Sonia Garyayev

Sonia is a locally based slavic artist, and a graduate of AUArts. Storybooks were an unforgettable aspect of her childhood, and now as an adult, she continues the tradition of producing whimsical and curious illustrations. Coming from a unique cultural background, she draws on themes of slavic and european folklore, occasionally confronting its more dramatic sides. She explores not only childhood whimsy, but the questions, ideas, and feelings she has carried all the way into her adulthood. 

As a kid, Sonia made herself a promise to never turn into a boring adult, and preserve what she could of her old self as she grew up. Her current belief is that adults, being grown kids, are still in need of playfulness and magic, while children, being small adults, are able to understand and feel a lot more than given credit. This assertion is unravelled in the worldbuilding throughout her artworks, where childhood and adulthood exist as one, and where ones’ inner child can be as serious or as playful as it needs to be.