SOfikA

My name is Sofika Zielyk and I'm a native New Yorker. I hold a degree in Art History from New York University. I started making pysanky and ceramics when I was six years old, having learned the basics of these traditional Ukrainian art forms from my mother. 

 

What began as a hobby has through the years developed into a profession. I have lectured and exhibited my work around the world (see Events). In 1992, I was the first American of Ukrainian descent to exhibit work in their ancestral homeland (Taras Shevchenko Museum, Kaniv; Taras Shevchenko Museum, Kyiv.)

 

My pysanky are in the permanent collections of the Ukrainian Museum in New York, The Ukrainian Museum and Library of Stamford in Connecticut, the Embassy of Ukraine in Washington, DC, American House in Kyiv, and the Pysanka Museum in Kolomyja, Ukraine. They can also be found in numerous private collections worldwide. 

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In early 1993, I published a bilingual book, “The Art of the Pysanka,” in Ukraine.  It contains 100 color photographs of my eggs as well as sections on the lore of Ukrainian Easter eggs and with step-by-step instructions. My work was also prominently featured in the books: “Festivals of the World: Ukraine”  (YEAR, Times Editions), “Decorative Eggs “ (1992, Crescent Books as well as in  “Malevich” (2013, Rodovid Press). 

 

In 1995, I was inducted into the prestigious Association of Folk Artists of Ukraine. From 2014- 2015. I was a Fulbright Scholar in Kyiv, Ukraine, researching folk art as the inspiration and muse for early 20th century artists of Ukraine.