GELYA PISAREVA (*1933) survived the Leningrad blockade and were evacuated to Ukraine in its closing days. In Ukraine, Gelya lived at her grandmother’s and was very popular among the local inhabitants for her drawing talent. On her return to Leningrad, she studied sculpture and graduated from the Tavrichesky Art School. In 1961 Gelya enrolled in the sculpture department of the Repin Institute. The strict academic education did not manage to impose a practical manner to Gelya; she has always been into ‘people’s art’. She took her inspiration from the collection of folk art, icon painting and traveling to the Russian North.