Ekaterina Kondrashina and students - 5. Together, fun to walk

“The best gift for the artist on his birthday is an exhibition, and an exhibition with his students is a double joy. To show our achievements to the audience, to see children’s eyes burning with joy and the faces of parents full of happiness, to be proud of the successes of their beloved students together - it’s worth living for that! ”

Ekaterina Kondrashina

The Creative Union of Russian Artists invites you to the Lavrushinsky 15 art exhibition hall of the Volga branch of the Russian Academy of Arts for the anniversary exhibition by Ekaterina Kondrashina, where the works of the Palette studio students will also be presented.

This exhibition is an important stage, and for some participants - a start in the development of a small artist. This is the first concert for a musician, the first performance for an artist, and participation in competitions for an athlete. A creative biography of the artist begins its countdown from the moment of the first exhibition.

The exposition presents works completed over the past year. It has already become a good tradition to make the reporting exhibition of the Palette studio in the halls of the Volga branch of the Russian Academy of Arts. A series of graphic portraits that won the All-Russian competition held in December 2017 was presented to the audience; stained-glass windows and works made by oil, gouache and pastel. Along with children’s works, which I do not want to call so because of their creative maturity, the works and their mentors and teachers Ekaterina Kondrashina are exhibited. This time, the Master shows his works from the series "Russia", psychological portraits and still lifes. The works of E. Kondrashina fascinate with their color, compositional solution and technique.

What is “Ekaterina Kondrashina’s Palette Studio”? This is a special world, a community of adults and children, united by a love of fine art. This is the place where parents bring their children, with an irresistible desire to learn how to draw. A place where childhood dreams come true, where ambitious plans are realized. Our studio is a quiet abode and a haven for creativity, reflection and quest, where there is its own special microclimate of Goodness, Reciprocal Assistance and the Desire to create. Here, the basic skills of painting, drawing and composition are comprehended, creative character is laid here, here children learn to overcome the first failures and acquire fighting qualities. Education goes without pressure and unobtrusively. But every student should be able to complete the work to the end, and this is sometimes the most difficult. And here we need a mentor - sensitive, thinking, subtly empathizing and tuned in the same wavelength with the child. We must not forget that each student is individual and needs a special approach to him. It is necessary to maintain the desire to create, so as not to give up when not everything succeeds.

For many years, Ekaterina Kondrashina has been introducing children to art, teaching her how to think about a painting, and not just how to perform it technically. A lot of time is devoted to copying, so the eye is honed, compositional and color skills are improved, the hand becomes faithful and solid. A mandatory part of training is participation in exhibitions and competitions, this is an invaluable educational aspect, here young artists learn to compare, contrast, see their work from the side, find the mistakes necessary for the formation of a young artist.

Learning is based on the principles of love and equality. The teacher and children together find the ways of the tasks. Guide and develop - these are the main criteria for creative education.

A few years ago, the colleague and colleague of Yekaterina Kondrashina, Anna Pylaeva, a beautiful and delicate watercolorist and teacher, came to the studio. She brought her facets to the education of young artists. The temperament and volcanic energy of Ekaterina Nikolaevna intertwined with the femininity and lyricism of Anna Vladimirovna. So both teachers, complementing each other, give a more diverse creative education, both of them received an academic art education and this is the main component of the success of our art studio.

It is pleasant to note that many pupils are so keen on drawing that they want to become professional artists. They continue their education in Moscow art schools, where they enter after a preparatory special course, easily withstanding entrance tests. But the native studio always remains sweetheart, and many graduates do not break the thread of communication and continue to attend classes. This indicates that the community created by Ekaterina Kondrashina brings joy and satisfaction. And adults were drawn to these sensations, so an additional Relax group appeared, where you can get away from everyday turmoil and plunge into the art world, get a vaccine against stress and learn a lot.

Joint exhibitions make learning more multifaceted, strengthening the bond between teacher and students. No wonder the exhibition was called “Together, fun to walk!”. The leader of the Palette is an “active player,” she generously shares her experience and knowledge and is not afraid to exhibit herself with those whom she is teaching. The range of our art studio is growing every year - graduates study at the Moscow Architectural Institute, graduate from the Art College at the Stroganov Academy, study at the Art Lyceum at the Russian Academy of Arts, and graduate from the 1905 Art School. Teachers of the Palette studio, E. N. Kondrashina and A. V. Pylaeva, are also heads of theses at the Moscow College of Art and Humanities, teachers of the Faculty of Further Education of the MAHL RAX, members of the judiciary commissions of the All-Russian Union of Artists and Teachers.

The youngest student is 5 years old and he goes to kindergarten, and the oldest is 18 and this is already a student at the Surikov Institute. Looking at the work of older comrades, kids have a great incentive to create and become more mature in a professional way. And this is the main task that the artistic director of the studio, the painter Ekaterina Nikolaevna Kondrashina, sets before her students. For her work, and she does everything with a soul and great love for children, she was awarded diplomas, thanks, medals of creative art unions and the Russian Academy of Arts.

This year, Ekaterina Nikolaevna has an anniversary and 30 years of creative activity, which she decided to celebrate with her students, without whom she cannot imagine her life and loves very much. And this love is mutual!