones are an interesting object for "collecting", because over time they may disappear. Then I started researching old buildings with stone faces in the city center.

What difficulties arose in the process of working on the book "Kyiv masquerades"?

Big difficulties just happened at the next stage. After I chose specific buildings, I was sure to have find out exactly what kind of houses these are, what their history is, who is the architect, who is the owner, etc. All this information can be found in the Internet was almost impossible, because there was still at least some information about one house, and only one sentence about the other. Also, some difficulties arose in the process of creating the illustrations themselves. Because I chose a digital collage as the execution technique, then I should have had photos of mascarones. It turned out that it was very difficult to make successful shots without perspective distortion difficult

How do you relax and spend your free time?

The best recreation for me is a change of scenery. Resting in an unfamiliar city is best for me, it can be only a couple of days, but it allows you to switch and look at everything from the side. For example, to create one of the educational projects, I went specifically to Kharkiv, because I knew that it was there that I would be able to be inspired and, upon arrival, create work Therefore, the best vacation is, of course, impressions of new cities and countries. When there is no way to go somewhere, it is enough for me to relax to go to a museum or gallery, see something new, or a forgotten old thing, meet with with friends, go to the cinema for a movie or to the theater. After all, you never know when exactly a new idea will come, but most often it does happens just during rest.