Olena Tyshchuk

I am a Ukrainian artist living and working in Edmonton, Alberta. My journey into painting began in 2022 under extraordinary circumstances. When the war started, I left Ukraine alone with my children to keep them safe. We spent a year in Portugal, and it was there, amid uncertainty, that I picked up a brush for the first time. I began painting mandalas to preserve my mental health and find a point of stillness.

That practice saved me. The mandala became my way of processing trauma, rebuilding a sense of order, and connecting to feminine strength. The decision to come to Canada through CUAET was difficult and came with many challenges, but art gave me the courage to make it.

Today I have created 12 major mandala works. I paint on canvas using acrylic, oil, and epoxy resin, often adding gold leaf. My background is in permanent makeup, where I worked for years in a beauty salon in Ukraine. That profession taught me coloristics, precision, and how pigment interacts with light and skin — knowledge I now apply to canvas.

Community is central to my practice. In 2024 I hosted a mandala therapy session in Edmonton for about 20 Ukrainian women, creating a space for shared healing through art. My work now explores how ancient circular...