“Ebru for me — is the beauty, tranquility and, perhaps most importantly, the inspiration. This is a great opportunity to make my world and the world of my daughter a brighter and more beautiful place. There is nothing to compare with spending quality time with her, creating art independently side by side, and together. It’s art that we share, that we create together.  It’s something I will cherish for eternity. Ebru is also for me, a kind of solitude, a reflection, a shelter. From the moment I saw this beautiful, fluid imagery, floating on the water — I think it was the first time I felt like I saw everything all at once. It was love at first sight.
Ebru — It’s a clever and charming art.  It’s unpredictable; its magic conceals itself in the knowledge and skills of many previous masters, from centuries forgotten.  And, it holds the secrets of future discoveries and techniques perhaps once known by unknown masters, waiting to be rediscovered.
I love the water. Water is my element…it’s always unpredictable and maybe even dangerous, but I am drawn to understand it, to feel and hear it.  I may never understand it, but it is intertwined in my life”

Over the past 17 years Xenia has been instrumental in managing business conferences and is the Director of a leading European conference production company. Her company, MSB Events, has produced more than 500 leading business events in Europe, Russia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine and other CIS countries.

In 1998, Xenia emigrated from Kazakhstan to Prague and fell in love with this magical city. In 2014 Xenia found Ebru under very strange circumstances by randomly seeing a video online. Thus, during a long Doctor ordered home-stay for a sick 4 year-old daughter, the two found Ebru to be a perfect match for Mama’s curious nature and Nika’s fun drawing and wild coloring techniques!. Not having an art education, and more than that, not being able to draw even a little, Xenia found a rare one-day course in Prague given by the Ebru artist Kubra Aşık, though which she met with the Czech Ebru artist Šárka Duran.

While the introduction to Ebru was a great success for both Mother and Daughter, they still faced major obstacles in their long term pursuit of practicing Ebru. The major one being that Ebru supplies in Europe were virtually nonexistent. So, on a fortuitous trip to Moscow, she was able to buy a complete set of Ebru paints and supplies. From that point on, Xenia and Nika have shared a studio dedicated to producing Ebru works and equally dedicated to sharing their time and their lives together.
In an effort to bring her suppliers closer, Xenia contacted paint manufacturers in Turkey and was drawn to a deeper engagement in the Ebru community through a fledgling Ebru supply business.
Xenia has worked tirelessly to spread her love of Ebru with the local Prague community and across the world.  She has engaged and trained with artists like Kubilay Dinçer and Merve Sözeri. She is integral in the Ebru community through her import and export business in Ebru colors in the Czech Republic. Having tried all possible paint companies, she has developed a fantastic relationship with Art Deco and Karin, both of whom supply world class quality in Ebru supplies.

Ebru began as a curiosity, grew into a love, and now is a commitment from the heart and soul.  It is not only a challenge in terms of artistic skills but also a rewarding engagement with Ebru artists around the world through www.ebru-art.cz

Along with the development of a new community of Ebru artists, Xenia began to create and publish interesting and useful content on social networks about Ebru and Ebru artists, thanks to the growth of the Ebru social network.

Xenia’s Ebru journey has continued through collaboration and engagement with artists like Anna Ivanova, Anna Prigoda, Tatiana Kirillova, Antonio Velez Celemin and Yuulia Tsareva.

The Ebru journey does not end there, and Xenia looks forward to someday working with all masters of world renown, and to consistently convey the knowledge and techniques in an entertaining way, as well as sharing all the knowledge and love of Ebru with her 6 year old daughter, Amelia Nicole.

“My daughter – my biggest motivator, I’m ready to learn a lot to teach her something new and unusual. Nika really loves Ebru. When we get into the studio, we love to paint together, make beautiful bracelets, scarves, or even come up with new applications for Ebru. Recently, I began to teach Nika how important it is to help people in need and donate to charity. Ebru plays a role in this too!

And with Ebru, I was able to help teach her through her genuine interest in Ebru.  Together we came up with a small business and called it ‘XandA‘ (Xenia and Amelia).  Some evenings, instead of games on the iPad or cartoons on the TV, we make postcards pulled from her and my Ebru prints.  We also make bracelets and other Ebru printed objects. Our most recent success has been postcards, which have become popular with thoughtful friends and acquaintances who have rediscovered the importance of taking up a pen and writing “thank you” letters rather than a ‘ping’ on social media. Through Ebru, I feel I am teaching Nika to be sensitive to the world around her. That this effort is finding success through the art of Ebru makes it all the more satisfying.”