Katya

Hello, my name is Katya.
I am a student at the Gerrit Rietveld Academy and I am 20 years old.

I grew up and spent most of my life in Moscow before moving to Amsterdam to start my arts and design study program. In my studies I specialise in doing animation and video work, and my background is in illustration and life drawing, as well as toy making. I am very attentive and curious, and love working with children because of their unique way to interpret the world around them.

Since I was young, I would often babysit for families in my city. Following my interest in working with children, I started volunteering. I would do activities for children from a Romani tribe in order to help them feel more at home in a country that was new to them. Doing that taught me to find a way to communicate with children from completely different backgrounds, despite the language barrier between us. One special way of understanding each other was through drawing and sculpting.

In teaching children how to draw and express themselves on paper as well as create their own sculptures, I myself learn new ways of understanding the world.

I wish to inspire and help children on their path to exploring their interests. I believe that every child has their own way of interpreting the world, and by letting them be creative we can learn as much from them as they can from us in the most fun, meaningful way.