Svetlana Shusterman
My Name is Svetlana Shusterman, I come from a land far, far away bordering the Black Sea. I arrived in America in January of 1989, and still possess that awesome glitter America put in my eye from when i was a weeeee one to the marinated human I am today.
What's in the Marinade, one may ask... Well, I guess its a culmination of ingredients that serves the purpose, mainly, in holding together as a vessel for what enters me (woops, i set myself up for these a lot) and then leaves me with indescribable art or verbiage.
My story is strangely humorous in that I was studying biology for a very long time, not even considering myself or life, or that I had a choice in the matter! Refusing any questions from the right side of my brain. Then i finally dropped out In January of 2008 from Temple University in Philadelphia. I didn't know what to do with my life except that I felt knowing and loving one's self is the only will I possess. Naturally, I had a lot of time to myself and began to research things I always wanted to have a better understanding of. For instance, how I could have studied biology for 5 years while truly loathing ever aspect of the purely logical field. I came across Carl Jung almost immediately and his concept of synchronicity/collective mind followed by, almost abruptly, a realization for the term 'occult'. I figured I'd like this enough to make it a profession and support myself therein, especially since paranormal/psychic characteristics are a big part of my culture. I applied to Drexel university and got in to their psychology program. All gravy right? wrong, I was suspicious of going back to any institution much less pay 40k a year. Forces began to stir within me, that's the best I can do with words. I began to pay more attention to what I feel really matters, understanding what life is all about, and questioning everything I absorb. Simpler put, I began to fall in love with myself, or something like it. I had an experience on a bridge in a local park where I was literally Overflowing with happiness. It totally caught me off guard, I teared up from joy! Changed my life forever..I wanted to remember this feeling, I wanted to always know its there and that this was truth. Truth-- an instinctual certainty, and beloved at the very least if any leasts exits for that matter. I sat down to try and make something, draw something to help me remember. Now, I have always been creative but this felt different. This felt right, as compared to the mundane everydayness that feels either neutral or vile. And so it all began. I realized that this feeling that called me to ink and paper surged something through me that was not only consistent but gifted me with self-awareness. There is so much to say about the creative process, but it felt so good that I never showed up at Drexel and moved to Venice. Follow your heart, c'est la vie!
I cannot explain what you and I see once I walk away from the ink and paper, but I can say that it is quite Divine. What I enjoy most is trying to figure out what it is, or what it perhaps resembles, yet nothing compares to seeing it through your circumstance. I am constantly inspired in that I wish I was conveying more, but art is never one thing, and can never be confined to anything. Participating in such would defeat the entire purpose, and yes, a purpose does exist. I whole-heartedly believe that art is our higher selves telling us the answer(s). I want to bring attention to love, for love to prevail and for humanity to lead us all in into a better and more modern direction.
I am a novice artist/writer/human. I have yet to consider myself an artist or a writer, but a label would serve no purpose. This is my contribution to myself and to all of us. In that, I am doing the best I can for myself and making damn sure to leave footnotes and messages along the way. There is no question of worth, for sincerity disperses any doubt. Thanks for reading/looking :)