Why she started and where it originated from

   Oakton Senior, Zoe Gordiyenko, is having her artwork displayed in the Ernst Cultural Center museum from February 11th-March 4th . She has been drawing her whole life but she has been taking classes since the start of middle school. She also took portfolio prep classes her freshman year, which is a college preparation class. Zoey started drawing because it’s been “passed through generations in [her] family on both of [her] mom and dad’s side.” They exposed her to art since she was born, so, she says, “it’s always been an outlet to express myself. My house is filled with materials so I’m constantly stimulated by it; it’s in my genes.” Art is known to be a great get-away for people to express their emotions, not in words, but visually. So, Zoe being exposed to this magic wonder from such a young age is truly a blessing. 

Getting in the zone

   The process of drawing and painting seems easy: you paint what you envision, right? Well, that is different for every artist. Zoey says, “when I go about my creative process, I usually don’t think about much because it tends to cloud my brain and make me second guess what I’m doing”. This shows that art isn’t as easy as it looks; we can’t only depend on talent and skill. To keep ourselves entertained during the process of anything we need a step-by-step plan to make it all come together and be beautiful. Zoey says, “I love to listen to music when I draw/paint because it keeps me from being too critical about each stroke and I think it adds more meaning because this way it shows more [of the] emotion I felt while making the piece.” She goes on about how important it is to be in a comfort zone and how the environment really affects the brain and concentration. 

Future promises for Gordiyenko

   Zoey says she’s always had a fascination for architects like Santiago Calatrava and Zaha Hadid. Their way of constructing a building seemed so seamless to her that she implemented it in her own work. Zoey is now admitted to UVA’s School of Architecture and her goal is to continue art for competitions and hopefully win one. She mentions how she wants to be an architect or a civil engineer, which deals with the constructions of infrastructure/city plannings, bridges, and transportation systems. The future is bright for Zoe!