Eugenia Ivanova

About the instructor:   Eugenia Ivanova

I have been fond of pressed floral art (Oshibana) since 2006. But my style of art is different from traditional oshibana art because I prefer a technique closer to painting. I use tiny pieces of pressed plants like touches of paints. Of course, making a picture this way is a far more laborious process than usual painting and takes sometimes a couple of months. However, working with plant materials is a particular pleasure for me.

 I was born in Russia, Samara (then it was called Kuibyshev) where I live now. In 1992, I graduated in Kuibyshev's aerospace university with the specialization of programmer but I could not find any good jobs after these studies. At that time, Russia was undergoing perestroika economic reforms and many people lost their qualified work because enterprises were shutting down.

I could sew well and for few years I worked as a dressmaker. Then I got married and had a daughter, and then later a son. I made my pictures and brought up my children  Now I’m back to my initial profession and work as a freelancer making design and development of websites. It takes a lot of my time but I try to enter some pressed flower (pf) contests once a year at least. Since 2019 it’s mostly in Russia where the Russian guild was established at the first international festival of pf art in Saint Petersburg and I became a member of the guild.

I have been a member of the WWPFG since December, 2007. Since that time, I’ve have entered many international contests in Japan, South Korea and USA, and visiting WWPFG conferences in Charleston,

SC 2015 and Philadelphia, PA 2018, where I was also invited as a judge to Philadelphia Flower Show competition). I have also taught many online classes in the Guild. I like to share my experience with students and learn about new techniques from other artists.