My Illustrator Journey: From Plants to Portugal Studio 🌱🎨

Hey all you curious souls who've wandered into my creative laboratory! 😉

Get ready for a fiery tale about how a love for roots and petals morphed into an obsession with brushes and paints! My name is Odarka, and I'm here to tell you how a little girl who devoured volumes of "The Life of Plants" (oh, those incredible illustrations!) grew up to be an illustrator with a landscape design past and a Portuguese present.

Can you imagine a kid who looked at the structure of stamens and pistils instead of cartoons? That was me! Nature encyclopedias were my bestsellers, and the plant world was an endless source of magic. From this love grew my interest in landscape design – I wanted to create living beauty with my own hands. And I did! Until life threw me a Portuguese lemon. 🍋

Moving to sunny Portugal was quite the quest! New country, new language… My landscape design career hit the pause button. But you know what? Nature abhors a vacuum! Instead of garden blueprints, I picked up pencils and paints. And that's when the magic happened – my botanical passion found a new, vibrant expression!

My amazing kids are, quite simply, my world and my biggest inspiration. My eldest, Glasha, holds a truly special place in my heart – so much so that her name, blended with mine, gave birth to DASHAGLASHA Studio! This creative fusion perfectly embodies the personal heart and collaborative spirit I pour into every single project. And yes, while they might occasionally be a tiny bit of a delightful handful, their boundless energy and unique perspectives constantly remind me to see the world with fresh eyes, pushing my creativity to new limits. They are the very pulse of my artistic journey, intertwining family, love, and the pure joy of creation.

But that's not the whole story. There's a special little man in my life – my son. Being there for him, supporting his unique developmental journey, became my top priority. The first years in Portugal were tough, and finding a place where he would be accepted for who he is turned out to be a real challenge. It was during this time that illustration became my safe haven, my opportunity to create without leaving home, combining motherhood and self-realization.

So there you have it, folks! My love for plants, multiplied by life's circumstances and seasoned with a genuine passion for drawing, has brought me here – to the world of illustration. And now I'm here, ready to share my vision, my work, my creative highs and lows with you.

So join my vibrant journey! Together we'll transform botanical wisdom into art, share inspiration, and simply enjoy the surrounding beauty! There's lots more to come! 😉✨