Larisa Sembaliuk Cheladyn is an accomplished Canadian artist, who is well known to many Edmontonians. Larisa was born in Edmonton and graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Art & Design (’81) from the University of Alberta.

Larisa’s works are bold and colourful. Her preferred medium is water colour. Larisa particularly enjoys painting still-life and floral images, and loves to research and incorporate informative details into each of her compositions. Her artistic style is unique. Over the last 20 years Larisa has created a method whereby she incorporates a sculptural “ripped paper” technique which accentuates the realistic, 3-dimensional quality of her work. 

Larisa’s artistic accomplishments have reached far into the community. She is known both for her illustrations of children’s books and school texts, as well as her fine art paintings.


Major Exhibitions

Celebrating Women – Currently, Larisa is excited and honoured to work with the National Council of Women of Canada (NCWC) on her newest collection “Celebrating Women”. This is a national fundraising initiative sponsored by the NCWC. It was unveiled in Ottawa in October 2004 and will tour across Canada, from Victoria to Halifax in 2004-05. Funds will be directed to addressing homelessness and domestic violence.

Baba’s Garden - Larisa’s most recent collection was hosted at the Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village in 2002. It was co-sponsored by Alberta Historic Sites and CBC Radio. The project was a reflection on the ties our pioneers had with the food and flowers that they grew in their gardens.

Flowers of the Bible - a Canadian Millennium Partnership Project toured Canada in 2000-01. This exhibit was viewed by over 250,000 people and raised funds of over $400,000 for various projects such as the Rainbow Society, Breast Cancer Research and many senior and youth programs across Canada.

Flowers of the Americas - a collection which toured South America in 1995-96 as a fund raiser for the World Wildlife Fund ending its tour in Geneva Switzerland with His Royal Highness Prince Philip the Duke of Edinburgh participating in the celebrations.


School Text Illustrations 

Many elementary and junior high students in Alberta and Ontario are familiar with Larisa’s illustrations. Ordinary People in Canada’s Past, Ordinary People in Alberta’s Past, A Quebec Experience and Brazil were illustrated in part by Larisa and published by Arnold Publishing Ltd, as recommended reading for the Social Studies curriculum in both provinces.

Children’s Book Illustrations

Larisa’s children’s book illustrations are known to tens of 1000’s of children in Ukrainian/English Bilingual education throughout Canada, the US, England, Australia, and in Ukraine. She has illustrated 5 “Canadian Best Sellers” (having sold more than 8,000 copies each) for the publisher Kazka Productions Ltd.. The Mosquito’s Wedding, Snow Folks, Spring Serenade, The Enchanted Christmas Tree, and Sing-a-long Treasures continue to be used as supplementary reading for bilingual English/Ukrainian instruction.

Charitable Contributions

Larisa values the importance of sharing her artistic skills and knowledge with the community. When planning an exhibition Larisa has always incorporated charitable donations as part of the project objective. Contributions to date have included funds forwarded to the World Wildlife Fund International, the Salvation Army Agape Hospice in Calgary, the Glenrose Hospital in Edmonton, The University of Alberta Osvita Medical Program, The Rainbow Society of Alberta, The Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village, the FreeWill Players – River City Shakespeare Festival in Edmonton, and the Walterdale Theatre in Edmonton.

Awards
In 2002 Larisa was acknowledged by the City of Edmonton for her contribution to the community and was named recipient of the “City of Edmonton Salute to Excellence Arts Achievement Award”.


Education
BFA – Art & Design (’81) University of Alberta
Continuing Education – Watercolour Classes
Edmonton Art Gallery – a variety of classes between 1964 and 1994
Strathcona Composite High School (’76)


Exhibits 

• Celebrating Women – Currently on Tour across Canada

• Sing-A-Long Adventures - A retrospective of Larisa's book illustration
  Ukrainian Museum of Canada, Saskatoon, Sask Aug 2004-Jan 2005 
  Oseredok Museum & Gallery, Winnipeg. MB April - June 2002
  Baba’s Garden - Alberta Historic Sites - May - October, 2002
  Flowers of the Bible National Touring Art Exhibition Oct '99 - June 2001 Edmonton, Saskatoon, Victoria, Vancouver, Kelowna, Calgary, Regina, Winnipeg, Oakville, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Edmonton 
  Kalyna in the Country - Basilian Fathers Museum, Mundare, AB Sept 1998
  Blossoms of Colour - Victoria, BC Sept 1997
  A Collection of Colours - Geneva Botanical Gardens, Geneva Switzerland, May 1997
  Flowers of the Americas International Tour and Exhibition - Oct '95 - May '96 Edmonton, Toronto, Guayaquil (Ecuador), Punta del Este (Uruguay), Buenos Aires (Argentina), Caracas (Venezuela), Geneva (Switzerland) 
  Festival of Poppies – Winnipeg, Pantages Theatre Foyer Gallery, April 1994
  Wildflowers – Edmonton, Walterdale Theatre Foyer Gallery, Jan. 1994 
  Festival of Poppies – Solo Show - Edmonton, Tucker Amphitheatre, Mar 1993
  Edmonton Art Club – Group Show – Edmonton Art Gallery, 1992

Lectures & Workshops

Larisa has lectured and taught in various schools and institutions including: 

University of Los Andes (Merida, Venezuela)
Jardin Botanique du Geneve (Geneva, Switzerland)
Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital (Edmonton, AB)
Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village, Alberta Historic Sites (Edmonton, AB)
Oseredok Museum and Cultural Centre (Winnipeg, MB) 
Victoria School for Visual and Performing Arts (Edmonton, AB)
St. Martin’s School (Edmonton, AB) – Artist in Residence Spring 2004
Delwood School (Edmonton, AB)


Major Collections (selected works)

International: 
Buckingham Palace (London, England) 
Canadian Embassy (Caracas, Venezuela) 
Canadian Embassy (Kiev, Ukraine) 
Korean Embassy (Montevideo, Uruguay) 
Gutzwiller & Sons Banquiers (Basel, Switzerland) 
Smithsonian Institute (Washington DC, USA) 
His Beatitude Patriarch Bartholomew (Athens, Greece)

Canadian:
Ukrainian Embassy (Ottawa) 
Carpathia Credit Union (Winnipeg) 
Hauptman Hart Cherkawsky (Edmonton) 
The Salvation Army Agape Hospice (Calgary) 
Esso Canada (Calgary) 
Shevchenko Foundation (Winnipeg)