Kseniya Simonova became a special guest of the Ceremony, and that was initiated by the community of Tchernobyl Liquidators of Evpatoriya, who founded the Museum a month ago. Since opening of the Museum, Kseniya’s Sand Film «Eternal Tears» devoted to the tragedy of Tchernobyl is being translated on the screens of the Museum every day, and to the mind of the curators, her work inspired them on creating this exposition.

Kseniya Simonova:
— It is such a great honor for me to be here, to stand near those who heroically liquidated the results of the Tchernobyl explosion. I am trying to imagine what could you feel being there, standing face to face to the deathly dangerous power, knowing that every minute spent there can bring death or long illness…You did it for us, for those who were children, and for everyone. I was a war, another war, where the enemy is not seen, but radiation is more dangerous enemy than a human. I don’t think that the words that can show our thankfulness to you exist, but I just want to bow you and say: «Thank you!» And thank you for our today’s meeting and, especially, for this Museum which is unique and worth visiting. And you, my young friends and artist, are great with your works, and I am sure that you deserved your awards and win. You are very lucky to be taught by such great teachers. They taught me years ago and the base they gave me helped me to be who I am. I can say that our School and our teachers are ones of the strongest not only in Ukraine but in the world! Thank you for creating the pictures devoted to Tchernobyl, this is our history, and this must shape our future — to make it never repeat!

The young artists received diplomas, cups and other awards. After the Ceremony was over, the curators of the Museum invited Kseniya to collaboration.

— I accept your invitation with pleasure, — the sand Lady said, — it is honor for me and all my family to be your friend.

Kseniya received a gift from the Museum curators — a bronze sculpture of Saint Serafime of Sarov, the famous Russian Saint. The sculpture is a work of the famous Russian sculptor and artist Vyatchaslav Klykov who created such masterpieces as the Memorial of St Cyrill and Mephody (on the Slavyanskaya Square in Moscow), the Memorial of Marshall Zhukov (Manezhnaya Square in Moscow) and many others. Unfortunately, the Sculptor dead in summer 2006, so now his creations are historical and epic masterpieces. Kseniya received the gift with big gratefulness:
— Thank you so much! For me and my family, the person of Saint Serafime of Sarov is very important, it was always like this. Now my little son is very interested with his life. So, it is very symbolic and a real miracle to receive this holy gift from you which will become our family’s treasure and a thing which will be passé from generation to generation.

In turn, Kseniya and her husband and Producer, Igor Pascaru gave their present to the Museum — a sand picture from the Exhibition «Sand Personality» (2009) where Kseniya fixed one of the most dramatic moments of her famous story «You Are Always Nearby».

The conversation with the football player and the shootings are a part of a big creative project of Kseniya Simonova called «The Dreamcatcher». It is a set of short sand films about the football stars and their dreams. This work of Kseniya is devoted to the Euro 2012 Championship which will take place in her native country Ukraine (and Poland) this summer. This set of the films will be broadcasted in Internet and other media sources. Basing on the conversation and the facts which she knew, Kseniya will shoot the Sand Story.

— In this stories the football fans and any other viewers will see their heroes from the other side, maybe as they are known only to their closest friends and relatives, — the Sand Artist says, — I managed to open some secrets and inner sides of my interviewees, but not the secrets which are normally interesting for the «yellow» press, but something very intimate, an Inner Child inside an adult and successful person… Some time ago in barcelona, I met another hero of my sand story, the player of FC «Barcelona», and knew his story which became a base for a sand film that is almost finished. Now I am getting ready to shoot the story of the «Arsenal» star in my Sand Studio. I don’t want to open the names because I want to keep a secret and a sort of creative intrigue until the film is broadcasted in media, — Kseniya says.

She confesses that her first education of a psychologist helped her to open the interesting moments in lives of her interviewees:
— It is the first time I realized that my education helps me in my work, — she notices, — before that I used my own intuition in work and communicating with people. But speaking with the players, I knew how important it is to help them feel comfortable, be sincere and open. And I started ask them questions as a psychologist still remaining an artist and making quick sketches of the images I imagined in my head while they were speaking. It really helped and I am happy with the answers which were very visual and interesting. Now I hope I will manage to create a good sand story.

After the conversation with the «Arsenal» player, Simonova went for a planer making a lot of quick sketches all over Prague.

— It is an incredibly beautiful city, — she confesses, — A real dream of an artist. Till the late night I wondered with its old streets daring everything I could catch. It was cold a bit but it was worth it. I hope I will return here with my friends-artists who dream of coming here and make sketches!

— I received a letter from a lady volunteer from Denmark, Olga Volkova, — says Kseniya, — It was on the day of my Birthday. After reading the information about this little girl suffering with a rare and really horrible illness, I immediately started creating a sand story devoted to her, as the volunteers asked. Looking at her photos, I thought how tiny she is, like a little elf from a fairy tale. At the same time, her sight was not childish at all, it was an adult sight of a person who is suffering… I thought of her Mother, Irina, who was always near her, who is fighting for dasha’s tiny life every day and knows that to recover, they need to pass an extremely long way… I thought of so many things.

When I came to my «sand» table, to start shooting the story, I prayed to God: «Please! Help me to create such story that will help Dasha, let this story be drawn with Your Hand, not mine. Let her recover, please…» And again, as always when I create films for ill kids, again I don’t remember how I did it, how the story was drawn. As if somebody «switched» me off, and the only feeling switched on remains pain, pain of the Child and Mother…And some inner Light of Holy Hope. I really want Dasha to recover, I want to hope that my small film can help her to collect money for this expensive operation, for this little girl can finally enter the happy World without pain and tears, the World of Childhood.

Here is the information about Dasha and her story, sent to me by the volunteers.

“It is always hard for parents when their child is sick, but even a stranger has a feeling of compassion, when he or she sees the tears, hears the cry and feels the pain of this lump of life. At a time when the other moms revel in the joys of motherhood, Dasha’s mother is fighting for her life every day, doing everything she can so that her baby could live another bright day and hopes that there will be more such days!

Dasha is a long-awaited child, but the breathtaking joy of motherhood has not lasted for a long time, as in the first months of life she was given a very serious diagnosis of biliary atresia (when there are no bile ducts in the liver, and in this case the bile enters the bloodstream and poisons the whole body). It came like a bolt from the blue — what no one could have ever expected! However, as they say, misfortunes never come alone. Dasha’s father, after learning about a serious illness of his daughter, left the family when Dasha underwent surgery in Lviv. It was a double blow for Iryna, and the first priority for her is Dasha, her health and her possible future.

It is impossible to look at the child without crying, as she is only one-and-a-half years old and has already experienced more in her life than we did in ours. She spends more time in queues, taking medical tests in hospital, rather than at home with her family, the child who underwent surgery three times and spent months in intensive care, the child who cries every day and does not understand that life is joy and laughter, rather than pain and people in white coats! But it is her reality, she does not know the other, and it’s very sad! It’s sad to realize that the only thing about which many people think is at what hobby clubs to register their children and what diapers to use, but the only thought that comes to the mind of Dasha’s mother when she goes to bed is that her child could live one more day and wait for the moment when money will be collected for a vital operation for Dasha.

Liver transplantation in Belgium costs EUR 97,000. This amount includes a month before surgery, the examination of the child and the donor, surgery and three months after rehabilitation and medicines for the child. This is a large amount for one person, but Dasha’s mother is now not alone, there are a lot of us, and we believe that we will manage to sew a white shirt of life for Dasha, giving her mother hope and joy. After all, even the most insignificant contribution will do a good deed. You can provide assistance in our common cause by simply spreading information about Dasha”.

Bank account details in Denmark, which you can send money to Daria for people who are in Denmark. Account opened in Danish kroner.

Danske Bank Klub “Ukraina”

Reg.nr. 1551

Kontonr. 3719412203

Obyazatelno point in the graph for the receiver: Help (Dariya)

Kseniya Simonova:
— Today is the day which used to break our life into two pieces — of «before» and «after». This day. Twenty six years ago things changed forever and lives of millions people in our country and outside our country filled with horror and pain. Today is a memory of Chernobyl Catastrophe.

When it all happened, I was only one year old, and of course, I don’t remember what was going on around me these tragic days. But from an early age I used to hear this strange word «Chernobyl» which was spoken with tears.

When I was six, my parents told me about this small town where happened a tragedy of the Universe. I was shocked with the things I knew, especially when Mama told me that the children slept peacefully in their beds, and the air surrounding them was already deathly dangerous. The image which appeared in front of my eyes is the one I will never forget. I felt such a sincere pity for these boys and girls! I am still crying while writing about it now…

After many years I created a sand story called «Eternal tears» — the story of the Chernobyl Tragedy in one life, a life of a Child… This story was created a year ago, and now I am thinking on creating one more story. Because there are people whose heroism was out of the frame. The liquidators, people who immediately rushed to the Station to make the radiation stop going to air and ground. They knew they are giving their lives for the safety of their place, they knew for sure they will dye or stay very seriously ill. It did not stop them. For me, this is a true Heroism which cannot be forgotten. It is a sort of an example of whole Millennium, and I am proud to live in a Country where such heroism took place.
 
 
Related links: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3OGy89dby0&feature=related

The collaboration of the Ukrainian Sand Artist and American Singer started after Esperanza Spalding’s invitation addressed to Kseniya to create a sand video film for her song «Endangered Species» devoted to protection of Amazonia. Kseniya understood the sincere message of the project and agreed to take part in it. The amount of the material shot by Simonova in her Sand Studio (Evpatoriya, Ukraine) for making this animation work alive is the biggest amount Kseniya and her Creative Group ever shot for one video. Simonova says that this was an extremely complicated but also extremely exciting process.

— The reason is not only the fact that Esperanza is a very talented young musician and singer, but also the fact that the main and the only goal of her project together with Amazonia Foundation is to help in saving the unique nature of Amazonia, to stop cutting the forest which is actually one of the biggest oxygen producers on our planet, to let others know that the cutting of the Amazon forests causes fires, carbon dust, floods and dying of the rare species living in this region6 — Kseniya says, — I was told that Esperansa is going to share the video for a free download and everyone who feels that he wants to help the Amazon, can donate for the Amazon Foundation. That is what I find a sincere goal and a real devotion. I took part in it because I understand that my obligation is to tell about the endangered Amazon ecosystem with the help of my art, — Simonova confesses.

Kseniya tells about the process of creating the video for «Endangered Species» with a big impression though she confesses that the process took all her time:
— There were periods when I confused the day and the night, working all the time in my studio where the windows are covered with dark material, — she says, — Before starting working on the video, me and my Team watched a great amount of the scientific video films about Amazonia, studied the literature and «live» shootings made by some ecologists devoted to the cutting of the forest and the results of it. Finally, we created a sort of a virtual Amazonia in my studio: on the walls I drew big Amazon trees with their specific trunk shapes, lianas… I studied in details and sketched different types of the rare Amazon creatures and in the process discovered that there is an extremal variety of them, and in some cases I was very surprised to know that the animals I used to consider not endangered recently have become ones — such as pirañas, anaconda, catfish… All these animals — as well as hundreds of others can disappear if the protection of the forests is not very powerful! I am very thankful to Esperanza Spalding for inviting me for a collaboration in this project where I knew so many things I never knew before. Yes, I live very far away from the Amazonia territory, but I know that if it suffers — Europe will suffer too, as this area is the oxygen producing, — Kseniya admits.

Specially for the film Esperanza Spalding and her Team came to Amazon and recorded the sounds of the live nature.

-That was very inspiring, — Simonova confesses, — to know that they went there to get the sounds for the film. I am sure that was a big work of them and took a long time.

The World Premier of the video took place on 22nd of April celebrated as the Earth Day:
— At the same time, it is my birthday, — Kseniya smiles, — and it was a real present for me to know that people will finally see this work.

Esperanza Spalding revealed the video for «Endangered Species» at Washington DC’s National Mall. The video was displayed on three Jumbotron screens as well as simulcast online through the Earth Day Network. Esperanza Spalding’s concert in Boston that day also was an official Earth Day event and her fans were able to go to her website and download «Endangered Species» as well as donate to the Amazon Farm Foundation.
«I am very honored this Earth Day to contribute my gifts by debuting my new music video ‘Endangered Species.’ All proceeds from this video go to environmental conservation organizations,» Spalding said in a statement. «Now, more urgently than ever before, is the time to show our dedication and gratitude to the earth and all its inhabitants by working to protect and heal the earth’s natural systems from the deadly abuses humans have mounted on nature.»

Before that our audience could see the shot studio version of the film «Long Live the King!» which had about 200,000 views on YouTube in a few month. But the film was just one part of a big project in a collaboration of Kseniya Simonova and Royal Television of Thailand. Another — and the most complicate — part of it was the live performance. We present you the video made live from the viewing hall during her performance. Shot by four of even five cameras, edited live, this version is very much beloved by Kseniya herself, as she founds this work of the Thai Team one of the most professional way of shooting her sand art ever:

— It was really a big honor and great experience, — shares the Sand Lady, — especially considering the fact that the Team made the live editing of the camera’s shooting — so that the audience together with Her Highnesty and the Members of the Government could see the exciting results of changing the pictures — the sand table, my hands, my face, panoramic shots. I am very pleased with the result and hope that our collaboration will continue.

Today is the happiest Day of all historical times! This Day is when the greatest Miracle was given to us — the Christ has risen!

I am an Orthodox Christian and we celebrate Easter this Sunday. But I am also happy to congratulate the Christians who celebrated Easter last Sunday.

I just asked myself, what is Easter to me? Since the early childhood I was in Church, studied in a Church School. Of course, I knew that Easter is a Day when the Christ has risen, that God gave His Beloved Son to our World to save all of us, but He was killed by the people He came to save. I knew it, I read about it, I was told about it in Church School, but this knowledge was a knowledge about a fact, though this fact was the greatest ever Miracle. Of course, I felt it was a Miracle. But only yesterday — when I am now almost twenty seven — I sat at the table and looked at the fact from another side. God loves us so much that He let His beloved Child to death to save us, to destroy our sins! In the next room my little son Dima was singing something. I’ve heard his voice and had only one more thought in my head. How He loves us, how can someone else love us so much to send for a death His Son! After that I couldn’t say anything to him except: «Thank You. I don’t even dare to thank You for all You have done to us. Thank you at least for letting me know about Your Eternal Love!»

Dear Friends, I have created a small sand story for you. It is called «The Heaven Day» (sorry for having only Russian subtitles there). I wish you Love.

Enjoy watching and happy Easter! God Bless!

Yours sincerely,
Kseniya Simonova

The Lady of the Sand Kseniya Simonova is not an exception. Together with her Creative Group Simonova.TV, the Ukrainian Sand Artist is working on a film about the prominent football stars.

— It will be a short metered film in three parts, — Simonova explains, — It will become on of a few examples of my combined works where the sand part will not prevail on the «live» shootings. The audience will see the process of thinking on the idea of the story and creating the story step by step. In the film we will show the episodes of my dialogs with the players, how they answer my questions, the expression of the faces, eyes… I think these are very important moments. In my film I want to show the famous football players with the sides which are unfamiliar to the audience. I speak with them about their childhood, about their childish dreams, how they coincide or not coincide with their today’s wishes, about their parents, friends, about their favorite toys and games which they enjoyed except playing football…I want to open another essence of these men, to let their inner Child leave the adult body and play for a while. I hope that together with my Team we will manage to do it, — Kseniya believes.

The raw name of the film is «Another Side of the Legend». Each of the three parts of the work is a story of an exact Hero. Opening the secret of working on the film, Kseniya said that these are going to be three famous players of three famous football clubs — «Barcelona», «Bavaria» and one player of the Ukrainian football club. The name of the last one as well as the names of the players in still a secret kept by Kseniya.

The shooting of the first part recently took place in Barcelona, Spain. Kseniya met one of the most talented players of the FC «Barcelona». The shooting proceeded in one of the biggest video studios of Catalonia where the famous fashion brands made their shows and shootings as well as the world-known magazines such as «Vogue», «L’Officielle» «Marie Claire» and others. For taking part in the shooting, the interviewee of Kseniya made a pause in the training and came to the studio — which was a big honor for the Sand Fairy and her Team.

— The shooting process took a few hours, — Kseniya says, — though the preparations for the shooting took almost all day. I am very happy with the result, my interviewee behaved naturally and answered my questions in a easy and warm manner, though the questions were not usual for a football player. During our conversation, I was making sketches with a sepia pencil — I wanted to fix his expression, to draw his memories. I worked in my usual manner — without looking at the sketch, I was watching the face of my interviewee. Then after the interview finished we watched the results together — there were about twenty sketches I received. I hope both of us were satisfied with the process, at least my hero said that was the most extraordinary interview he ever had. That was very honorable for all of us.

The material received by Kseniya will become the base for the sand story about the inner side of a football player, it will tell about the fact that in each of them — even in the most prominent player — lives a boy who plays football with friends in the yard or on the school field, who dreams, loves, gets angry or happy, lives a live of an ordinary boy…

After shooting the interview, Kseniya and her Creative Group spend a few more days in Barcelona shooting interesting episodes in the streets and suburbs. In Kseniya’s opinion, these episodes will be out of the film but they are important for her to feel the spirit of the place, where their hero lives and trains. Also, Simonova made more than tree hundred sketches of the streets, squares, parks, nature and people.

— That was a sort of a record for me, — confesses the Sand Artist, — After spending a few professional artistic albums and big sepia pencils, I couldn’t stop drawing and made the sketches even in the plane on the way home! — Kseniya laughs, — Sometimes I felt my arm is nearly dead! Barcelona is a beautiful and a very special city, not alike the places I used to be before. As a whole Cataloniya, this place has a unique charm and spirit, a soul… I hope I will return here together with my little son to spend a week or two here as soon as I have a little spare time.

Kseniya admitted some peculiarities noticed by her in Barcelona:
— For centuries Barcelona has been a sort of a fight ring for intellectual architect fights. This place gave us such genius people as Antonio Gaudi, Sarda and many others. Of course, a few days is too short time to enjoy all amazing sights of Barcelona. And the nature is a true miracle as well! I will never forget the marvelous view which opened to me on the top of the Tibidabo and Manjuik mounts. When in the splashes of the foggy clouds we suddenly saw the tiny squares, parks, gardens, marinas and beaches. Then the fog came back and covered the city as a cloth… That was a great and a very inspiring impression! There was also a moment when my colleges thought I became crazy because I opened the roof window of the car, pushed myself in with a sketchbook and began drawing just as a car was moving! But… how could I sit calmly in the car while passing by such a beauty! And I also was very surprised with a fact that people recognized me in the streets despite my wearing a cap and sunglasses. People spoke to me partly in English, partly in Spanish, they were very open and kind. They taught me how to say «A Sand Artist» in Spanish — «Artista con Arrena». I found this language very beautiful and melodical, so now I am thinking of studying it. The people of Catalonia are very sensitive and reflective, — Kseniya shares her impressions.

Kseniya has just returned to her motherplace of Evpatoriya and now is structuring the Barcelona’s materials in her sand Videostudio «Sand Club». In her closes plans Kseniya is going to visit Munich (Germany) and make an interview with on of the «Bavaria» football stars.

The release of the film «Another Side of the Legend» is planned for June when the Euro-2012 Championship starts.

— The sight of NY is one of the most inspiring ones for an artist, I think. The story is called «Spring in New York» and is full of romantic sights — it starts with the line crossing the frame by diagonal which then pears to be a part of the Brooklyn Bridge. Then the well-known buildings appear in the back6 and suddenlyy we recognize the whole picture as a collage of different NY panorama views. There is a romantic episode there — the love story of a young couple which inspired the Artist on creating a picture. and slowly the spring night full of stars captures the city… I hope the audience will enjoy this piece as i and my Team enjoyed creating and shooting it, — Kseniya says.