STEHURA NATALIIA

Member of the National Union of Folk Art Masters of Ukraine (2001). Honoured Master of Folk Art of Ukraine (2009).

She was born in Rakovo village of Perechyn district, Transcarpathian region. At that time, weaving, needlework, the ornamental design was an integral part of peoples' everyday life, and it was this man-made beauty, as well as nice family atmosphere, that surrounded the master from her birth. As the author admits, a lot of her works reveals the plots from her childhood. Nataliia’s drawing and modelling abilities showed up early, so after graduation in 1974, she entered the Uzhhorod College of Applied Arts, the art ceramics department, where her teachers were the talented ceramist Lyudmila Averkiieva and Mahdalyna Puhlyk-Belen. She graduated from the college with honours in 1978, then worked at the Berehovo ceramic factory. Since 1979, Nataliia worked in the Art Fund together with such masters of decorative and applied art as Endre Hidi, Anna Horvat, weaving masters Nataliia Hertz, Larysa Brovdi, Teresiia Chuvalova, carvers Vasyl Svyda, Vasyl Sidak. Work with such a team contributed to the creative growth, Nataliia gained a lot of experience to become a ceramic artist. Since 2015, she has been the head of the People's Ethnographic Museum of the Regional Organizational and Methodical Centre of Culture.

In the late 80s, along with the traditional for Transcarpathia jugs and plates, there was a search for the expression of the world view in new ways and unusual aspects of figurative plastic in decorative forms, which led to the development of Nataliia's own style. The artist studied Transcarpathian cultural traditions, rituals in order to convey them in her work. The author notes that at that time she created her best thematic works: "Grandfather's Fairy Tales", "On The Bench", "Lullaby", "Love-Making". The song folk art inspired the author to create such works as "Why Are You So Sad My Love?", "Ah, Marichko, chicheri", "Under The Cherry Tree". According to the artist, this is an attempt to embody the folk song, its mood through the prism of its own system of image creation.

She says, working with clay for decades, she experimented a lot and was looking for something original and unique. Her works include a lot of minute details, decor, simulation of embroidery, details of clothes, which creates a certain ethnographic colouring. She is interested in social and household themes. The separate direction of the artist’s work is the creation of the ceramic flower compositions.

Today, the artist keeps on creating incredible compositions, which is undoubtedly the adornment of the expositions. The author works in a bent seam technique.

Since 1979, the artist has participated in regional, republican, and all-union exhibitions, and since 1980 – in the international (Czechoslovakia, Austria, Germany). In 2009, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the painter-ceramist, it was held the first personal exhibition, according to which Nataliia Stehura was awarded the title of "Honoured Master of Folk Art of Ukraine". The artist’s works are in the collections of numerous countries of the world.