The influences for her paintings and prints are found deep in her Ukrainian heritage and in the experiences of her own life.

"My work is largely biographical, art is a vehicle for healing wounds and rediscovering feelings," said Stebelsky.

She will host her first solo exhibit with the Canadian-Ukrainian Art Foundation in their gallery at 2118 Bloor St W. in the Bloor West Village from March 20 to April 4, 2003.

"This is a catharsis of getting back to sanity," she said.

The artist says last year she followed a life-long dream to create art when she left a position with Environment Canada to study Fine Art at Toronto's Ontario College of Art and Design. She will begin her Masters in Fine Art in Honolulu at the University of Hawaii in the fall.

Stebelsky says she drew on experiences like the loss of a parent and an abusive relationship to create images which would not only reach her audience but would also help her to heal.

"I paint a lot of portraits and nudes, and my prints focus on motifs from various cultures, some of which are quite ancient," she said.

Stebelsky says her work allows her to communicate to others who have lived similar experiences. "My goal in art is to communicate to the masses, that is what art should be about," she said.

The theme for the exhibit - which Stebelsky has called 'Escape' and has been working on since the fall - is people and human emotions. "It's about getting back to sanity," Stebelsky said.

She works with the raw elements of nature, human form and ancient man-made forms using pure colour, simple shapes and ancient man-made forms. The colours of her work were influenced by her childhood in Toronto's Ukrainian community.

"To me art is a colorful tapestry," Stebelsky said.

"The Ukrainian icons from the church first gave me a visual interpretation of life. From that I was never scared to used bright colours because our whole culture is full of them," she explained.

Art is an emotional endeavour for Stebelsky, who says she taps emotions derived from observations of her environment and her own life when she is creating her art.

"There is a rhythm to my brushstrokes, pencil marks or wood incisions which I find soothing but which also convey my own inner turmoil and the suffering of the world around me," she said.

Stebelsky says the ancient motifs of her art also help to deliver the message of art for the masses. Ancient and native art motifs influenced her, "because these were done by regular Joes, guys waiting to go on the hunt or who just got back - regular people who just decided to make art," she said.